If you need to take a screenshot on your Mac but you don't have a working keyboard or you prefer to simply use a mouse, you can easily use a mouse to trigger a screenshot. That's how.
The strategy: start the screenshot app with a mouse
As usual, I would press a keyboard combination like Command + Shift + 3 to take a screenshot on a Mac. But if your keyboard is not working properly or is disconnected, or if you just want to use a mouse, there are alternatives to do that that do not require a keyboard.
In our guide below, we'll use macOS's built-in screenshot app, that generally lives in ~/Applications/Utilities.
RELATED: How to take a screenshot on a Mac
How to take a Mac screenshot without a keyboard
If you want to activate a Mac screenshot without using your keyboard, you will first need to focus on Finder by clicking on its icon in your Dock.
In the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen, click on “Ir”, then select “Applications” of the list.
When the folder opens “Applications”, double-click the folder “Utilities”.
In the folder “Utilities”, double-click the application icon “Screenshot” to start it.
Tip: You can also start the Screenshot application by clicking Launchpad in the Dock, selecting the group “Other” and then selecting the Screenshot app.
When the Screenshot application opens, you will see a small toolbar appear near the bottom of the screen. With this toolbar, you can set the Screenshot app to take a screenshot of the whole screen, the selected window or a selected part of the screen. You can also click on the menu “Choices” and set a timer, among other configurations. You can change any of these settings with the mouse; no keyboard needed.
Once you have the settings the way you want, Click the button “Capture”.
A screenshot will be saved to the desired location (the default save location is the desktop). After taking the screenshot, the toolbar will disappear, so if you want to take another shot, you will need to start the Screenshot application again.
Tip: If you want to quickly launch Screenshot application with mouse in future, you can drag its icon to your Dock from the Applications folder / Utilities. It's only one click away.
Another way to take a screenshot without a keyboard
You can also take a screenshot with the Preview application. Just launch the app using the Finder method “Ir”> “Applications” (seen above), o using Launchpad. When Preview opens, click on the menu “File” and select “Take screenshot”. Tell your apps to say cheese!
RELATED: Use your Mac's preview app to crop, resize, rotate and edit images
