Scrolling capture

Capture the whole page, not just the part on screen.

macOS has no built-in scrolling capture. Shotnix adds it: draw a selection over any scrollable region and scroll. Shotnix lines up each frame with the last and stitches one long image with no repeated bands, ready to annotate, copy, or save.

Menu barScrolling Capture, or your own shortcut

How scrolling capture works

Select the region that scrolls, such as a browser viewport, a Slack channel, or a long settings pane, then scroll down at your own pace with the trackpad or mouse. Shotnix grabs frames as you go and matches each one to the one before, so only the rows that scrolled into view are added. A small panel shows the height so far.

Press Esc, click Done, or press your Scrolling Capture shortcut again to finish, from any app. Cancel throws the capture away and leaves nothing behind.

What to expect

  • Works in any app you can scroll, not only browsers.
  • Sticky headers and footers appear once instead of repeating down the image, and a trackpad bounce at the end adds no blank strip.
  • Scroll too fast and Shotnix tells you. Scroll back up a little and carry on.
  • Very long pages stop at a safe maximum length, and Shotnix says so.
  • The stitched image opens into the same overlay as any capture: copy, save, edit, or pin.
  • Tall results are easy to review in the editor thanks to canvas zoom and fit-to-window.

After the capture

Long screenshots are where annotation matters most. Open the result in the editor to add arrows, blur private details, or number the steps before sharing.

See the annotation editor →

How to do it in Shotnix

  1. Choose Scrolling CaptureFrom the Shotnix menu bar Command Center, or press the shortcut you gave it in Settings → Shortcuts.
  2. Select the scrollable regionDraw over the part of the window that scrolls, not the whole window.
  3. Scroll down through itAt a steady pace, with the trackpad or mouse. Shotnix adds each new part to the image as you go.
  4. FinishPress Esc, click Done, or press your Scrolling Capture shortcut again.
  5. Copy, save, edit, or pinThe stitched image appears in the quick access overlay like any other capture.

Questions

Does macOS have a native scrolling screenshot?

No. The built-in Screenshot toolbar (⌘⇧5) captures only what is visible. Safari can export a full page as a PDF from the File menu, but that is limited to Safari and produces a PDF, not an image.

Does scrolling capture work in any app?

Any view you can scroll, including browsers, chat apps, code editors, and document viewers. You do the scrolling and Shotnix stitches as you go. Content that animates while you scroll, such as a playing video, can stitch less cleanly.

Do sticky headers repeat in the image?

No. Shotnix spots rows that stay put while the page scrolls, such as a sticky header, toolbar, or footer, and shows them once.

Can I annotate a scrolling screenshot?

Yes. Open it in the editor for arrows, blur, numbered steps, crop, and backdrops. Canvas zoom keeps tall images manageable.

Is the result full resolution?

Yes. Captures keep the Retina scale of your display.

Why doesn't ⌘⇧S start scrolling capture?

New installs of Shotnix leave ⌘⇧S alone, because it means Save As in most apps. Start Scrolling Capture from the menu bar, or give it any shortcut in Settings → Shortcuts. If you installed Shotnix before version 0.24, you keep ⌘⇧S.

Try it on your own screen.

Shotnix is free, open source, and local, with no watermark. Download the notarized app, or star the repository to follow along.

11.9 MB · Apple silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 13+ · notarized by Apple · MIT license