# Does NotchStar take screenshots, or only hold them

> No. The NotchStar Screenshot Tray does not capture, record or edit anything. You take screenshots with macOS, and the tray holds them so you can send them.

Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/does-notchstar-take-screenshots/
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Published 2026-11-04.

NotchStar does not take screenshots. The Screenshot Tray is a place where screenshots wait after you take them with macOS. There is no capture button, no recording, no scrolling capture and no markup in it. If you want a different way to capture, you need a separate tool.

## What does the capturing

macOS does. Apple's shortcuts, checked 4 November 2026 on Apple's Take a screenshot on Mac page:

- Shift Command 3 captures the whole screen.
- Shift Command 4 captures a selected area. Press Space after it to capture a window.
- Shift Command 5 opens the Screenshot toolbar with timers, save location and recording.

NotchStar sees the file that macOS saves and shows it under the notch.

## What the tray adds

- A bigger thumbnail than the corner preview, held for five minutes.
- Up to 12 at once.
- Dragging into a chat, an email or a folder, one or several at a time.

## What it does not do

- It does not capture or record the screen, so it needs no Screen Recording permission. Read [permissions](https://www.notchstar.com/help/does-the-screenshot-tray-need-permissions/).
- It does not edit, crop, blur or annotate. Clicking a thumbnail opens the file in the app macOS uses for that image type.
- It is not a screenshot history. Leaving the tray keeps the file in your folder, but there is no gallery in NotchStar.

## Other apps do capture

Some notch and menu bar apps include their own capture. The comparison guide, [Mac screenshot tray apps compared](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/mac-screenshot-tray-apps/), lists them with prices as of 4 November 2026. The overview of NotchStar is on the [Screenshot Tray page](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/).

## Keep reading.

- [Screenshot Tray: your screenshots wait under the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/): Every screenshot lands in a tray under your Mac notch. Drag it into a chat, an email or a folder, or send several at once.
- [Mac screenshot tray apps compared: keep screenshots handy, drag them out](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/mac-screenshot-tray-apps/): Compare Mac apps that hold screenshots in a tray so you can drag them into chats, email or folders: notch, menu bar and edge trays, checked 4 November 2026.
- [How screenshots reach the NotchStar Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-screenshots-reach-the-notch-tray/): NotchStar watches the folder where macOS saves screenshots and hangs each new one under the notch. Here is what counts, what does not, and how fast.
- [NotchStar Screenshot Tray vs the macOS floating thumbnail](https://www.notchstar.com/help/screenshot-tray-vs-the-macos-floating-thumbnail/): The macOS floating thumbnail shows one capture for a few seconds. The NotchStar tray holds up to 12 for five minutes. Here is where each one wins.

## More in Screenshot Tray.

- [How screenshots reach the NotchStar Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-screenshots-reach-the-notch-tray/): NotchStar watches the folder where macOS saves screenshots and hangs each new one under the notch. Here is what counts, what does not, and how fast.
- [How long screenshots stay in the NotchStar tray](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-long-screenshots-stay-in-the-notch-tray/): The NotchStar Screenshot Tray holds the latest 12 screenshots and keeps each unused one for five minutes. Using a screenshot removes it sooner.
- [Drag a screenshot from the notch into a chat or email](https://www.notchstar.com/help/drag-a-screenshot-into-a-chat-or-email/): Press on a screenshot in the NotchStar tray, move a few points and drop it into a chat or an email. The app receives a copy of the file.
- [Drag a screenshot from the notch into a folder](https://www.notchstar.com/help/drag-a-screenshot-from-the-notch-into-a-folder/): Drop a NotchStar tray screenshot on a Finder folder to put the file there. Finder decides whether it moves or copies, and the tray entry goes away.
- [Send several screenshots at once from the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/help/send-several-screenshots-at-once/): Take a few screenshots, pick the ones you want and drag them into a chat together. NotchStar carries all picked files in one drag.
- [Pick several screenshots in the notch with Command click](https://www.notchstar.com/help/pick-several-screenshots-with-command-click/): Hold Command and click screenshots in the NotchStar tray to pick them. A drag from any picked one then carries all of them.