Screenshot Basics

One of the coolest features of a Mac is the ability to take a screenshot. Many of you know how to take an image of part of your screen and paste it into an application but there's more under the hood to discover.

• If you press Shift + Control + Apple (command) + 4 you get a set of cross hairs which allows you to select part of the screen. That image is put on your Clipboard so that the next time you paste it will get pasted into an email, document, or wherever you want it to reside.
• Did you know that if you press Shift + Apple (command) + 4 you get the cross hairs too but the area that you select will end up as an image on your Desktop automatically? No need to paste. No you can save it, drag it around, or open it to view it more closely.
• Further, if you press Shift + Control + Apple (command) + 3 then the entire screen will be copied and put on the Clipboard so you can paste it where you want it.
• Finally, if you press Shift + Apple (command) + 3 then your screen will be copied and dropped onto your Desktop as an image. This is helpful if you want to quickly save something that you've seen on a web site.

A few items more...if you get the cross hairs and mess up when you drag or decide you want to start over just press ESC and you'll be back to the regular mouse icon. Also, if you have your sound up you'll hear an audible camera-click to let you know the picture was taken.