# How to include the mouse pointer in a Mac screenshot > Open the Screenshot toolbar with Shift, Command and 5, click Options and turn on Show Mouse Pointer. Where Apple documents it and what it changes. Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-with-cursor-on-mac/ Last updated: 2026-11-04 Published 2026-11-04. To include the mouse pointer in a Mac screenshot, press `Shift-Command-5`, click **Options** and choose **Show Mouse Pointer** so it has a tick. Apple's Mac User Guide for macOS 15 and 26 lists this option, checked on 4 November 2026. The option decides whether the pointer appears in the capture. ## Steps 1. Press `Shift-Command-5`. The toolbar appears. 2. Click **Options**. 3. Click **Show Mouse Pointer** to turn it on. Click it again to turn it off. 4. Choose a capture tool and click **Capture**. The setting stays on until you change it. Open **Options** and check it whenever the pointer is missing or showing when you do not want it. ## Clicks as well as the pointer Apple's recording article says you can show mouse clicks in **Options** when you record the screen. The Mac User Guide for macOS 15 and 26 does not list a separate clicks item for screenshots. Look in **Options** on your Mac to see what your version offers. Read [how to record the screen on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/record-screen-on-mac/) for recordings. ## Version differences The macOS 13 and 14 guides describe showing the mouse pointer or clicks in Options. The macOS 15 and 26 guides name **Show Mouse Pointer**. The shortcuts `Shift-Command-3` and `Shift-Command-4` do not have a documented switch for the pointer, so set the option in the toolbar first and then use either route. Apple's pages do not say whether the shortcuts follow this setting exactly the way the toolbar does. After you change it, take one shortcut screenshot and one toolbar screenshot and compare. That takes a minute and answers the question for your Mac. ## When you want the pointer to point at something A timer helps. Under **Options**, set a **Timer**, start the capture, then move the pointer to what you want to show. Apple describes the timer as a delay before capture begins. ## Related steps For menus, where the pointer is often wanted, read [how to screenshot a menu on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-a-menu-on-mac/). For the basic shortcuts, read [how to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/). NotchStar's [Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/) shows whatever macOS captured, with or without the pointer, under the notch. ## 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. - [How to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/): Press Shift, Command and 3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. Steps checked against Apple's guides for macOS 13 to 26. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sequoia](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-sequoia/): Take screenshots and recordings on macOS Sequoia 15: shortcuts, the Screenshot toolbar, every Options menu item and where the files go. - [How to screenshot a menu on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-a-menu-on-mac/): Open the menu, press Shift, Command and 4, then drag over the items. To capture the menu bar, press Shift, Command and 4, Space bar and click it. ## More in Screenshots. - [How to screenshot on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-screenshot-on-mac/): Press Shift, Command and 3 for the whole screen, 4 for a selection, 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. Steps checked against Apple's guides for macOS 13 to 26. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sonoma](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-sonoma/): Screenshot shortcuts and the Screenshot toolbar on macOS Sonoma 14, with the Options menu, the floating thumbnail and how to copy to the clipboard. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Sequoia](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-sequoia/): Take screenshots and recordings on macOS Sequoia 15: shortcuts, the Screenshot toolbar, every Options menu item and where the files go. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Tahoe 26](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-tahoe/): Screenshot shortcuts on macOS Tahoe 26 plus what is new: the HDR or SDR Capture Format and recording a selected window. Checked against Apple's guides. - [How to screenshot on a Mac running macOS Ventura](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/screenshot-on-mac-ventura/): Screenshot shortcuts and the Screenshot toolbar on macOS Ventura 13, with Options, the floating thumbnail, copying to the clipboard and recordings. - [Where Mac screenshots are saved](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/where-mac-screenshots-are-saved/): Mac screenshots made with the keyboard shortcuts are saved to the desktop by default. How the file is named, and how to find one that is not there.