Mark up, crop or draw on a screenshot straight after you take it

Why it happens

After each screenshot, your Mac shows a floating thumbnail for a few seconds before it saves the file. Clicking it opens the picture in a markup window instead. If the thumbnail never appears, it's been switched off in the Screenshot toolbar's Options.

How to fix it

1. Take your screenshot as usual: Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen, Shift-Command-4 for a part, or Shift-Command-5 for the toolbar.

2. Look at the bottom-right corner of your screen and click the thumbnail before it slides away. It stays for about five seconds.

3. Use the tools along the top of the window to draw, add shapes and arrows, type text or crop. Hover over a tool to see its name.

4. Click Done to save your edited screenshot. To throw it away instead, click the Trash button in the same window.

5. No thumbnail? Press Shift-Command-5, click Options and make sure Show Floating Thumbnail has a tick. Press Escape to close the toolbar.

   Screenshot toolbar›Options›Show Floating Thumbnail

Still not fixed?

1. Missed the thumbnail? Find the screenshot on your Desktop or in your screenshot folder, select it and press the space bar. Click the Markup button at the top of the preview to edit it there.

2. You can also open the file in Preview and choose View, then Show Markup Toolbar for the same tools.

   Preview›View›Show Markup Toolbar

3. If you add Control to the shortcut, for example Control-Shift-Command-4, the screenshot goes to the clipboard and no thumbnail appears. Take it without Control if you want to edit it first.

4. If clicking the thumbnail does nothing or the markup window won't open after a restart and the latest update, contact Apple Support.