Grab the Perfect Screenshot

Being a blogger for MacApper gives me the chance to become skilled in the art of using Apple’s “Grab” feature. This mighty feature allows its controller to take screenshots of any part of the computer. With Leopard’s arrival, more interesting features have come to grab, assisting my fellow knowledgeable bloggers. We would like to share with you the shortcuts necessary in order to get the best screenshot possible from your Apple computer.

The basics of Grab are very simple, and it can be operated by knowing two keyboard shortcuts: Command+Shift+3 and Command+Shift+4. For one who needs a quick ’shot to send a friend, use Command+Shift+3. Command+Shift+3 takes an instant picture of the whole user’s visible screen and places the PNG image on the Desktop for easy sharing. These pictures can be uploaded to a web server, emailed, or even sent through iChat. Command+Shift+4 gives the user a little bit more flexibility with his or her screenshot. It changes the mouse into a cross hair giving the ability to select what makes it into the final picture. Just move the mouse to the starting position, click the mouse, and drag to the ending location. If you change your mind about taking the screenshot, just press the escape key. The escape key will cancel the screenshot any time between the pressing of the shortcut and the actual taking of the screenshot. As an added bonus, press Command+Shift+3/4 in order for your screen capture to be copied directly to the clipboard and not your desktop.

Many times, one just needs a screen grab of one window on their screen. It would be a bit excessive to take a picture of the whole screen, and using plain Command+Shift+4 would create a distracting border around the window. After pressing Command+Option+Shift+4, press Space for “Window Capture Mode.” Your mouse will become a camera that allows you to select the window you want. As an added bonus, you can use the camera to take a picture of dock icons, the menubar, and even desktop icons.

For those who wish to take screen capturing to the next level, you may use these “secret” modifier keys. These modifiers can only be used while one has pressed Command+Shift+4 and begun selecting the area he wishes to capture. If you have the perfect size selection for your snapshot, press and hold the Space bar to keep the selection size but move it to different areas of the screen. Holding down the Shift key in place of the Space bar will lock either the vertical or horizontal component of your already-selected snapshot area. This can be handy in scenarios where one has the correct height of his soon-to-be snapshot chosen, but not the width. Additionally, the Option key can be held after one has pressed Command+Shift+4 to cause the selection area to resize from the center of the area. Lastly, holding down Shift/Option+Space causes Shift’s or Option’s effect to occur while adding in the Space’s function of moving the selection box around the screen.

Mastering these controls can allow any user to take flawless screenshots to share with the world. Please share with me in the comments how you use these functions on your Mac.