A practical guide · Updated October 2026

How to screenshot the same area again on a Mac.

Press ⌘⇧5, choose Capture Selected Portion, and turn on Remember Last Selection in the Options menu: from then on, ⌘⇧5 opens with the same area selected, and you just click Capture. The usual ⌘⇧4 can’t repeat an area; in SnapTrellis, ⌥⇧R captures the area you last dragged in one keystroke and adds it to your current group. We make SnapTrellis, so we’re not neutral; the free way comes first.

Quick answer: For free, press ⌘⇧5, click Capture Selected Portion, set the frame, check Options → Remember Last Selection, and click Capture; next time, ⌘⇧5 opens with the frame where you left it. In SnapTrellis, drag once with ⌥⇧4, then press ⌥⇧R for each repeat; each is copied, ready to paste, and ⌥⇧C copies the series as one numbered image.

• The free way
• One key
• Which group
• Side by side
• Common questions

1. The free way: Remember Last Selection

Free and built in. A keystroke and a click for each screenshot.

1. Press ⌘⇧5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Click Capture Selected Portion, the third button. Drag the frame over the area you want, or drag its edges to resize it.
3. Click Options and make sure Remember Last Selection is checked.
4. Click Capture.
5. Whenever you need the same area again, press ⌘⇧5. The frame is already in place, so click Capture.

Each screenshot is saved where Options → Save to points, the Desktop unless you’ve changed it, with the date and time in its name. The frame marks a spot on the screen, not a window: if the window has moved, drag the frame to it before you capture.

The quicker ⌘⇧4 doesn’t remember an area: you drag a new one each time. Holding Space while you drag moves the selection without changing its size, which helps you line it up, but it still starts from scratch. Comfortable in Terminal? screencapture -R takes an area as x,y,width,height, so the same numbers capture the same area every time; man screencapture lists the options.

2. One key, no dragging: SnapTrellis

Capturing, ⌥⇧R included, is always free. Merging the series into one image is free for 14 days, then $19.99 once.

1. For a series that takes a while, like replies coming in over an afternoon, choose File → New Group… first and name it. Every capture goes into it until you choose another group, and the name becomes the title of the merged image.
2. Press ⌥⇧4 and drag over the area once.
3. Each time you need it again, press ⌥⇧R, from whatever app you’re in. SnapTrellis captures the same area of the same screen right away, with no crosshair and no dragging. The screenshot is copied, ready to paste with ⌘V, and a card appears beside it for a label.
4. When you’re done, press ⌥⇧C to copy the series as one image, each screenshot numbered, with your labels.

Another app using ⌥⇧R? Choose Capture Same Spot Again from the File menu or the SnapTrellis menu bar icon.

What it doesn’t do: ⌥⇧R repeats a spot on the screen, not a window, so if the window moves or the page scrolls, it captures whatever is there now. It remembers the area only while SnapTrellis is open: after you quit and reopen it, or if that display is disconnected, ⌥⇧R asks you to drag, like ⌥⇧4. And it takes one screenshot each time you press it; it doesn’t capture on a timer.

Which group the repeats go into

A ⌥⇧R capture goes where every capture goes: into the group shown under Capturing into at the top of the Trellis. A group you made with New Group…, or picked there, keeps collecting until you choose another. Otherwise, captures go into an automatic group named for the app and time, which wraps up once you merge or share it, or, unless you’ve renamed it, after 45 minutes without a capture; the next capture then starts a new group. So for a long series, name a group first.

Before and after, side by side

Because ⌥⇧R captures the same area each time, the screenshots match in size. Click Preview at the top of the Trellis, set Layout to Side by Side, and click Copy as One Image: they sit two to a row, each with its number and label. One Column stacks them instead, and Automatic gives wide screenshots a row of their own. The group keeps the layout, so ⌥⇧C uses it too. The free way is in how to put two screenshots side by side on a Mac.

Common questions

How do I take a screenshot of the same area on a Mac?

Press ⌘⇧5, click Capture Selected Portion, place the frame, and check Options → Remember Last Selection; after that, ⌘⇧5 opens with the same frame, and you click Capture. In SnapTrellis, ⌥⇧R repeats the area you last dragged with ⌥⇧4, in one keystroke.

Does a Mac remember the last screenshot selection?

The Screenshot toolbar does, when Remember Last Selection is checked in its Options menu; press ⌘⇧5 to open it. The ⌘⇧4 shortcut doesn’t: you drag a new area each time.

How do I take before and after screenshots of the same area?

Capture both from the same remembered area, with ⌘⇧5 and Remember Last Selection or with ⌥⇧R in SnapTrellis, so they match in size. Then join them: for free with the Shortcuts app’s Combine Images action, or in SnapTrellis by choosing Side by Side under Layout in its Preview window.

Can a Mac take screenshots of the same area automatically?

Not from the Screenshot toolbar: its Timer only waits before a single capture. In Terminal, screencapture -R captures an area you give as x,y,width,height each time you run it, so it can be scripted. SnapTrellis has no timer either: ⌥⇧R takes one screenshot each time you press it.

Writing up a bug, step by step? See how to add screenshots to a bug report on a Mac. Showing someone how to do something? See how to make step-by-step instructions with screenshots. Sending the whole series? See how to take several screenshots and paste them all at once. New to SnapTrellis? Here’s how it works.