Snapz is included with OS X.  It can be accessed by the following key sequence:

Cmd + Shift + 3

You can select from a variety of sources for your screen capture, including Full Screen, any window or icon, a rectangular selection, or a movie sequence. Once you select the source button you will see the "marching ants" highlight of what you will actually capture. Hit the Enter key to capture.  Your captured image will open in Finder, allowing you to save and/or print.

Grab includes some of the same features as Snapz, but also allows a timed capture. This can come in handy if you want to set up a procedure before capturing.

If you don't have "Grab" in your dock you can access it through Applications in Finder.

With Grab opened and running you can select from a choice of capture formats, depending on which part of a screen to want to capture.

Grab saves in a .tiff format.  You can open the captured file in Preview and save as a .png or jpg file if necessary. You will be printing out a screen capture in an upcoming project, so become familiar with both applications.

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© T. Carson 2008