How to Take a Screenshot of Part of the Screen on Mac

macOS has screenshot shortcuts built in. No app needed.

Press Command + Shift + 4 and drag

Press Cmd + Shift + 4. The cursor turns into a crosshair. Click and drag over the area you want, then release. The screenshot saves to your Desktop as a PNG.

While dragging, hold Space to move the whole selection, or hold Shift to lock one edge.

Capture a single window

Press Cmd + Shift + 4, then press Space. The cursor becomes a camera. Click any window to capture just that window, including its shadow. Hold Option while clicking to leave the shadow out.

Copy to the clipboard instead of saving

Add Control to any shortcut: Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4. The screenshot goes to your clipboard instead of the Desktop, so you can paste it straight into a message or document with Cmd + V.

Change where screenshots are saved

Press Cmd + Shift + 5 to open the screenshot toolbar. Click Options, then pick a location under Save to. This also lets you set a timer and choose whether to show the mouse pointer.

Full screen. If you want everything, Cmd + Shift + 3 captures all displays at once.