Taking ascreenshot is a common task for many people, but the exact needs of any twousers can vary widely. Because of this, the best tool for one person may not bethe best tool for another. This blog post contains a list of differentscreenshot tools so you can pick the one that’s optimal for your currentneeds. One tool may be best for you today, but a different tool might be bestfor your needs next week.
Someone who uses Parallels Desktop™ has additional tools available, as well as specific needs that other users don’t have, and that is the main reason for this blog post.
Personally, Iam at the extreme end of the screenshot-making users, since preparing and usingscreenshots is one of my main tasks here at Parallels. At one time or another,I have used all the tools described here, and I keep them all installed and upto date so that I have just the right tool for whatever task comes along.
Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Microsoft Remote Desktop. Download Microsoft Remote Desktop for macOS 10.13 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Use Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac to connect to a remote PC or virtual apps and desktops made available by your admin. Mac has offered a way to take screenshots with keyboard shortcuts for decades now. This little-known feature is easy to use. This little-known feature is easy to use. Screen: Press Shift+Command+3 and a.png of the entire screen will automatically save to your desktop. Mac screenshots: 4 ways to capture your MacBook's screen. Keyboard shortcuts to take screenshots might seem straightforward on your Mac, but each technique captures a different part of your screen.
Tools builtinto the operating system
Both macOS and Windows 10 have screenshot tools built into the operating system (OS). On the Mac, these tools got a major revision in macOS Mojave. In macOS Mojave and Catalina, the screenshot command (⌘-Shift-5) displays all the screenshot tools (Figure 1).
You can choose between a screenshot of the full screen, a single window, only a portion of the screen, or a screen recording (to be the subject of its own future blog post). These tools all create a file, which by default is placed on the desktop.
In Windows, the screenshot tools have been present since Windows 95 and have not changed very much over the years. Unlike Mac, the built-in tools in Windows don’t create a file but put the screenshot onto the clipboard. You can then paste that screenshot into an application. You can access this tool with the Print Screen button that most Windows computers have. In recent years, in some versions of Windows, the screenshot can be automatically saved to OneDrive (Figure 2).
“Note: The Print Screen key is usually located in the upper right-hand corner of the keyboard. Some keyboard models label the Print Screen key differently, such as PrintScreen, PrntScrn, PrntScr, PrtScn, PrtScr, PrtSc or a similar abbreviation.” “Other keyboards may not have a separate Print Screen key. In this case, you can perform the Print Screen function by pressing and holding down the Fn + Insert keys together.” “The Print Screen function operates slightly differently in each Windows operating system.” – from the Dell support pages
For the Parallels Desktop user, the Print Screen button is virtual (Figure 3).
Tools builtinto Parallels Desktop
If you want a screenshot of the entire Windows desktop in a Parallels Desktop virtual machine (VM), you can use the Print Screen menu item in the II menu in the Mac menu bar (Figure 3), or you can use the Take Screenshot menu item on the View menu (Figure 4).
One advantage of these tools is they grab only the Windows bits and none of the Mac bits (Figure 5).
Often, this is exactly what a particular task requires, and grabbing only the Windows bits with other screenshot tools can be quite tricky and require some editing clean-up of the screenshot. When possible, I try to minimize the need for time-consuming editing, and these two tools makes this quite easy.
These two toolsbuilt into Parallels Desktop are only available when you are in Full Screen orWindow mode. If you use Parallels Desktop in Coherence mode, you won’t see them.
Toolsbundled with Parallels Desktop
For several years now, Parallels® Toolbox has been bundled with Parallels Desktop. (The exact details of the bundling depend on how you purchased Parallels Desktop.) Parallels Toolbox contains four screenshot tools, as shown in Figure 6.
All the tools in the Parallels Toolbox are designed to do one task extremely well, with no effort on your part to learn how to use the tool.
The firstthree of these tools are self-explanatory and extremely easy to use. The fourthtool, Screenshot Page, takes a screenshot on an entire webpage, even scrollingthe page to get the entire thing. This tool then stitches all these partialscreenshots together to create a long, skinny PDF. This tool is so useful thatthere is a blogpost devoted to its use.
If you justneed to quickly take a screenshot, these tools are what you want.
Tools for purchase
There are a number of full-featured screenshots applications that can be purchased—the Mac App Store lists more than 50 screenshot apps. Two full-featured screenshots applications that I like and use are Capto and SnagIt. Mac os for pc. Typically, full-featured apps like this include the ability to manage a library of all the screenshots you have created, as well as a graphics editor. Figure 7 shows my Capto library of recent screenshots and Figure 8 shows the SnagIt graphics editor. Unlike the tools in the Parallels Toolbox, these full-featured apps require some learning on your part to use effectively, but they give you many more capabilities.
So, which isthe best screenshot tool? Unfortunately, there is no quick, easy answer forthis. It all depends on what the end goal is, and how “perfect” you want yourscreenshot to be. When a screenshot I create is going to be put on theParallels site, then I want that screenshot to be perfect. This means I mighthave to take several versions and then edit the screenshot so that it isexactly what is needed, with zero portions that will detract from its mainpurpose. (Thatcan happen, and it can be quite embarrassing.) To minimize the editingwork, I try to use a tool that gives me as close to the final screenshot aspossible.
