Capturing a long web page or document is a challenge. A screenshot will take a snapshot of the viewing area of your screen only. This is why scrolling screenshots come in to save time and effort. Of course, even I don't like taking multiple photos of the screen to put them together. The result is rarely pretty.
SummaryIntegrated macOS Mojave1 screenshot tool. Snagit2. BrowseShot3. Gyazo4. Firefox screenshotTake full-page screenshots
Apple's macOS now has a built-in feature to quickly capture scrolling screenshots. Typically, you need to press a combination of keys and then proceed with the screenshot. It makes me envious of Windows 10 users who only have to press a dedicated print screen button to take a screenshot.
To make this task easier, we have picked 5 best ways to capture scrolling screenshots for all macOS users. Before we get to them, here's something you should know about the new screenshot tool that debuted with macOS Mojave.
The best place to start would be with the built-in screenshot tool that debuted with the macOS 10.14 Mojave rollout. To initiate a scrolling screenshot, you must press the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + 5 to launch the screen capture controls.
You can hover the mouse pointer over each option to find out what it is. However, I think using this tool to capture the entire screen is cumbersome. The keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + 3 also takes a snapshot of the entire screen. This made me wonder why did Apple include an extra option in the screen capture controls.
This led me to discover four ways to click scrolling screenshots on my MacBook Air. Without further ado, let's get started.
Snagit is also a popular choice for Windows users, as the app has been around for nearly 30 years. It is also my favorite choice. Mainly because I used it a lot on Windows platform before switching to macOS. From recording videos of on-screen activity to capturing screenshots The Grab tool lets you click on a scrolling screenshot with a single keystroke.
Other than that, Snagit allows you to visually highlight or annotate a few parts of the screenshots. Smart window detection will allow you to crop unwanted window borders, especially those that reveal information.
My only complaint is that Snagit makes me use its editor to finalize the image. But it makes up for that by letting me drag and drop those screenshots into messaging apps, email, and other apps.
The only thing that may be painful to swallow is the hefty price tag of $49.95. The 15-day trial is a great way to get a ride.
Download Snagit Trial
Like many other tools, BrowseShot has a selection feature. It allows you to capture scrolling screenshots in PNG format. This is very useful for anyone looking to store a lot of fine detail without compromising quality and doesn't mind a heavier file size.
Once you have clicked on a snapshot of a webpage, you can also check the final details with zoom options. Also very useful if you want to print the whole pages without disturbing the formatting.
The reason it's on this list is because it offers a unique feature. It offers you the option to reset cookies and cached data. So you don't need to store these files on your computer. That's smart.
Get BrowseShot
Gyazo is a cross-platform tool for taking large-scale screenshots by pressing the defined hotkeys. Unfortunately, macOS users will need to install the Gyazo Chrome/Firefox extension to assign shortcuts to quick captures.
This is a small inconvenience for capturing scrolling screenshots. You can run the Gyazo app on the dock to quickly jump into action. The only part I find annoying is that it opens another tab to show the captured image with a temporary link and an editor.
Well, this is an option to scroll through and check if you have captured everything perfectly. So you win some, you lose some with that.
Get Gyazo
Yes, Firefox has the functionality built into the browser. When you click on the three-dot buttons next to the address bar, the context menu shows you the Take screenshot option at the bottom.
Firefox screenshot is the handiest option on this list, costs nothing, and lets you take a screenshot of a page. After that, you have the option to copy the screenshot to another app or download it. Imagine clicking on a screenshot while running Firefox with Dark Mode extensions.
This option is quite easy to understand and use. As it is a browser-based tool, you will need to open an offline document using Firefox. This is the only cumbersome part. Other than that, it has no editing or annotation features.
Get Firefox for macOS
Getting the details of an entire webpage in a single screenshot can be very beneficial. Additionally, most tools eliminate the need to scroll the entire page just to capture all the information.
I often use a few of the scrolling screenshot tools mentioned above to record long reads and long documents. It saves me time and reduces my reliance on specific apps to open them.
So which of the apps mentioned above are you going to try first? Want to share your favorite tool with us? Mention it in the comments section below.
Then: Wondering how to take full page screenshots on Google Chrome and iOS? We'll tell you about it in the next post
