It has been more than 3 months since I got my mac book pro and still not very comfortable in taking screen shots. Every time I tend to get confuse with the key combination on Mac OS X. Accomplishing the same on MS Windows is way too simple with the click of a simple ‘Print Scrn’ for whole screen while ‘Alt’ key with ‘Print Scrn’ was for capturing the current window. This is one area where Apple can really improve the usability. May be providing a simple function key similar to ‘Print Scrn’ would help to a great extent. For the benefit of all those who have been struggling with taking screen shots on Mac OS, here is a comprehensive set of available options that you can use for taking screen shots.
| Key Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Command+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard |
If there are any such tips and tricks for Mac OS, feel free to share 🙂
Prasada Martala says
Thanks Mohan.
In the beginning, I used to have little difficulty with Mac shortcuts. As you said, it is personal preference and you do not need to worry about “blue screen of death” while you are on a Mac.
Prasada Martala says
Mac controlling keystrokes
• cmd+e = eject media (only useful during/after start up chime)
• cmd+opt+eject = sleep
• cmd+ctrl+eject = graceful restart
• cmd+opt+ctrl+eject = graceful shutdown
• cmd+ctrl+power = immediate restart (dangerous, should only be used if your system is frozen though we know how rare that is)
These and many more commands can be found at http://iboughtamac.com/2007/01/13/useful-keyboard-shortcuts-in-os-x/
Another useful productivity tool for Mac is “QuickSilver”
Mohan says
Hi Prasad, thanks for sharing all these shortcut keys! Appreciate for bringing in more info.
Tech Guru says
Hey i used mac “Leopard” for 6months when i was in US, but some how i did not liked it because i found some limitations as availability of needed software’s are in bleak for mac, and its my opinion and no hard feelings, and i worked on Linux variants, Windows family of OS and on few occasions on mac.
Mohan says
After all there is something called personal preference! Doesn’t matter which machine/OS one uses as long as productivity increases 🙂
Manjunath says
Hmmmm………… this remembers me the Dog Fight video between Mac and PC but at last MAC wins weird though 😉
Tech Guru says
I don’t know why people are so lame and always jealous of Microsoft Domination, I bet there wasn’t Much fun if it isnt was the Microsoft and the Windows.
Only Business class people who use there computer for presentation and browsing emails use MAC because of its SLIM’ ness to carry and Glossy UI but when it comes to real world applications MAC cant handle a niche applications like windows.
Windows are for Tech Professionals and MAC is for Business class who use spreadsheets, ppts, browsing and other applications that requires less computing
Mohan says
I don’t think you have ever worked on Mac. All you have mentioned is exactly contrasts to that of reality. If a persons work is more on unix environment, you can’t even imagine the power of Mac! Each OS has its own pros and cons. I have been working on windows all these years… but after shifting to mac, I can say without any hesitation that there is no comparison between windows and mac when it comes to performance.
Madhu Rao says
Wow! Your company gave you a Mac-Pro as your work laptop ? Lucky guy ! Mine doles out crappy age old IBM Thinkpads that dinosaurs crapped on. And the blue screen of death is a weekly feature — we feel to bad if that damn SOB does not rear his head once a week.. 🙂
Mohan says
Yup.. 🙂 That was funny way of expressing your anguish on Windows and the IBM hardware!
Chirantan says
That was useful info Mohan. Even I am getting used to my new mac book pro. Is there any way to lock the screen while moving away from desk?
Mohan says
Yes! Save the below mentioned code in a .sh file and run it everytime you want to lock your screen 🙂
/System/Library/CoreServices/"Menu Extras"/User.menu/Contents/Resources/CGSession -suspend