How to screenshot a menu on a Mac

To screenshot a menu on a Mac, open the menu, press Shift-Command-4, then drag a box over the menu and its items. Apple lists this in its Mac User Guide for macOS 13, 14, 15 and 26, checked on 4 November 2026. A menu closes if you click elsewhere, so the order matters.

Steps

1. Open the menu you want, for example a menu in the menu bar. Leave it open.
2. Press Shift-Command-4. The pointer turns into a crosshair.
3. Drag from one corner to the opposite corner of the menu and its items.
4. Let go to take the screenshot.

If you drag the wrong area, press Esc and try again.

The menu bar

Apple’s guide also lists “Window or menu bar”: press Shift-Command-4, press Space bar, then click the highlighted window or menu bar. Use this to capture the whole menu bar in one go.

If the menu closes

Some menus close when you press keys or when the pointer leaves them. Use the Screenshot toolbar to give yourself time:

1. Press Shift-Command-5.
2. Click Options and set a Timer.
3. Choose the tool for a portion of the screen and adjust the frame over where the menu will be.
4. Click Capture, then open the menu before the timer runs out.

Apple describes the timer as a delay before capture begins. Apple’s pages do not say that every menu stays open while you use the shortcut, so if a particular menu closes, the timer method is the next thing to try.

Copy it instead

Hold Control too: Control-Shift-Command-4. The image goes to the clipboard and you can paste it with Command-V. See screenshot to the clipboard on a Mac.

The mouse pointer

If you want the pointer in the image, use the Show Mouse Pointer option. See screenshot with the cursor on a Mac.

Related

To capture a whole window, read how to screenshot a window on a Mac. To select any area, read screenshot part of the screen.

NotchStar’s Screenshot Tray holds the finished capture under the notch for you to drag into a note or a message.