How to Record Your Mac's Screen Using Shift + Command + 5

If you want to record what's on your Mac's screen, you'll need to use Shift + Command + 5 – this gives you full control of everything, including what you want to record, based on open applications and windows, as well as full access to Mac's Snipping Tool for capturing images of what's being displayed on your screen. In here, you can select a specific area to snip, record what's on your screen, and even set a timer for recording videos.

When you select Shift + Command + 5, it will bring up the Snipping Tool control panel. This method for snipping on Mac is the most advanced and gives you the most options. From here, you can then edit the image to highlight certain points or windows/apps contained inside the image.

You'll also notice that there are additional methods for activating and using the snipping tool on Mac. These include:

* Shift + Command + 3 – this one will quickly take a screenshot of your entire screen, think of it as the Mac's answer to Print Screen.

* Shift + Command + 4 – this method allows you to capture a specific area of your screen by dragging your mouse around the desired area.

These methods are all useful in their own way, but if you just want to capture screenshots on your Mac, you're best using the SHIFT + COMMAND + 4 method. Just follow these steps: on your keyboard simply press and hold SHIFT + COMMAND + 4. This will switch your mouse cursor into a capture tool.

It allows for the greatest degree of accuracy and is the simplest to remember – it is also the least fiddly by a long shot. Out of all the methods for snipping on Mac, my preferred method, meaning, the one I use about 10 times a day, is the standard snipping/screengrab tool.

In order to use the snipping tool on Mac, you will first need to know how to activate it. There are a few ways to do this, and they all involve learning some simple keyboard commands – don't worry, they're really easy to remember.

Overall, the snipping tool on Mac is basically a way to do a screengrab – or a screenshot if you will. Whether you're running an iMac or a MacBook, or an Intel or an M1 Mac, the snipping tool works exactly the same – here's how to use it...

Mac snip