Two Fuss-Free Ways to Crop a Screenshot on Mac

November 06, 2020Ashley Mae

Taking a screenshot on Mac is a great way for work, for archiving, for sending to tech support, or simply to memory an interesting moment that happens on your screen. When you get the screenshot, you may be caught in a pinch and wonder how to remove unwanted parts of your screenshot and focus on the important part of this image. So if you're looking to crop a screenshot on Mac and achieve that perfect crop, keep reading to find out how to do this on your Mac.

Part 1. How to Crop a Screenshot on Mac
Part 2. FAQs of Cropping a Screenshot on Mac

Recommendation: Best Way to Screenshot on Mac/Windows

Downloads

Screen Recorder – The Best Screen & Video Capture Software for Mac and Windows

Make screenshots of the entire screen or a specific region without any hassle.
Edit shortcuts using a colored pen, highlighter, callouts, etc.
Captured snapshots can be saved in PNG, GIF, and JPEG format.
Record video and audio from your desktop without quality losing.
Work on both Mac and Windows PC.

Free DownloadFor macOS

100% Secure. No Ads.

Free DownloadFor Windows

100% Secure. No Ads.

Part 1. How to Crop a Screenshot on Mac

There are two different methods to resize a screenshot on a Mac. Here we'll show you how to remove the unselected parts of the screenshot from view using Preview and Photos.

Crop a Screenshot Using Preview

Preview is the default application in macOS for image files, like JPG and PNG, and PDF files. Although it is mainly used to view various documents, it has some quite cool image editing features. Therefore, you can use the Preview app to crop your screenshots on Mac.

Here's how to crop a screenshot using the Preview app on a Mac:

Step 1.

Open the Preview program on your Mac. you can find it in the dock at the bottom of your screen, or find it in your Launchpad. Or you can open a Finder window, click on Applications, and then find Preview. This is what the Preview icon looks like:

Step 2.

When you open the Preview program, go to the File menu, select the Open… option in the menu bar, and then choose the snapshot that you wish to resize.

Step 3.

Click the Crop button on the Markup toolbar, and then drag the corners of the selection to resize it, or click and drag in the middle to move it.

Step 4.

When you're satisfied with the result, head to the Tools menu and click Crop. Or just press Cmd + K to delete everything outside the selection and crop your screenshot. Don't forget to save this file by clicking on the File menu and choosing Save or Save As when you're done.

Crop a Screenshot in the Photos App

Apart from using the Preview app, you can also use the Photos app to resize your shortcuts after taking screenshots on Mac. This tool is available for Mac users and you will simply need to update your Mac to any Mac OS X from Yosemite and later to use this stunning native app.

Step 1.

Open the Photos app and double-click the screenshot that you need to resize to get started.

Step 2.

Click the Edit button in the upper-right corner, then select Crop from the three tabs above the photo.

Step 3.

From the sidebar on the right, you can choose an aspect ratio. Then, click and drag the corners of your shortcut to select the region you want to save. If you choose the wrong region, you can undo any changes by heading to Edit > Revert to Original.

Step 4.

Next, click Done to save your cropped screenshot.

You can also use the Photos app for Mac to organize your photos, videos, memories, favorites, people, and more in a library.

Part 2. FAQs of Cropping a Screenshot on Mac

Can I use Photoshop to crop my screenshots on Mac?

Yes, Photoshop is an excellent image editor that allows you to crop the image with ease. But it is not the default application on Mac, you need to download and install it before using it to resize your shortcuts. The easiest way to crop a screenshot on Mac is to use the default application like Preview.

Where do screenshots go on Mac?

By default, Mac screenshots are saved automatically on your desktop with the name "Screen Shot [date] at [time].png." In macOS Mojave or later, you can change the default location of saved screenshots from the Options menu in the Screenshot app. You can also drag the thumbnail to a folder or document.

How do I copy a screenshot to the Clipboard?

To copy a screenshot to the Clipboard, press and hold the Control key while you take the screenshot. You can then paste the screenshot somewhere else. Or use Universal Clipboard to paste it on another Apple device.

Conclusion

With the inbuilt photo editing apps of Preview and Photos, you don't need to install a complicated image editing program to crop and resize screenshots on your Mac and you can easily get the image cropping job done. It's just a matter of knowing how to use them and you can start enjoying them for free.

What do you think of this post?