How to Take Screenshots with Time Lag Using Timer on Mac

You don't necessarily want to take a screenshot immediately after pressing the Mac screenshot shortcut key.

Before taking a screenshot, you may want a few seconds to prepare something. Luckily, you can do that on your Mac. This time, I will introduce how to use the screenshot timer.

How to Take Timed Screenshots on Mac

The built-in screenshot feature does it all.

First, open the screenshot options on your Mac.

The keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-5 opens a floating menu with screenshot options.

In the screenshot menu, select one of the three icons to the right of the "Close" button (capture the entire screen, capture the window, or capture a portion of the screen).

You can click any one of these three icons, so it doesn't matter which one you choose.

Once you have selected one, move to the "Options" button to the right of the screenshot's floating menu.

If you click on "Options", you'll see a pull-down menu and you'll notice there's a "Timer" item.

There are three options there as well: None, 5 seconds, and 10 seconds. If you select "None", the screenshot will be taken immediately. If you want to use the screenshot timer function, select "5 seconds" or "10 seconds".

Then a small floating menu will start counting down the time.

Please note that this timer is active unless you select "None".

If you want to use the timer only once, open the options menu with "Command + Shift + 5" and uncheck "Remember last selection".

This will only use the screenshot timer once, after which it will be set to take screenshots instantly again.

However, Remember Last Selection is a very useful option that allows your Mac to remember your screenshot settings. Therefore, it is recommended to keep it enabled.

The screenshot options on your Mac let you change the default save location for screenshots, add mouse pointers to screenshots, and more.