Snagit is one of the top notch image capturing and video recording apps for Mac. Though you can use the default Screenshot app, processing of images need a quality app like Snagit. When using Snagit, you will be frequently using certain functions like trimming images. Instead of navigating through menu items, using keyboard shortcuts for such frequently used functions can save you a lot of time.
Top 10 Keyboard Shortcuts for Snagit Mac
Here is a top 10 keyboard shortcuts to make your life easier when working with captured images in Snagit.
1. Grab Text from Image: Command + Shift + O
Do you know that Snagit has built-in tool for Optical Character Recognition? Yes, you can easily select the text portion on an image and grab the text with a keyboard shortcut. First, select a text on image using “Selection” tool and press “Command + Shift + O” keys. This will open a “Grab Text Results” box and show you the text content for you to copy.
2. Trim Image: Command + Shift + X
Sometimes your image may have plain white or no background beyond the required portions. Simply press, “Command + Shift + X” keys to trim the image and remove the outside portion.
3. Flatten All Objects: Control + Shift + T
Snagit allows you to create image with multiple layers. This means you can copy and paste one image on another and bring to front or back to adjust. The layering also allows to drag each element on the image like text, stamps, etc. to move independently. When you are done with the complete image, press “Control + Shift + T” to flatten all parts and make it a single image.
4. Save as to Change Image Quality: Command + Shift + Z
Quality of an image highly depends on the type of extension you choose to save. PNG is good for high quality images with transparent background. However, you can’t adjust the image size with PNG. On other hand, JPEG allows equal quality with an option to adjust the image quality thus reducing the size. When your image is ready, press “Command + Shift + Z” shortcuts keys to open “Save As” menu.
Select, “jpg” option from the “Format” dropdown on the bottom of the pop-up. Now you will see a quality slider which you can slide to reduce the quality of the image. We recommend you choosing 60% to 70% quality for the instructional images used on webpages. Since webpages need to load each image as a separate HTTP request, this size reduction will help a lot in improving the page loading speed.
5. Change Default Keyboard Shortcuts: Command + Comma
If you don’t like any of the existing keyboard shortcuts on Snagit, you can customize it from the preferences section. Press, “Command + ,” and open Snagit settings / preferences section. Go to “Keyboard” tab to change the hot keys for the available shortcuts.
Click on the button that shows the shortcut keys to completely remove the shortcuts or assign the previously used one. If you have messed up the setup, press “Restore Shortcuts” to reset the shortcuts to app default.
6. Precise Selection: Hold Shift
The selection tool on the toolbar helps you to grab a portion of the image. You can then copy, move, blur or do other stuffs with the selected portion. You can hold and drag the mouse pointer to select the portion as per the selection tool properties. The problem arises when you want to select a perfect square or circle portion. First, select the rectangle option and simply hold the shift key when selecting with mouse. This will help you to precisely select square portion from the image.
If you want to select a perfect circle portion then change the selection tool to ellipse from the properties.
Bonus Tip: You can choose the background fill as “Auto-Fill”. This will help to retain the background when you drag portion of an image.
7. Open Image Library: Command + 1
When you have hundreds of images processed over time, you may need to navigate to the “Library” to choose previously processed images. Pressing” Command + 1” will simply take you to the “Library” from where you can search and find your old images.
8. Toggle Recent Capture Tray: Command + Option + T
Snagit will retain some of the previously captured images in the “Capture Tray”. You can quickly select the images from the tray. However, this tray occupy considerable bottom portion of the editor. When you want to increase the editor area, press “Command + Option + T” to hide the tray. You can again press the same keys to show the tray for image selection.
If the right sidebar distracts your attention, press “Command + 4” to hide or show the sidebar that shows the properties and effects.
9. Navigate Through Recent Captures: Command + ] or [
When you have large number of images on the capture tray, it is difficult to find the image you are currently processing. Sometimes, you also need to capture few images in sequence and go to the next or previous image for processing.
- Press, “Command + ]” keys to highlight and select the next image.
- Similarly, press “Command + [“ keys to highlight and select the previous image.
10. Open Favorite Quick Styles: Control + R
Snagit offers hundreds of styles using different tools. For example, you can click on “Callout” button to select your favorite callout style. You can click the style in the sidebar and click on the star to add it to the favorite list. Now, press “Control + R” to open your favorite style list and choose the style. The advantage is that you can quickly collect all different styles like callout, text, arrows, stamps, etc. in a single place and use it quickly. For example, you don’t need to go to stamps and look for your favorite every time. Instead, add the stamp to favorite and use it quickly by using “Control + R” keyboard shortcuts.
Complete List of Keyboard Shortcuts for Snagit on Mac
Above are the frequently used and most useful shortcuts when using Snagit and below is the complete list of shortcuts you can refer.
