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Keyboard shortcut for copy not work first time after Sleep.

After coming back to iMac (newest OS) from either SLEEP or SCREENSAVER, the first time I copy with keyboard shortcut with: Shift/Command/4 ...nothing shows up, when I repeat it and the window shows up with the copied info. It used to work fine, but I think it was since the last OS update that this started happening, and it happens EVERY TIME.

iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 11.6

Posted on Oct 9, 2021 3:58 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 14, 2021 3:37 AM

Press command-shift-5 to open the Screnshot application.

Select one of the still image buttons, and then click Options. What is selected under "Save To"?

Do you have "Show floating thumbnail" turned on?


I have selected Preview under "Save To". What I see is that if Preview is not already running, then it will start but not show the screenshot (regardless of this being done with Command-Shift-3,4 or 5).


I temporarily switched to save to my Desktop and I can't seem to make that fail, regardless of sleeping my mac or not.

10 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 14, 2021 3:37 AM in response to Strgzr

Press command-shift-5 to open the Screnshot application.

Select one of the still image buttons, and then click Options. What is selected under "Save To"?

Do you have "Show floating thumbnail" turned on?


I have selected Preview under "Save To". What I see is that if Preview is not already running, then it will start but not show the screenshot (regardless of this being done with Command-Shift-3,4 or 5).


I temporarily switched to save to my Desktop and I can't seem to make that fail, regardless of sleeping my mac or not.

Oct 19, 2021 2:49 PM in response to Strgzr

Strgzr wrote:

( See thorough reply to other person- it still doesn’t work on first try!)

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


Oct 11, 2021 7:25 AM in response to Strgzr

Hello Strgzr,


Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We've reviewed your question and it looks like you’ve noticed an issue where you can’t reliably use the screenshot keyboard shortcut on your Mac . It's understandable that you'd want this resolved, so allow us to assist with that. Let’s start out by testing to see when this behavior occurs. 


First, put your Mac into safe mode and test. Booting into safe mode will disable any startup and login items from automatically opening, which can help us to isolate the source of the issue further. When you do this, you’ll see some unusual behavior from the display; this is to be expected. Please follow the steps in this article: How to use safe mode on your Mac. 


Next, let's see if this behavior persists in a second user account on your Mac. If you have a second account, please log into that and see how it works. If you don't have one you can use, please follow these steps to make a test account that can be deleted later: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.


If you have follow-up questions, please let us know. We're here for you. Have a fantastic day!

Oct 11, 2021 8:14 AM in response to Strgzr

Strgzr wrote:
Keyboard shortcut for copy not work first time after Sleep.

After coming back to iMac (newest OS) from either SLEEP or SCREENSAVER, the first time I copy with keyboard shortcut with: Shift/Command/4 ...nothing shows up, when I repeat it and the window shows up with the copied info. It used to work fine, but I think it was since the last OS update that this started happening, and it happens EVERY TIME.


Copy is Command C



See "Screen shot(s)"

Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac - Apple Support


Oct 13, 2021 10:49 PM in response to leroydouglas

Leroy THIS is what I’m talking about- I just didn’t call it the correct terminology:

”pture a portion of the screen 

Press Shift-Command-4, then move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot. Press the mouse or trackpad button, drag over the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button.”

( See thorough reply to other person- it still doesn’t work on first try!)

Oct 19, 2021 1:31 PM in response to Jeff_W.

Jeff: Sorry, I just now got around to replying to your help above. Here's what the results were:

-First letting you know the specific keyboard shortcut I prefer and all this pertains to is the "shift/command/4". Second I tried copying different areas on screen like email, website, desktop, etc.

1)Restarted in Safe Mode, did not copy first try, did 2nd.

2)Restarted computer regularly, did not copy first try, did 2nd

3)Noted the Preview in lower dock was sometimes on and sometimes off, didn't seem to matter-even if ON sometimes it copied on first try sometimes not (intermittent it seems now)

4)Setup 2nd user and logged in-when tried to copy I saw a window on lower right appear then slide off to right and found it on desktop. (This never happened in Safe nor non-safe mode)

5)Deleted 2nd user and restarted regularly, did not copy first try, did 2nd

6)Restarted computer-worked first time. (seems to happen off and on, but "frequently")


Oct 19, 2021 1:50 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Luis, I don't know if this command-shift-5("c-s-5") settings are related to comand-shift-4 or not, but I saw what might be prob in c-s-5, for some reason the SAVE TO there was "quick time player"! I changed it to "save to-desktop" so now, that specific shortcut pops up a small window in lower right which I can enlarge to view easier and it already has Markup at top (where in preview I had to do another keyboard shortcut: command-shift-A), which I use allot.

I also noticed after I changed the c-s-5 to SAVE TO DESKTOP, when I tried the c-s-4 again, it had a window in lower right appear few seconds, then slid off to right and saved to desktop (I can click to open that saved pic and Preview opens). Anyway, I prefer to drag area I want instead of having to c-s-5 and drag copied outline around to get to just the area I want to copy.

But all in all, you gave me two choices and a fix, so THANK YOU!

Oct 19, 2021 11:35 PM in response to Strgzr

I also mostly use Command-Shift-4, but you should know that

Command-Shift-5 is where can set your preferred options, and then these options do apply thereafter any time you use Command-Shift-4.


That window appearing at the bottom right is referred to as "floating thumbnail", and you can choose to have it appear, or not. Again, this is a choice you make with Command-Shift-5, in the Options menu - just check or uncheck "Show Floating Thumbnail".


Another thing: again, with Command-Shift-5 there are separate settings for screenshots or screen recordings. You can, for example, save still shots to the desktop (without or without the floating thumbnail) and have screen recordings open in Quicktime Player.


Keyboard shortcut for copy not work first time after Sleep.

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