How to take a screenshot in OSX

For OSX users, there are many hidden gems inside the utilities folder and one of these such gems is “Grab”. Grab is a built-in utility for capturing screenshots. Grab is pretty simple to use and even let’s you choose to include the cursor in the screenshot (you have to choose a cursor style in Grab’s Preferences before it can be included in the screenshot). Grab has 4 different capture modes: Selection, Window, Screen, and Timed Screen. To capture with Grab, you first must launch the program (found in your Utilities folder under the Applications folder).

Next is to choose which capture mode you wish to use.



Choosing “Selection” will present you with the option you draw a box around an area you choose to capture, opening a preview once release the touchpad (or mouse). No cursor displayed in this mode.
Choosing “Window” will give you the option of choosing which application window you choose to capture. Simply click on the application’s window you choose to capture and if you selected a cursor in the preferences, it will be displayed wherever you click in that window.
Choosing “Screen” will allow you to capture the entire desktop and possibly the cursor wherever you click it.
Choosing “Timed Screen” will allow you around ten seconds to prepare the desktop for how you want it captured. Simply hit "Start Timer" and set up the shot, Grab will automatically capture when the time elapses.
NOTE: Grab saves screenshots in TIFF format

*Alternatively, you can also capture screenshots without Grab through keyboard combinations.

Pressing Command+Shift+3 will take a screenshot of your entire desktop.

Pressing Command+Shift+4 will allow you to take a screenshot of an area you designate. After pressing the combination of buttons, you will presented with a cross-hair which you can drag across the area you wish to capture. The screenshot is captured when you release the touchpad (or mouse).

Pressing Command+Shift+4 followed by the Spacebar will allow you to take a screenshot of a specific application. After pressing the combination of buttons, cursor will change to a camera, which you can then move around the screen to select the application window you want. Once the window you choose is highlighted, simply click in that window and the screenshot is captured.

Note: The keyboard combo methods result in a PNG file saved on your desktop. Should you need the screenshot copied to the clipboard instead, simply add the Control key to the combination. An example being Command+Control+Shift+4 will allow you to select and capture an area you designate but will not create a PNG file and instead copy the screenshot to the clipboard.

Credit to About.com for keyboard shortcuts.