The quick answer

Press Shift-Command-4, select an area, and click the thumbnail that appears in the corner of the screen. Use Apple's Markup toolbar to draw, add shapes or text, and save the annotated screenshot.

If you annotate captures often, GifJot keeps the capture and markup steps together: make a PNG or GIF, then choose Jot from the completion controls.

Annotate with the tools built into macOS

For an existing image, open it in Preview and choose the Show Markup Toolbar button. The built-in route is free and works well when you already have the screenshot.

  1. Take a screenshot

    Press Shift-Command-4, then drag around the area you want to explain.

  2. Open the screenshot thumbnail

    Click the thumbnail that appears in the lower corner before it disappears.

  3. Open Markup and add context

    Use drawings, shapes, text, or a signature, then save or share the finished image.

Capture and annotate with GifJot

  1. Capture the useful area

    Press Option-Command-S for a PNG or Option-Command-G for a GIF, then select the part of the screen that matters.

  2. Choose Jot

    When the capture finishes, open Jot from the completion controls instead of searching for the file in another app.

  3. Add one clear annotation

    Use a pen, arrow, rectangle, text, a color, or a simple QA mark, then save or copy the result.

Pick the fastest option

Starting pointBest optionWhy
A screenshot you already havePreviewIt is built into macOS and opens existing images
A new still screenshotApple Markup or GifJotBoth keep capture and annotation close together
A short screen recordingGifJotJot can place the same annotation across the finished GIF

Make the annotation easy to understand

  • Crop away unrelated windows and private information before adding marks.
  • Use one arrow or box for the main point instead of marking everything.
  • Keep labels short and place them beside the interface they describe.
  • Choose a mark color that contrasts with the screenshot.
  • Use a GIF when the problem moves and a PNG when it does not.

How GifJot annotations behave on GIFs

GifJot applies the same note to every frame of a GIF. That works for pointing at a fixed part of the interface, but the annotation does not track a moving object and GifJot is not a frame-by-frame editor.

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