If I’m takinga screenshot to report a bug in a Windows or Mac app, then I want to minimizethe amount of work and the amount of time to create the screenshot. In thatcase, I want to use the tool that is right at my fingertips and has no startuptime. Usually, this will be one of the tools in Parallels Toolbox.
I hope this list and my observations help you find the best screenshot tool for your current needs. Let us know in the comments if you recommend a tool that I did not mention.
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Taking a screenshot on a Mac® is as easy as on a PC—when you know the keyboard shortcuts to do so.
There are plenty of key commands in macOS® you might want to use for screen capture. Today, we’ll break down the six best shortcuts for screenshots that any Mac user NEEDS to know—plus the one useful application that accomplishes all that and more with just one click.
Capture a Screenshot of an Area
Figure 1 – Keyboard shortcut for taking a screenshot of part of a Mac screen
One of the most common needs for that “print screen” command on a Mac is when we need to capture a portion of the screen. It’s like a snipping tool for Mac. Be it an Instagram story, Twitter update, or part of a webpage to share with a colleague, you can screenshot any of those with just a few key combos.
(1) To capture a portion of the screen, do the following:
Press Command-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
Select the area of a screen you want to capture by moving and dragging the cursor.
After releasing the mouse button, the screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.
Figure 2 – Apple Support tweets the solution for screen capturing on Mac.
(2) To copy a portion of the screen to the clipboard, do the following:
Press Command-Control-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
Select the area of a screen you want to capture by moving and dragging the cursor.
After clicking on the mouse, the screenshot will be saved to the clipboard.
Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, such as Word, Skype, or Outlook.
Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.
Capture a Screenshot of an Active Window
Screenshot For Mac Desktop App
Figure 3 – The process of taking screenshots of an active application
If you need a screenshot of a specific application that you’re currently using, use this method. You can easily print screen an active window of any program, be it Safari, Chrome, Photoshop, or Microsoft Excel.
(3) To capture a screenshot of an active window, do the following:
Press Command-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
Tap on the spacebar on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a camera.
Select the active application window you want to capture by moving your cursor.
When you move the cursor over an application, the window will be highlighted.
Click the mouse button on the window you want to capture. The screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.
(4) To copy a screenshot of an active window to the clipboard, do the following:
Press Command-Control-Shift-4 to change a pointer to a crosshair.
Tap on the spacebar on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a camera.
Select the active application window you want to capture by moving your cursor.
When you move the cursor over an application, the window will be highlighted.
Click the mouse button on the window you want to capture. The screenshot will be saved to the clipboard.
Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, like Word, Skype, or Outlook
Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.
Screenshot For Mac Desktop Computers
Capture the Entire Screen
Figure 4 – Keyboard shortcut for capturing the entire screen on a Mac
(5) To capture a screenshot of a whole page, do the following:
Press Command-Shift-3 to take a screenshot of the whole screen.
The screenshot will be saved as a PNG image on your desktop.
(6) To copy a screenshot of a whole page to the clipboard, do the following:
Press Command-Control-Shift-3 to copy the whole screen.
The screenshot will be automatically saved to the clipboard.
Select the application where you want to insert the captured image, like Word, Skype, or Outlook
Press Command-V to paste the screenshot.
Mac App for Taking Screenshots
Figure 5 – Parallels Toolbox: The ultimate Mac application for screen and video capturing
Sometimes, remembering all the dozens of shortcuts to take a Mac screenshot is not our main priority. All we need is a simple application that has everything ready for us with just one click.
Parallels® Toolbox Screen and Video Pack is the best Designed to help optimize your workday, it has all the important tools for everyday needs, such as screen and video capturing, video converter, YouTube video downloader, and more.
You can try Parallels Toolbox without any obligations and decide for yourself whether a small introductory price is a fair cost for all the time saved.
Screenshot For Mac Desktop Backgrounds
Where to Find Screenshots on a Mac
Figure 6 – The primary location for all screenshots on a Mac is the desktop
Once you’re done taking them, where do screenshots on a Mac go?
Normally, screenshots are saved as PNG images (titled with the current date and time stamp) right on the desktop. The format looks as follows: “Screen Shot 2018-07-04 at 12.25.36.png”. Alternatively, a user can copy Mac screenshots to the clipboard by adding Control to the key combination and then pasting it right in the needed document. Here at Parallels, we practice this often—we love taking a MacBook® screenshot and sharing it with coworkers. It’s an easy and quick way to effectively communicate what we see on our end.
What to Do if Screen Capture on Mac Is Not Working
The shortcuts for screen capturing may not work for a few reasons. One of the most common ones: they are simply disabled.
To fix that, do the following:
From the Apple menu in the top left corner, open System Preferences and click on the Keyboard.
In the new window, click on Shortcuts.
Find Screen Shots in the left menu.
Check if the shortcuts are active and have the same key combos you type.
To change a shortcut, select it and click the new key combination.
If the shortcut is working but screenshots turn out blank, the reason is often copyright issues with the third-party application on the screen. To solve that, use the Parallels Toolbox application for screen capturing.