How to crop a screenshot on a Mac
The neatest crop is the one you never need: capture just the part you want. When you already have a screenshot, crop it in the Mac's Markup or Preview, or in EasyShoot with fixed ratios and an exact size.
Steps
- Open the screenshotCapture with Option-Shift-Command-4 and click the thumbnail, or open one you already have with Open Image… in the EasyShoot menu.
- Press CA frame appears around the picture, and the crop bar appears under the toolbar.
- Drag the frameDrag its edges or corners in to the part you want to keep. For a fixed shape, pick 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:10, 16:9 or 9:16 in the crop bar.
- ApplyPress Return or click Apply. You can press C again later to change it.
- Set the size and shareIn the Export tab, resize by percent or to an exact width. Then press Shift-Command-C to copy or Command-S to save.
Crop with the Mac's own tools
- Right after a screenshot: click the thumbnail in the corner of the screen, click the Crop button in Markup and drag the corners.
- In Preview: open the image, show the Markup toolbar, select the part to keep and click Crop.
Both are fine for a quick trim.
Crop before you capture
Option-Shift-Command-4 captures only the area you drag over, and Option-Shift-Command-5 captures one window without the rest of the screen. Either one often saves you the crop.
Crop, resize or both
Crop decides which part of the picture you keep. Resize, in the Export tab, decides how many pixels the exported image has. With a background on, the aspect ratio in the toolbar sets the shape of the whole image; see how to add a background to a screenshot.
Questions
How do I crop a screenshot to a square?
Press C, choose 1:1 in the crop bar, move the frame where you want it and press Return.
Can I undo a crop?
Yes. Press Command-Z, or press C again and click Reset to bring back the whole picture.
Does cropping lower the quality?
No. The part you keep stays at full resolution. Only Resize in the Export tab changes the pixel size.