Why is my macos screenshot shortcut not working?

Question

18 viewsJuly 28, 2024Laptop

Florine

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I’ve noticed that my macOS screenshot shortcut isn’t working properly. Whenever I use the Command + Shift + 3 or Command + Shift + 4 shortcuts, nothing happens. These shortcuts are crucial for my work, and this sudden issue is really bothersome. I have double-checked my keyboard settings to ensure the shortcuts are configured correctly, but the problem continues. Restarting my Mac also didn’t help. I don’t know what’s causing this problem or how to fix it. This issue is significantly affecting my productivity, and I’m looking for some insights on why the macos screenshot shortcut is not working and what the possible reasons might be.

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7 Answers

Owen · Answer 1 · 2024-12-19T14:26:10+00:00

I had a similar issue with the macOS screenshot shortcut not working, and this is how I fixed it:
1. Verify Keyboard Shortcuts: Navigate to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts. Ensure the screenshot options are enabled.
2. Reset NVRAM: Restart your Mac while holding down Option + Command + P + R for about 20 seconds to reset the NVRAM.
3. Check Save Location: Sometimes, screenshots get saved to a different location. Use Terminal to type defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop to set the default location to the desktop.
4. Investigate Software Conflicts: Applications like Dropbox can interfere with the screenshot functionality. Disable these apps temporarily to see if the shortcuts start working again.

Elián · Answer 2 · 2024-12-07T20:54:43+00:00

Consider this: an external keyboard might be causing issues with your macOS screenshot shortcuts. When I had this problem, disconnecting my external keyboard and using just the built-in keyboard resolved it. I found that the Shift key on the external keyboard was stuck, preventing the shortcuts from functioning. It’s always good to check hardware issues too.

Bard · Answer 3 · 2024-11-10T13:03:21+00:00

I’ve been in your shoes with my macOS screenshot shortcut not working. In my case, updating macOS helped. Head to System Preferences > Software Update to see if there are any available updates. Sometimes these updates contain crucial bug fixes. Installing the latest available update might solve your issue.

Arsène · Answer 4 · 2024-10-13T21:03:50+00:00

In my situation, troubleshooting led me to check for corrupted plist files. Here’s what helped:
1. Open Finder.
2. Navigate to your user Library by holding Option and selecting ‘Library’ from the Go menu.
3. Go to Preferences and delete com.apple.screencapture.plist.
4. Restart your Mac.

This fixed the issue when my settings file was corrupted.

Nikhil · Answer 5 · 2024-08-28T13:58:41+00:00

When my macOS screenshot shortcut stopped working, I understood the frustration. Here’s a workaround I used:

First, launch the ‘Grab’ utility from Applications > Utilities. This tool can take screenshots without reliance on keyboard shortcuts. If this doesn’t help, you might want to check the Activity Monitor for any unresponsive processes. Restarting the ‘SystemUIServer’ process helped me. Simply open Activity Monitor, find ‘SystemUIServer’, and force quit it. This will automatically restart the process.

Niklaus · Answer 6 · 2024-08-09T04:49:00+00:00

From my experience, reinstalling macOS might be the last resort if other methods fail. It’s a bit extreme, but it solved my screenshot shortcut issue. Restart your Mac while holding Command + R, and then proceed to reinstall macOS without erasing your data.

Dreama · Answer 7 · 2024-08-03T22:59:16+00:00

I’ve had this issue, and one thing to check is the screen recording permissions. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Screen Recording. Make sure ‘screencapture’ has the necessary permissions. Adding the required permissions resolved the issue for me.