BloomUpdated 23 October 2026 · 6 min read
The whole screen
Press ⇧ ⌘ 3. A thumbnail appears in the corner for a few seconds; click it to mark up the image, or ignore it and the screenshot is saved to your Desktop.
Part of the screen
Press ⇧ ⌘ 4, then drag to select an area. While dragging, hold Space to move the selection, or press Esc to cancel.
A single window
Press ⇧ ⌘ 4, then press Space. The pointer turns into a camera; click any window to capture just that window. Hold ⌥ while you click to leave out the window's shadow.
Straight to the clipboard
Add ⌃ to any of the shortcuts above, for example ⌃ ⇧ ⌘ 4. Nothing is saved; the image is copied so you can paste it into a message or document.
The Screenshot toolbar and screen recording
Press ⇧ ⌘ 5 to open the toolbar. From there you can capture the screen, a window or a selection, or record a video of the whole screen or part of it. Click Options to:
- Choose where screenshots are saved (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview or another folder).
- Set a 5 or 10 second timer.
- Turn the floating thumbnail on or off.
- Show the mouse pointer in screenshots and recordings.
To stop a recording, click the stop button in the menu bar.
Cheat sheet
- ⇧ ⌘ 3: whole screen
- ⇧ ⌘ 4: selection
- ⇧ ⌘ 4, then Space: a window
- ⇧ ⌘ 5: toolbar and recording
- Add ⌃: copy instead of save
One tap instead of three keys
Bloom has all three as built-in actions (Screenshot, Capture Area and Screenshot Bar), so you can take a screenshot from its floating menu without reaching for the keyboard. Put one on a double-click of the button and it's a single gesture.