Every Mac screenshot shortcut, plus how to annotate and redact them fast
The five shortcuts worth memorising, the hidden settings that change where screenshots go, and how to blur sensitive details properly before you share.
3 min read
Screenshots are how most of us explain things now — a bug report, a design note, a "this button, here". macOS has a surprisingly capable screenshot system, but most people only ever learn one shortcut. Here is the whole set, the settings worth changing, and how to mark up and redact a capture before you send it.
The five shortcuts worth memorising
| Shortcut | What it captures |
|---|---|
| ⌘ ⇧ 3 | The entire screen (each display saved as its own file) |
| ⌘ ⇧ 4 | An area you drag to select |
| ⌘ ⇧ 4, then Space | A single window, with its shadow |
| ⌘ ⇧ 5 | The screenshot toolbar: every mode, screen recording and options |
| Add Control to any of the above | Copy to the clipboard instead of saving a file |
The Control trick is the one that changes your day. ⌘ ⌃ ⇧ 4 copies a selected area straight to the clipboard, ready to paste into Slack, an email or a ticket — no stray files on the desktop.
Selection tricks while dragging
- Hold Space while dragging to move the whole selection.
- Hold Shift to lock the width or height.
- Hold Option to resize from the centre.
- Press Esc to cancel.
When capturing a window, hold Option as you click to leave out the drop shadow.
Settings worth changing
Press ⌘ ⇧ 5 and open Options to:
- Change where screenshots are saved — Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview or any folder.
- Set a timer of 5 or 10 seconds, for capturing menus and hover states.
- Show or hide the floating thumbnail in the corner after each capture.
- Show the mouse pointer in captures.
Two more settings live in Terminal. To save screenshots as JPG instead of PNG:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
killall SystemUIServerTo turn off window shadows permanently:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
killall SystemUIServerAnnotating with Markup
Click the floating thumbnail right after a capture to open Markup: draw, add shapes and arrows, type text, add a signature, crop and rotate. It covers the basics well.
Where it runs out: no numbered step markers for walkthroughs, no one-click highlight or spotlight, no automatic detection of private details, and no way to keep a capture floating on screen while you work from it.
Copying text out of a screenshot
Since macOS Monterey, Live Text recognises text in images. Open a screenshot in Preview or Photos and select the text like a document, then copy it. It runs on your Mac.
Redacting the right way
Before you share a screenshot, check it for email addresses, API keys, customer names, card numbers and notification previews. Then redact properly:
- Use a solid block, not a light blur, for secrets. Mild blurring and pixelation can sometimes be partially reversed, especially on short text like numbers. A filled rectangle cannot.
- Crop rather than cover when the sensitive part is at the edge.
- Watch the whole image — browser tabs, the menu bar and the Dock all leak information.
A faster workflow: NabuShot (coming soon)
We are building NabuShot for people who take a lot of screenshots and want the whole loop — capture, annotate, redact, share — to take seconds:
- Area, window or screen from one shortcut, with pixel-precise selection and a magnifier.
- Annotate fast — arrows, boxes, highlights, text, numbered steps, rulers and backdrops, each one key away.
- Hide what is private — blur or pixelate by hand, or let it find emails, keys and card numbers for you.
- Copy the text out of any capture with on-device recognition.
- Pin and keep — float a shot above every window while you work, and find every past capture in the library.
- Share your way — copy, drag, save or hand off to any app. Nothing is ever uploaded.
Start with one habit: ⌘ ⌃ ⇧ 4 for everything you are about to paste somewhere. It is the single fastest upgrade to how you share what is on your screen.
