Screen Capture

Zenboard has a built-in screen capture tool. Press a shortcut to capture any region, window, or full screen — then optionally annotate and save directly to your board without leaving the app.

Start Capture

Press Cmd + Shift + X to activate the capture toolbar. You can also start a capture from the menu bar icon.

A toolbar appears at the bottom of your screen with four sections: Mode, Destination, Edit toggle, and Action buttons.

If you only need a color instead of an image capture, use the global Color Picker with Cmd + Shift + Z.

Capture Modes

The default mode is Region.

Quick Mode Switching

While the capture toolbar is focused, you can use number keys to instantly switch modes and begin capturing:

• Press 1 for Region mode
• Press 2 for Window mode
• Press 3 for Full Screen mode

This allows you to bypass the action button and execute the capture immediately.

Region Selection

A crosshair cursor appears over a dark overlay. Click and drag to draw a selection rectangle.

• A dimension label (e.g., “1920 × 1080”) updates in real time below the selection
• The selected area is shown clearly against the dark overlay
• Selections smaller than 2×2 pixels are automatically cancelled
• Press Esc to cancel

Magnifier

A magnifier appears near your cursor during selection to help you pick pixels precisely.

The magnifier automatically repositions to stay within the screen bounds. A blue crosshair marks the exact pixel at the center.

Precision Adjustment

For precise region placement, Zenboard supports a slower precision mode while selecting a region.

• Hold Shift to enter fine adjustment mode
• The cursor movement becomes more controlled for pixel-sensitive alignment
• The magnifier updates immediately so you can confirm the exact position before capture

Window Selection

A dark overlay covers the screen with an instruction at the top: “Click on a window to capture.”

Hover over any window — it is highlighted with a blue border and tint. Click to capture it. Press Esc to cancel.

Full Screen

A border highlight shows which display will be captured. Click anywhere to capture the entire display.

On a multi-monitor setup, the highlight follows your cursor between screens — the display under the cursor at click time is captured.

Press Esc to cancel.

Destination

Choose where the captured image goes:

The default destination is Sidebar.

Folder Options

When Folder is selected, open the Options menu (⋯) on the toolbar to choose a save location:

• Desktop
• Documents
• Pictures (default)
• Other Location… — opens a file browser to pick any folder

The selected folder is remembered across sessions. Files are saved as Screenshot_YYYYMMdd_HHmmss.png.

Edit After Capture

The Edit toggle (pencil icon) on the toolbar controls what happens immediately after capture:

• On (default) — The captured image opens in the Smart Viewer where you can annotate it or discard it before saving
• Off — The image is saved immediately to your chosen destination with no preview

Hide App During Capture

Found in the Options menu (⋯). When enabled (default), Zenboard hides itself during capture so it doesn’t appear in your screenshot.

Capture Flow

With Edit On

1. Press Cmd + Shift + X
2. Choose mode and destination
3. Make your selection
4. Smart Viewer opens with the captured image
5. Annotate, flip, or adjust as needed
6. Click Save to finalize — the image is saved to your chosen destination

With Edit Off

1. Press Cmd + Shift + X
2. Choose mode and destination
3. Make your selection
4. The image is saved immediately — no preview step

Settings Persistence

All capture settings are saved automatically and persist across app restarts:

• Capture mode, destination, and save folder
• Edit after capture and hide app toggles
• Magnifier zoom level and size

Related Workflows

• Color Picker for picking colors from anywhere on screen
• Palette Extraction for turning captured or imported images into reusable palette cards