Guide

How to take a scrolling screenshot on a Mac

The built-in shortcuts capture only what is on screen. For a full web page, a long chat, or a settings pane that scrolls, you need one of the methods below. Three are browser-only; one works in any app.

Updated 5 min readBy Omar Khaled

Does macOS have a scrolling screenshot?

No. ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4, and the ⌘⇧5 toolbar all capture the visible area only. Preview and Markup do not stitch either. Apple has never shipped scrolling capture on the Mac.

Method 1: Safari full-page PDF

  1. Open the page in Safari.
  2. Choose File → Export as PDF.
  3. Save. The PDF contains the whole page, not just the viewport.

Note. You get a PDF, not a PNG, and it only works in Safari. Convert with Preview if you need an image.

Method 2: Chrome, Edge, Arc, or Brave developer tools

  1. Open the page and press ⌥⌘I to open developer tools.
  2. Press ⌘⇧P to open the command menu.
  3. Type capture full size screenshot and press Return.
  4. The PNG downloads to your Downloads folder.

Note. Sticky headers can repeat, lazy-loaded content may be missing if you have not scrolled through it, and very tall pages can fail. Browsers only.

Method 3: Firefox built-in screenshot tool

  1. Right-click anywhere on the page and choose Take Screenshot.
  2. Click Save full page.
  3. Choose Download or Copy.

Method 4: Any app with Shotnix

  1. Choose Scrolling Capture from the Shotnix menu bar Command Center, or press the shortcut you gave it in Settings → Shortcuts.
  2. Draw a selection over the part of the window that scrolls: the browser viewport, the chat pane, the document body.
  3. Scroll down through the content at a steady pace. Shotnix matches each frame to the last and adds only the new rows, so nothing repeats, sticky headers included.
  4. Press Esc, click Done, or press your shortcut again to finish.
  5. Copy, save, edit, or pin the stitched image from the overlay.

Scrolling capture in Shotnix →

Tips for cleaner long screenshots

  • With browser tools, hide or collapse sticky headers and chat composers before capturing so they do not repeat. Shotnix shows them once on its own.
  • Scroll through the page once first so lazy-loaded images are in memory.
  • Zoom the page out slightly to fit more content per frame and reduce seams.
  • For chat apps, select just the message list, not the sidebar.
  • In Shotnix, scroll at a steady pace. If you go too fast, it tells you: scroll back up a little and carry on.

Questions

Can I take a scrolling screenshot with ⌘⇧4?

No. ⌘⇧4 captures only the visible region. You need one of the methods above.

Does this work for Slack, Discord, or Messages?

Browser tools do not apply to native apps. A screen-level tool like Shotnix works in any app you can scroll.

Why does my full-page screenshot have a repeated header?

Browser tools capture sticky elements each time they appear on screen. Hide them before capturing, or crop the repeats afterwards. Shotnix spots rows that stay put while you scroll and shows them once.

Is the output full resolution?

Shotnix keeps the Retina scale of your display. Browser tools export at the device pixel ratio you set in developer tools.

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