Copying sections of screen to CLIPBOARD

Good afternoon malcolm135,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

I understand you would like to take a screenshot of a portion of your screen and determine where these files are copied to. Take a look at the resource below for help with this. I've highlighted some key information here for you. Click on the links for complete details.

How to take a screenshot on your Mac

"In macOS Mojave or later

1. Press Shift-Command-5 to see the onscreen capture controls.
2. Click Capture Selected Portion .
3. Drag to select an area of the screen to capture. To move the entire selection, drag from within the selection.
4. Click Capture.
5. A thumbnail of the screenshot briefly appears in the corner of your screen. Interact with the thumbnail to edit the screenshot, move it, or take other actions. Or wait for the screenshot to appear on your desktop.
6. Click the Option command to change where the screenshot is saved.

• To store the screenshot in the Clipboard instead of saving it, press and hold the Control key while you click to capture. You can then paste the screenshot into a document, message, or other location. Using Universal Clipboard, you can even paste it on another Apple device.

In all macOS versions

1. Press Shift-Command-4. 
2. Drag to select the area of the screen to capture. To move the entire selection, press and hold Space bar while dragging.
3. After you release your mouse or trackpad button, find the screenshot on your desktop.

• Screenshot controls in macOS Mojave or later are provided by the Screenshot app, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. This app replaces the Grab app from earlier versions of macOS.
• By default, screenshots are saved with the name ”Screen Shot date at time.png”.
• To cancel taking a screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key before clicking to capture.
• You can open screenshots with Preview, Safari, or other apps that can edit or view images. Preview can export to a different format, such as JPEG, PDF, or TIFF.
• Some apps, such as DVD Player, might not let you take screenshots of their windows."

Enjoy your day!

Hi malcolm135,

Thanks for letting us know the information was helpful.

Have a great day!