How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sonoma
On macOS Sonoma 14, press Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen, Shift-Command-4 to select an area, or Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot tools. This page follows Apple’s Mac User Guide for macOS 14, checked on 4 November 2026.
Steps
- Press
Shift-Command-5. The page also says you can open Screenshot from Launchpad. - Choose a tool: capture the entire screen, capture a window, capture a portion of the screen, record the entire screen or record a portion of the screen.
- Click Options if you need a timer, want the mouse pointer or clicks to show, want to pick a save location or want to turn Show Floating Thumbnail on or off.
- Click Capture for the full screen or a portion. For a window, click the window. For a recording, click Record.
To skip the toolbar, use the shortcuts instead. Shift-Command-4 then Space bar turns the pointer into a camera so you can click a window or the menu bar. For a menu and its items, open the menu, press Shift-Command-4 and drag over them. Shift-Command-6 is the Touch Bar shortcut on Macs that have one.
After you capture
With Show Floating Thumbnail on, a thumbnail floats in the bottom right corner for a few seconds. Swipe right to save and dismiss it, drag it into a document, email, note or Finder window, or click it to mark it up or share it. The guide says shortcut captures go to the desktop, screenshots are .png files and recordings are .mov files. Names start with “Screenshot” or “Screen Recording” plus the date and time.
Copy instead of save
Add Control to any shortcut, for example Control-Shift-Command-3, and the image goes to the clipboard so you can paste it with Command-V. More in screenshot to the clipboard on a Mac.
What is different from other versions
The Sonoma page lists these Options: timer, mouse pointer or clicks, save location and Show Floating Thumbnail. It does not mention a capture format choice or a way to record just one window. Those appear in the macOS 26 page, covered in screenshots on macOS Tahoe. For the shared basics see how to screenshot on a Mac.
NotchStar’s Screenshot Tray is an optional extra. It collects each screenshot under the notch so you can drag it out. It needs no change to the steps above.
