Why is My Screenshot Not Working on Mac – Here are The Best Methods You Should Know

Why is My Screenshot Not Working on Mac – Here are The Best Methods You Should Know

Selena Thomas

July 01, 2020 10:29Posted by to Screenshot

Why is the screenshot not working on Mac? If you failed to take a screenshot on your Mac, whether you are not able to find the image, or even the key combination does not work, you can learn more about the 6 best solutions from the article. Moreover, you can also learn more about the alternatives as the default screenshot shortcuts to fix screenshot not working on Mac.

Screenshot on Mac not Working

Part 1: 5 Best Methods to Fix Screenshot Not Working on Mac

It might take a short period of time to save the screenshot on Mac. Just wait for a few more seconds. After that, you can learn more about the settings for the screenshot shortcuts, or check out more useful tips to fix screenshot on Mac not working.

1. Settings for Screenshot Shortcuts

If you cannot find the captured screenshot on your Mac, you can check whether the Screenshot Shortcuts are turned off, or the key combination is changed. Here is the detailed process to fix screenshot on your Mac not working.

Step 1 Go to the Apple menu and choose the System Preferences option. Then choose the Keyboard option to locate the key combination status for the screenshot shortcuts.

Step 2 Select the Shortcuts menu and click on the Screen Shots option on the left side. Make sure the options in front of the key combination have already been checked.

Step 3 When you need to tweak the key combination, you can press Control + F7 to change the settings. To change a shortcut, select it, click the key combination, and then type the new keys.

Screenshots Settings

Check where do the screenshots go on your Mac and PC

2. Restart Your Mac

When you have not restarted your MacBook for a long period of time, you can restart your Mac to fix screenshot not working on Mac. Here are the 3 most frequently used methods to restart your Mac, just choose any one to turn your Mac into normal.

Option 1: Press the Power button or simply press the both Control + Eject key combination, when there is a dialogue box appears, choose the Restart button to fix the problems.

Option 2: Make sure you have already closed all the applications, then choose the Apple key, and then click the Restart button to get rid of the screenshot on Mac not working.

Option 3: Press the key combination Control + Command + Eject or the Control + Command + Power to turn your MacBook into the normal status within a few seconds.

Restart Mac

3. Move the Preference File

If you have updated the Preference file previously, the cache file might still exist, which you have to remove the Preference file and restart your Mac in order to fix screenshot not working on Mac.

Step 1 Open the Finder option and choose the Go menu from the menu bar. Select the Go to Folder from the drop down list.

Step 2 After that, you can enter the ~/Library/Preferences/. Then it will direct you to the Preferences folder. Locate the com.apple.ImageCaptureApp.plist file from the folder.

Step 3 Move that file to desktop and restart the Mac. Now you can check whether the screenshot not working on Mac problem is already fixed. If possible, you can simply remove the file.

Move Preferences File

4. Change Dropbox Settings

Once you have installed Dropbox on your Mac, the program will import all of the screenshots from your screenshot folder. To change the settings, you can just follow the steps to fix screenshot not available on Mac.

Step 1 Launch Dropbox and select the Dropbox menu, which will be available on the menu bar on the top of the screen. Click on the Gear icon to go to the Settings of the program.

Step 2 You can choose the Preferences option, and then click on the Import tab. Then you can disable the Share Screenshots Using Dropbox option to sync the screenshot.

Dropbox Import Settings

5. Reset PRAM or NVRAM

NVRAM, or PRAM stores the settings for your MacBook, such as the screen resolution, time zone information, the hard drive to boot from and more others, including the screenshot shortcuts. When you reset NVRAM, the Mac will restore to the original status to fix screenshot on Mac not working.

Step 1 Make sure your MacBook has already turned off. After that, you can turn on your MacBook and immediately after you hear the first startup chime, hold down the Command + Option + P + R keys.

Step 2 Once it indicated the NVRAM/PRAM has been reset, you can release the above keys, which you can allow your Mac to boot up as normal to fix the problems for screenshot on Mac not working.

Step 3 It may take a few tries to get the proper timing down to make it work. After the resetting, you need to reconfigure settings for screenshot shortcuts, as well as the speak volume, screen resolution and more.

Nvram-pram-reset

Part 2: 2 Best Alternatives to Fix Screenshot on Mac Not Working

When the above solutions do not work to fix screenshot on Mac not working, or you need to have an alternative solution to take snapshots on your Mac? Blu-ray Master Screen Recorder for Mac is a free snipping tool enables you to take snapshots, record screen video and capture audio files. Moreover, you can also tweak the video settings, set up a time schedule, and even manage screenshots such as Snapchat with ease.

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Step 1 Download and install the free snipping tool for Mac, you can launch the program and click the Blu-ray Master Screen Recorder for Mac menu to choose the Preferences option to tweak the photo formats and more other settings to take screenshots.

Change Photo Format

Step 2 After that, you can select the desired area you want to screenshot. When you move the mouse cursor to a window, it will take a snapshot of the active window accordingly. Just click the mouse to capture a screenshot on your Mac as desired.

Take Screenshot Mac

Step 3 You can add the callouts, texts, arrows, lines and more other files into the screenshots. Moreover, you can also tweak the fonts for the texts, color and size for all the elements. Then you can click the Save icon to save the screenshot to your hard drive.

Draw on Screenshots

Step 4 When you want to further edit the screenshots, you can click on the Recording history on the left bottom to manage the photos. It enables you to view, rename, add to folder, share to social media websites and even delete the photos easily.

Photo Manager

Part 3: FAQs about How to Fix Screenshot Not Working on Mac

1. What Should You Do If Grab Not Working on Mac?

When screenshot not working on Mac with Grab, you should update to the latest macOS to check whether it works. After that, launch the Finder and click Go from the menu bar, select the Go to Folder and enter the following path: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.grab.plist. Once you have entered the command line, you can drag the selected plist file to the Trash and restart your Mac to fix screenshot not working on Mac.

2. Where are the Screenshots Saved on Mac?

For macOS Mojave or later, press the Command + Shift+ 5 and in the Options, choose Desktop as path and tick Remember Last Selection and continue taking a screenshot, it is also a potential workaround when Mac screenshot disappeared.

3. What the Default Snipping Tools for Mac to Take Screenshots?

Is there any method to take a snapshot without installing extra software on Mac when screenshot not working on Mac? Of course, you can simply use the Grab or Preview from the Apps to take snapshots on your Mac. But the program only provides limited features, especially when you need to add annotations or edit the screenshots.

Conclusion

To screenshot on Mac, the key combination is always the first choice. The article shares 6 most frequently used methods to fix screenshot not working on Mac. Just follow the steps to get rid of the problem, of course, you can also choose the Blu-ray Master Screen Recorder to take a snapshot on your Mac for free with advanced features.

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