How to include the mouse pointer in a Mac screenshot
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
- Press
Shift-Command-5. The toolbar appears. - Click Options.
- Click Show Mouse Pointer to turn it on. Click it again to turn it off.
- 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 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. For the basic shortcuts, read how to screenshot on a Mac.
NotchStar’s Screenshot Tray shows whatever macOS captured, with or without the pointer, under the notch.
