Dec 25, 2024 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
There is no doubt that taking a screenshot on Mac is quite straightforward because Apple has given an easy way to do that. However, a lot of users have complained that they have encountered a screenshot not working on Mac problem. If you are also one of those users who are going through this same issue, then you might be looking for methods to fix it.
Well, you have come to the right place. Here, in this article, we have mentioned several ways you can try to come out of this problem without much hassle.
The term "Screenshot" is also known as a snapshot or screen capture, or print screen. It is a picture that shows the contents of your computer display. In simple words, it allows you to capture whatever you are seeing on your device screen. Once a screenshot is taken, you can save it as an image file where you can open it to edit.
At present, the screenshot feature is quite helpful and that's it is present in all electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and tablets. The feature is very useful in many situations, such as when you have to share the screen picture with others or to provide software reviews.
Well, you now got an idea about how to take a screenshot on Mac in the right way. But, if you still met with a screenshot not working on Mac problem, then try below methods that can probably help you to fix the issue with ease.
You can use the keyboard shortcut "Command + Shift + 3" to take a full-screen screenshot and shortcut "Command + Shift + 4" to capture selected area unless you've activated the screenshots shortcuts.
By default, the screenshot keyboard shortcuts are activated. But, it might be the case that you have configured the settings and don't remember at all. Thus, in this case, all you have to do is to check if the screenshot shortcut is active on your Mac.
Here are simple steps on how you can check:
Once you ensure keyboard shortcuts for screenshots on your Mac are active, try again to take a screenshot and see whether the problem is gone. If no, then don't be panic as you can try the following solutions to fix it.
Another thing you can try is simply restarting your Mac. Applications and programs won't work perfectly if you've not restarted your system for a long time. Thus, in such cases, a simple restart on Mac can probably fix the problem without many efforts. Luckily, many users have fixed the problem with this method and so, you must try it too.
There are three ways you can try to restart your Mac, which include:
After restarting your Mac, the problem should be fixed now. But, if not, then go for the next solutions to fix the screenshot not working on Mac issue.
There are also other ways to take a screenshot on Mac you might don't aware of them. So, instead of taking screenshots using keyboard shortcuts, use Grab to capture screen on your system. Grab is a pre-installed application for Mac OS X and macOS that allows you to take screenshots of the entire screen, the whole window, or only a specified area of your screen.
Here are the simple steps on how to use Grab utility to take screenshots on Mac:
As per your requirements, you can choose any one option and take a screenshot.
If you encounter a problem like a screenshot on Mac not working, then you can use Preview to capture screenshots. Well, Preview is nothing, but default utility that lets you open and modifies or edit images. Besides this, you can also take a screenshot on Mac using the Preview tool.
Here are simple steps on how to use Preview to screenshot on Mac:
NVRAM is a small amount of computer memory that stores basic information about the computer’s specific settings, such as time zone, display resolution, recent kernel panic information, etc.
If the screenshot is not working on Mac, resetting the NVRAM can help you solve this issue.
Sometimes, the application installed on your Mac can be the reason for the screenshot not working on your Mac. To test this, you can boot your Mac into safe mode and check whether the screenshot feature works.
The malware or virus can also cause the screenshot not working on Mac issue on your computer. In this case, you can run the anti-virus software to detect and remove the malware from your Mac.
By default, the screenshot you take on Mac will be saved on the desktop, so that you can find the file easily. But if you change the saving location accidentally, you won’t find the screenshot files on the desktop anymore. But that doesn’t mean the screenshot is not working on Mac. You can find the saving location of screenshots in this way:
You can also move the preference file to the desktop to check whether the screenshot on Mac works. Follow this:
If you’re using Dropbox, you need to change the settings so that the screenshots will be saved to Dropbox instead of on the desktop.
As you can see there are many alternatives to take a screenshot on Mac. Hopefully, the above methods help you to resolve the problem for you.
Before you go for a solution to fix the screenshot not working on Mac issue, you need to first learn how to take a screenshot on Mac in the right way. It might be the case that you are capturing your system screen using the wrong commands and that's why you met with this annoying problem.
To screen capture for a window on Man, you need to follow the below steps:
To capture the entire screen, follow the steps:
Follow the below steps to capture a part of your screen:
Follow the steps to capture a dropdown menu on Mac:
That's how you can take a screenshot on Mac. If the above steps didn't work to take and save a screenshot on your Mac, then check out the next section where we have mentioned some solutions that can fix the problem you're going through.
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View More >In some cases, although screenshots are saved by resolving the problem that screenshot not working on Mac, there are chances that you still lost them due to unknown reason. But, don't be panic if this situation happens to you because you still have a powerful method to recover your lost screenshots on your Mac. And that method is using Recoverit data recovery for Mac.
Luckily, Recoverit Data Recovery software is primarily designed to help those users who accidentally lost their files, such as photos, videos, audio, and documents. No matter how you lost your screenshots whether deleting by mistake, virus attack, or sudden power failure, the tool is powerful enough to work under numerous data loss scenarios.
Recovering media files with this tool takes a few minutes and three easy steps. In order to get back lost screenshots using Recoverit, you need to first download and install the software on your computer. Once you installed the software, follow the below steps:
To start with, run Recoverit. Now, you need to choose a hard drive location from where you have lost your screenshots and click the Start button.
Now, the program will start looking for lost files by performing a scan on your selected hard drive location. Here, it may take several minutes to complete the entire scan process.
Finally, preview the files and choose the desired files you want to get back after the scan is complete. And click on the "Recover" button to save recovered screenshots on your Mac.
So, you now know what you can do if you ever lost your important files on Mac. However, while you are saving recovered screenshots on Mac, don't save them to the location from where they get lost.
Hopefully, the problem screenshot not working on Mac is fixed for you with the help of the above-mentioned methods. However, here are some more tips and tricks you can try to avoid facing the same problem again in the future.
The problem that screenshot not working on Mac can be easily resolved if you know the right solutions for this. Luckily, here we have listed all probable methods that can help you to fix the issue with ease. Plus, if you ever end up losing your important screenshots on Mac, then we have also provided the solution to this problem too. It is Recoverit data recovery for Mac. With the help of this tool, you can easily rescue your lost screenshots.
Why is my screenshot not working on my Mac?
How can I fix the issue of my Mac not capturing screenshots?
Why is my Mac only capturing a black screen in screenshots?
How can I change the default screenshot save location on my Mac?
Can I capture a specific portion of the screen on my Mac?
Sue Wayne
staff Editor