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Three more ways to take a screenshot on a Mac
Using the Command-Shift-4 keyboard shortcut, there are three variations that let you resize or reposition the selection area when taking a screenshot.
As a follow up to last week's post about three keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots on a Mac, I present three more keyboard shortcut tips.
Each of these tips uses the Command-Shift-4 keyboard shortcut. Hitting these three keys simultaneously turns your Mac's cursor into a crosshair, which you can drag to select a portion of your screen to capture. Releasing the mouse button or trackpad takes the shot.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET)
1. After pressing Command-Shift-4 but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad, hold down the Shift key. This locks in each side of the selection area made with the crosshairs save the bottom edge, letting you move your mouse up or down to position the bottom edge. Without releasing the mouse button, release the Shift key and hit it again to reposition the right edge of your selection area.
2. After pressing Command-Shift-4 but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad, hold down the Option key. This lets you move all sides of the selection area as you move the crosshair. The two side edges move in proportion to one another as you move the crosshair, as if they were mirrored images. The same holds true for the top and bottom edges. (Without the Option key engaged, the left and top edges of the selection area are locked and do not move.)
3. This third tip is my personal favorite of the trio here. After pressing Command-Shift-4 but before releasing the mouse button or trackpad, hold down the spacebar. This locks in the shape and size of the selection area but lets you reposition it on the screen. It's very handy if your initial selection area is off by a few pixels; just hold down the spacebar to reposition it before releasing the mouse button to snap a screenshot.
And as a bonus, let me also share the fact that you can use Preview to snap screenshots on a Mac. Open Preview and you'll find a Take Screen Shot option in the File menu. There are three options: From Selection, From Window, and From Entire Screen. The last option is a convenient because it uses a timer, giving you 10 seconds to line up your desktop just so before it captures your screen. It's what I used to take the above screenshot of the screenshot selection area.
(Via AddictiveTips)
