Shift-Command-3 or Shift-Command-4 does nothing on your Mac

Why it happens

Screenshot keys are ordinary keyboard shortcuts, so they can be switched off or changed in Keyboard settings, sometimes by another app you installed. When that happens, pressing the keys does nothing at all. Ticking them again, or restoring the defaults, brings them back.

How to fix it

1. Try the keys once more, holding Shift and Command down together, then pressing 3, 4 or 5. Use the number keys in the top row, not a separate number pad.

2. Open System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, then click Keyboard Shortcuts… and choose Screenshots in the list on the left.

   Keyboard›Keyboard Shortcuts…›Screenshots

3. Tick every screenshot shortcut you want to use. If the keys next to them look different from Shift-Command-3, 4 and 5, click Restore Defaults at the bottom of the window to put them back.

4. Click Done and press Shift-Command-3. You should hear a camera sound and see a small preview in the corner of the screen.

Still not fixed?

1. Quit any screenshot, clipboard or cloud storage app you've installed. Some of them take over the same keys. If the shortcut works with the app closed, change the keys in that app's own settings.

2. If a screenshot is taken but you can't find it, or it says it can't be saved, press Shift-Command-5, click Options and choose Desktop or Documents under Save to.

   Screenshot toolbar›Options›Save to

3. Some apps protect what's on screen, like streaming video, so their window comes out black in screenshots. That's normal and no setting changes it.

4. On a Mac from work or school, screenshots may be blocked by its manager. Ask whoever looks after the Mac.

5. If the Shift, Command or number keys don't work anywhere else either, the keyboard may be faulty. That's hardware, so try another keyboard and contact Apple Support or a repair shop if the built-in one is at fault.