Screenshots Management - How to Crop a Screenshot on Mac

Taking a screenshot on your Mac is a common operation, you might need to create an infographic to share information, or you might want to show your friend a page design. For no matter what reason, it is necessary for you to know how to manage screenshots on Mac, like how to take a screenshot, and how to crop a screenshot. And that's what we will talk about in this article.

Deleted Recovery:

How to Take a Screenshot on Mac

Like on a Windows computer, you can use keyboard shortcuts to manage screenshots on Mac. There are several combinations you can use.

Command + Shift + 3: Full-screen screenshot. Captures the entire screen.

Command + Shift + 4: Area screenshot. The mouse cursor will turn to a small cross with coordinates.

Command + Shift + 4 - Space - Click on the specific window: Window screenshot. After the small cross cursor appears, press the space bar on the specified window, the mouse cursor will become a camera, and then click to capture the chosen window.

The above three shortcuts cover the basic screenshot scenarios. You can choose the proper shortcut to take a screenshot on Mac. Also, generally, all screenshots will be saved to the desktop. Or you can change the default screenshot saving path.

How to Crop a Screenshot on Mac

When you need to crop a screenshot, you have two choices. The first is to use the area screenshot shortcut, and the other is to use the picture manage tool, no matter a built-in or third-party one.

1. Crop a Screenshot using Shortcut

The reason why you want to crop a screenshot may be that you don’t need to use the whole screen picture. In this case, when taking a screenshot, use the Command + Shift + 4 shortcut. You will see the mouse cursor become a small cross with changing coordinates. Select the part you need, and you can check the screenshot on the desktop.

2. Edit after Taking a Screenshot

When taking a screenshot, before saving the image to the desktop, there will be a thumbnail displayed at the right corner. You can click the thumbnail to edit the screenshot. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Click the thumbnail at the corner.

Step 2. When opening the thumbnail, there would display an edit bar at the top. Click the Crop button.

Step 3. Now you can drag the mouse cursor to crop the screenshot.

Step 4. Click "Done", and you can check the edited screenshot on the desktop.

3. Use Preview to Crop a Screenshot

If you don't click the thumbnail, click the saved screenshot on the desktop to preview it. In the Preview window, you can edit the screenshot.

Step 1. Open the target screenshot in Preview.

Step 2. Click the "Show Markup Toolbar" button. And ensure that Rectangular Selection is selected.

Step 3. Select the area you need.

Bonus Tip: Recover Permanently Deleted Photos on Mac

If you need to recover some permanently deleted photos, data recovery software is a good choice. Here we recommend EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. It is designed for Mac users to recover lost files on external storage devices like SD cards, HDDs, or SSDs.

Step 1. Scan for lost photos

Select the location where your valuable photos were lost and click the "Search for lost files" button.

Step 2. Select wanted photos

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately start a scan on your selected disk volume. Meanwhile, the scanning results will be presented in the left pane. By Path and Type, you can quickly filter the photos you've lost earlier.

Step 3. Recover lost photos

Select the target photos and click the "Recover" button to get them back at once.