File Shortcuts
| New canvas image | Command + N |
| Paste new image from clipboard | Command + Shift + N |
| Open template gallery | Option + Shift + T |
| Create video from images | Option + V |
| Open an image | Command + O |
| Close (minimize) app | Command + Q |
| Remove the selected image from recent history | Command + Shift + Q |
| Save image | Command + S |
| Save as image | Command + Shift + S |
| Save image as a stamp | Command + Control + Option + S |
| Save all images | Command + Option + S |
| Duplicate an image | Command + Shift + D |
| Show image in Library | Command + Shift + L |
| Delete and send image to trash | Command + Backspace |
| Page setup | Command + Shift + P |
| Print dialog | Command + P |
Edit Shortcuts
| Undo last action | Command + Z |
| Redo last action | Command + Shift + Z |
| Cut | Command + X |
| Copy | Command + C |
| Copy all | Command + Shift + C |
| Grab text from image | Command + Shift + O |
| Paste from clipboard | Command + V |
| Paste in place | Command + Shift + V |
| Paste and match style | Command + Option + Shift + V |
| Delete selected object on the image | Backspace |
| Select all | Command + A |
| Select all objects on an image | Command + Shift + A |
| Deselect objects | Command + D |
| Invert selection | Command + Shift + I |
| Find capture | Command + F |
| Show spelling and grammar checker | Command + Colon |
| Open Character Viewer | Fn or Globe + E |
Image Shortcuts
| Favorites | Control + R |
| Arrow tools | Control + A |
| Text tools | Control + T |
| Callout tools | Control + D |
| Shape tools | Control + U |
| Stamps | Control + I |
| Fill tools | Control + F |
| Move tools | Control + V |
| Selection tools | Control + L |
| Blur tools | Control + B |
| Simplify tools | Control + Y |
| Magic Wand tools | Control + W |
| Crop tools | Control + C |
| Cut Out tools | Control + X |
| Pen tools | Control + P |
| Highlighter tools | Control + H |
| Step tools | Control + S |
| Eraser tools | Control + E |
| Magnify tools | Control + M |
| Spotlight tools | Control + O |
| Bring to front | Command + Option + Up Arrow |
| Bring forward | Command + Up Arrow |
| Send backward | Command + Down Arrow |
| Send to Back | Command + Option + Down Arrow |
| Group | Command + Shift + G |
| Ungroup | Command + Shift + U |
| Flatten selected object | Command + Shift + T |
| Flatten all objects on image | Control + Shift + T |
| Trim | Command + Shift + X |
| Resize image | Command + Shift + R |
| Rotate image | Command + R |
| Edit tags | Command + Control + T |
| Apply template | Option + Shift + C |
| Crop to canvas | Command + K |
| Canvas snapping | Command + Semicolon |
| Show colors | Command + Shift + C |
Video Shortcuts
| Play video | Space |
| Jump to beginning | Command + Enter |
| Previous frame | Left arrow |
| Next frame | Right arrow |
| Jump to end | Command + Shift + Enter |
Text Shortcuts
| Show fonts | Command + T |
| Bold text | Command + B |
| Italic text | Command + I |
| Underline text | Command + U |
| Align text left | Command + { |
| Center align text | Command + | |
| Right align text | Command + } |
View Shortcuts
| Zoom to fit | Command + Shift + 0 |
| Zoom to actual size | Command + 0 |
| Zoom in | Command + + |
| Zoom out | Command + – |
| Switch to library | Command + 1 |
| Show effects | Command + 2 |
| Show properties | Command + 3 |
| Show sidebar | Command + 4 |
| Hide recent captures | Command + Option + T |
| View previous capture | Command + [ |
| View next capture | Command + ] |
| Full screen | Fn or Globe + F |
Window Shortcuts
| Minimize | Command + M |
| Zoom window | Command + Control + Option + Z |
| Fill window | Fn or Globe + Control + F |
| Center window | Fn or Globe + Control + C |
| Move & resize to left | Fn or Globe + Control + Left Arrow |
| Move & resize to right | Fn or Globe + Control + Right Arrow |
| Move & resize to top | Fn or Globe + Control + Up Arrow |
| Move & resize to bottom | Fn or Globe + Control + Down Arrow |
| Swap left & right windows | Fn or Globe + Control + Shift + Left Arrow |
| Swap right & left windows | Fn or Globe + Control + Shift + Right Arrow |
| Swap top & bottom windows | Fn or Globe + Control + Shift + Up Arrow |
| Swap bottom & top windows | Fn or Globe + Control + Shift + Down Arrow |
| Return to previous window size | Fn or Globe + Control + R |
Other Shortcuts
| Share history | Option + Shift + S |
| Open capture window | Control + Shift + C |
| All-in-one capture widget | Control + Shift + O |
| Capture image | Control + Shift + S |
| Capture video | Control + Shift + V |
| Mission Control capture | Control + Shift + M |
| Capture menu | Control + Shift + E |
| Toggle screen draw mode | Control + Shift + D |
| Pause & resume recording | Control + Shift + Space |
| Repeat last capture | Control + Shift + R |
| Share link | Command + Option + L |
| Quick zoom | Option + Scroll |
| Draw over object | Option + Draw |
| Connect multiple devices | Option + Scan QR Code |
| Canvas snapping | Option + Move or Resize Objects |
