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Delayed capture

Set a countdown timer before a capture fires — perfect for capturing menus, tooltips, and transient UI states.

  1. Start one of the delayed capture modes — from its shortcut (below), the Delayed items in the menu bar / tray menu, or the Delayed button on the editor’s Capture Bar
  2. For region and window modes, select the region or window
  3. Position your screen as needed (open menus, hover elements, etc.)
  4. The capture fires automatically after the countdown completes

The countdown length is set in Settings, not in the overlay — see Configuring the Delay.

Each delayed mode has its own default shortcut:

ModemacOSWindowsBehavior
Delayed Region⌘⇧7Ctrl+Shift+7Countdown starts after you select a region, then captures that region
Delayed Screen⌘⇧8Ctrl+Shift+8Countdown starts, then captures the full screen
Delayed Window⌘⇧9Ctrl+Shift+9Countdown starts after you select a window

Press Escape to cancel a countdown.

When a delay is active, a visible countdown overlay appears on screen showing the remaining seconds. This helps you time your actions precisely.

Set the delay in Settings → Captures:

  • Capture delay: How many seconds to wait — 1 to 30 seconds, 5 by default
  • Capture cursor: Whether the cursor appears in timed (delayed) and full-screen captures (off by default)

These settings apply to all delayed captures.

  • Dropdown menus — Open the menu, then let the delayed capture fire
  • Hover states — Trigger tooltips or hover effects before capture
  • Context menus — Right-click and position before the screenshot
  • Animations — Time the capture to a specific animation frame

See also: Area Capture | Scrolling Capture