MacTip: Taking Screenshots with Mac OS X

Mac OS X includes a number of key combinations which allow you to take screen shots. The available options are as follows:

Key Combination	Result
Command+Shift+3	Capture entire screen and save as a file on the desktop.
Command+Control+Shift+3	Capture entire screen and copy to the clipboard.
Command+Shift+4	Capture dragged area and save as a file on the desktop.
Command+Control+Shift+4	Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard.
Command+Shift+4 then Space bar	Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file on the desktop.
Command+Control+Shift+4 then Space bar	Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard.

With OS X Leopard, the files are saved as PNG files. With the clipboard option, you can save the image to a graphics tool, or use Preview and select File -> New Image from Clipboard.