How To Take A Scrolling Screenshot On Mac

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Want to capture entire web pages or documents in a single scrolling screenshot on your Mac? This article covers native and third-party methods to take long screenshots without fragmentation.

Top Native Ways To Take Scrolling Screenshots

You probably know about the trusty old Shift + Command + 3 and 4 keyboard shortcut that lets you capture your screen or a part of it. But what if you must capture something beyond your screen’s limits?

Fear not, my friend! There are several ways of taking scrolling screenshots on Mac, so let’s walk through them.

1. QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a multimedia player and screen recording software application developed by Apple Inc. It also includes basic editing features, such as trimming and merging video files, and the ability to record entire screen button of your Mac.

Here are the steps to take a scrolling screenshot using QuickTime Player:

1. Open QuickTime Player from the Applications folder or search for it in Spotlight.
2. Click File in the menu bar and select New Screen Recording.

3. Click the drop-down arrow next to the record button and select None under the microphone option.
4. Click on the red record button and select the area of the screen you want to capture.
5. Once you have selected the area, click the Start Recording button to start screen recording.
6. Scroll through the page or document you want to capture.

7. Once you have reached the end of the page, click on the stop button in the menu bar.
8. The recording will automatically be saved as a .mov file. To save it as an image file, open it in Preview and select File, followed by Export. Choose the desired image format and save it.

2. Safari

Safari is not just a web browser but also allows you to take scrolling screenshots. This method is especially useful for capturing entire web pages beyond the visible area.

1. Open Safari and navigate to the web page you want to capture.
2. Press the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + 5 to open the Screenshot tool.
3. In the Screenshot tool, click the Options button and select Capture Entire Page from the drop-down menu.
4. Click the Capture button to start the scrolling screenshot capture process.
5. Safari will automatically screen scroll through the web page and capture the entire page length of the browser window.
6. Once the capture process is complete, the screenshot will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen.
7. Click the screenshot preview to open it, then use the editing tools to make any necessary adjustments or annotations.
8. Save the scrolling screenshot to your desired location by clicking on the Save button in the top right corner of the screenshot preview window.

3. Chrome

This method is easy and useful if you need to take a scrolling screenshot of a web page in Chrome. However, it requires you to install a third-party extension, Full Page Screen Capture, which may be better for some users. If you don’t have any issues with it, Here are the steps:

1. Open Google Chrome on your Mac and go to the Chrome Web Store.
2. Search for Full Page Screen Capture and click Add to Chrome to install the extension.

3. Navigate to the web page you want to take a scrolling screenshot of.
4. Click on the Full Page Screen Capture icon in the toolbar.
5. The extension will automatically start capturing the entire webpage, and you will see a scrolling screenshot preview.

6. Once the capture is complete, you can save the screenshot to your computer or share it directly.

4. Preview

Preview is a built-in app on Mac that allows you to view and edit images and PDFs. It also can capture screenshots. Here are the steps to take a scrolling screenshot using Preview:

1. Open Preview from the Applications folder or Spotlight search.
2. Go to File > Take Screenshot> From Entire Page.

3. Preview will then automatically take the screenshot and display it for you to edit or save.

You can then edit or annotate the screenshot and save it in your desired format.

Top 3 Third-Party Apps For Scrolling Screenshots

There are several apps available that allow you to take scrolling screenshots. But the three we recommend below are the best and safest ones for Macs. On top of that, they offer some extra features too.

1. Snagit 

Snagit is a powerful third-party app that captures scrolling screenshots, videos, and audio. It is a paid app with a one-time purchase price of $49.99 for the individual license and discounts available for volume purchases. The app also offers a free trial period. It provides an intuitive user interface and customizable capture settings that enable you to capture any screen part.

To take a scrolling screenshot using Snagit, follow these steps:

1. Open the app.
2. Select the Capture button.
3. Choose the All-in-One option.
4. Select Scrolling Window. 

After that, Snagit will capture the entire length of the page or window and save it as an image file.

2. Lightshot 

Lightshot is a simple yet effective third-party app that allows you to capture screenshots of web pages or applications. It’s free and can be used on both Mac and Windows platforms. I have used it and personally found it a little slow.

To take a scrolling screenshot using Lightshot, you need to take these steps:

1. Open the web page or application you want to capture.
2. Click the Lightshot icon on your toolbar.
3. Select the Capture Scrolling Window option.
4. Scroll through the page.

Lightshot will capture the entire length of the page and provide you with editing options before saving the image.

3. Skitch 

Skitch is a third-party app developed by Evernote that allows you to capture and annotate screenshots. It’s available for free and provides an easy-to-use interface with a variety of annotation tools.

Here’s how to take a scrolling screenshot using Skitch:

1. Open the app.
2. Select the Screen Capture button.
3. Choose the Capture Scrolling Window option.
4. Scroll through the page. Skitch will capture the entire page length and allow you to annotate it before saving it as an image file.

If you don’t want the complexity of native solutions or the hassle of downloading apps, you can use two online screen capture tools: Screenshot Guru and Visualping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions to add to your knowledge.

Conclusion

Taking a scrolling screenshot on your Mac is a real-time-saver, trust me. You can either stick with macOS’s built in screenshot tool or try some fancy third-party apps. Personally, I’m all about native solutions, but you do you! Find the best tool for you and start capturing epic scrolling screenshots.

And remember to share your preferred method in the comments below.

I'm an Apple fan who's been using an iMac and a MacBook Pro for work-related tasks since 2017. I also own an iPhone 13 and several other small Apple accessories. Although I'm preparing to build my own PC soon, I still spend most of the time on my Mac.