There are a few methods to take screenshots on Mac: you possibly can seize a picture of your complete display screen, of a specific space, or of an open app window. The final one appears to be like nice as a result of it provides a fantastic drop shadow.
Generally, nonetheless, you don’t need the drop shadow to be added. Possibly you’re utilizing a screenshot in a presentation or wish to modify the screenshot in some way.
The excellent news is you possibly can take a screenshot with out a shadow. I’ll present all of the choices to take a Mac screenshot with out a drop shadow.
| I wish to | Do that |
|---|---|
| Take away a drop shadow on window screenshots | Use Almighty to disable drop shadow mechanically, or maintain the Choice key earlier than capturing a screenshot. |
| Take away shadow completely | Run Terminal command defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true to disable it |
| Keep away from shadow briefly | Press Shift + Command + 4 (chosen space). |
| Take away shadow after screenshot | Crop in Preview or in Capto with superior enhancing options included. |
| Take scrolling screenshots | Use Capto or one other third-party app. |
Fast option to screenshot with out the drop shadow
If you wish to take window screenshots with out drop shadows on a regular basis, the quickest approach to take action is to take away Mac screenshot drop shadows by an app like Almighty.
Almighty is a set of workflow and motion presets that might be activated with a simple swap fairly than intricate Terminal instructions or System Settings configurations. Something you need your Mac to do, from hiding Dock icons to visualizing keystrokes to eliminating drop shadows, will be carried out right here by a user-friendly menu.
To take away the drop shadow on screenshots utilizing Almighty:
- Set up and open Almighty.
- Click on Screenshot within the sidebar.
- Activate Disable Screenshot Shadow.
Right here’s how the screenshot appears to be like with the shadow:
And right here’s with out the shadow as soon as the disable function is on:
How you can eliminate the screenshot drop shadow with native macOS choices
As to the native macOS choices, you need to use the Choice key, write a Terminal command, swap to chose space screenshots, or modify the picture utilizing a photo-editing app.
Add or take away the drop shadow utilizing the Choice key
The usual keyboard shortcut for taking a screenshot of an app window screenshot on Mac is Shift + Command + 5.
To take away the drop shadow on screenshots, begin utilizing the shortcut as common, however earlier than taking an image, press and maintain the Choice key. That’s it, now your screenshot must be saved with no shadows in any respect.
In the event you can’t take a screenshot, test the troubleshooting information on screenshot on Mac not working.
Take away Mac screenshot shadows utilizing Terminal
Energy Mac customers know that nearly something that you simply wish to do on a Mac will be carried out by way of Terminal as properly. The issue is that the majority Terminal instructions are complicated for everybody however programmers, and that making a mistake may cause unpredictable adjustments.
Nevertheless, in case you enter the next Terminal command fastidiously, you may take away Mac screenshot drop shadows:
- Open Terminal from Finder > Purposes > Utilities.
- Kind defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true > Press Return.
- Kind killall SystemUIServer > Press Return.
System UI in your Mac will restart, and now your app window screenshots received’t have a drop shadow by default.
WordTo reverse the change sooner or later, repeat the method, however for the primary command, kind defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool false after which press Return. |
Alternative routes to take away drop shadows from Mac screenshots
One other easy option to keep away from drop shadows in screenshots on Mac is to easily take chosen space screenshots.
Press the Shift + Command + 4 shortcut and drag together with your cursor to outline the world you wish to seize. This fashion, you possibly can body any app window as properly, however the ensuing picture will not have any shadows.
Your ultimate possibility for a Mac screenshot with out a drop shadow is to take away it in post-production, that means use a photo-editing app with crop performance. The app you employ doesn’t need to be fancy — even Preview, which is put in on all Macs by default, would do.
Utilizing Preview to take away the drop shadow
To take away screenshot borders with Preview:
- Open your screenshot in Preview.
- Drag to pick out the app window within the screenshot with out the shadow
- Click on Instruments within the menu bar > Crop.
The cropped picture will look in Preview like this:
Utilizing Capto to take away the drop shadow
Capto is a extra skilled picture and video editor for Mac and makes eradicating drop shadows even simpler, moreover including extra choices for different results.
To take away Mac screenshot drop shadows with Capto:
- Set up and open Capto.
- Drag and drop your screenshot onto the app.
- Use the Crop software positioned within the sidebar to outline the crop space.
- Click on Crop and save the ensuing picture.
As an editor, Capto also can assist you document and modify movies in addition to audio tracks. It’s a terrific go-to display screen document and picture seize software with a built-in editor.
macOS 15 screenshot enhancements
macOS 15 Sequoia has launched higher methods to take screenshots on Macs. The 2 most noteworthy options added to the Screenshot app are the next.
The Fast Crop function
macOS 15 Sequoia launched Fast Crop within the Screenshot app — a quicker option to crop screenshots proper after you seize them. Take a screenshot, and a floating thumbnail will pop up within the backside proper of your display screen.
Click on the thumbnail to open the screenshot in a fast enhancing window the place you possibly can crop the picture earlier than saving it. So, you don’t must open any apto door for primary enhancing.
Modify the length of the floating thumbnail preview
By default, the floating thumbnail disappears after a couple of seconds, a length too temporary to behave rapidly for a lot of customers. The excellent news? macOS 15 customers can modify this timing utilizing Terminal.
Right here’s how to do that:
- Open Terminal in your Mac.
- Kind defaults write com.apple.screencaptureui thumbnailExpiration -float 30. Right here, 30 represents the length in seconds. You possibly can modify it as you want.
- Press Return.
- Kind killall SystemUIServer to restart the System UI Server > Press Return to use the adjustments instantly.
Taking Mac screenshots with out drop shadow [Final words]
As you possibly can see, you possibly can take a screenshot with out a shadow tremendous simply in case you change the default settings with Almighty or add the Choice key to your common shortcut. Altering the Terminal command and enhancing the ensuing picture in an app like Capto are additionally appropriate choices, relying in your wants.
Better of all, Almighty and Capto are each accessible to you totally free for seven days by the trial of Setapp, a platform with greater than 260 apps accessible for Mac and iOS. I already use instruments as BusyCal (for simple calendar scheduling) and Chronicle (for monitoring my bills) with out additional price.
FAQ
How can I modify screenshot settings on my Mac?
To alter screenshot settings on my Mac:
- Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
- Subsequent, click on on Choices to entry settings like Save To, Timer, Floating Thumbnail, and extra.
- Modify settings as most well-liked. In macOS, you can too modify the length of the floating thumbnail.
How do you get a crosshair on a MacBook?
To get a crosshair on a MacBook, press Shift + Command + 4, and your cursor will flip right into a crosshair. Click on and maintain the mouse and drag the crosshair to pick out the world to seize. Launch the mouse to seize the screenshot.
How do I markup a screenshot on Mac?
To markup a screenshot on Mac, take the screenshot and click on the floating thumbnail. Your screenshot will open in Markup Preview, the place you possibly can add shapes and textual content containers, modify colours, draw or sketch, and even add signatures to your screenshot.
How you can take a scrolling screenshot on Mac?
MacBooks don’t natively assist scrolling screenshots. However you need to use third-party apps like Capto to seize scrolling screenshots on the click on of a button.
