For those seeking a screen capture tool to take screenshots or capture specific sections of their screen as an image, it’s worth noting that macOS has its own built-in alternative to the Windows Snipping Tool. This alternative offers comparable ease-of-use and can be accessed via keyboard shortcuts on a Mac.
Shortcuts for using the snipping tool on Mac
To access the primary control panel of the snipping tool on Mac, you can use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + 5. However, if you prefer to quickly capture a screenshot of your entire Mac screen, you can use the shortcut Shift + Command + 3. Alternatively, to capture a specific section of your Mac screen, you can use the shortcut Shift + Command + 4.
By utilizing the Shift + Command + 5 shortcut on your MacBook or iMac that’s running macOS Mojave or a later version, you can open the Mac Snipping tool control panel, which appears at the bottom of your screen (as shown below). This control panel offers a range of screen capture options, including taking screenshots, capturing a specific section of your screen, and recording videos for tutorials or instructional videos. Additionally, Apple has included several useful settings that can be customized to further enhance your workflow if desired.
Mac Snipping tool options
Moving from left to right, the first button with a circle and a cross inside enables you to close the Mac snipping tool and return to your desktop. Following that are three buttons for taking screenshots: the leftmost button captures the entire screen, the second button captures a selected window, and the dashed rectangle button captures a specific area of your Mac screen. Hovering over any of these buttons will display a tooltip reminding you of their respective functions.
The next two buttons, both featuring circles in their bottom right corners, are used for recording video of your Mac screen. The first button enables you to record the entire screen, while the second dashed rectangle button allows you to record a selected portion of your desktop.
You can also customize the location where the Mac Snipping tool saves your screenshots or captured videos by accessing the additional Options available. By default, captured screenshots are saved to the Desktop, but you can choose to send them to your Documents folder or directly to the Clipboard, Mac Mail program, Message application, or Preview app on macOS. Additionally, you have the option to select a Custom Location of your choice. Other available settings include setting a timer of 5 or 10 seconds, showing Floating Thumbnails, remembering the Last Selection, and showing the Mouse Pointer.