Cropped
Help
Cropped Help
Cropped is a screenshot and screen recording app that also crops, trims and shrinks your images and videos. It runs on Mac (Apple Silicon, macOS 14 or later), Windows and, as a Beta, Linux. Everything happens on your own computer: your files are never uploaded.
New to Cropped on a Mac? Start with Install Cropped on a Mac.
This guide covers every feature in the desktop app, in the order most people use them: capture and annotate, then crop, optimize and export, then the Drop Zone that ties it together.
The three parts of Cropped
Cropped opens two windows, and a third appears when you need it.
| Window | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Drop Zone | A small panel that floats above your other apps. Drop files on it to optimize them in one step, take screenshots and recordings with its buttons, and drag results straight into Slack, Mail, a browser or a folder. |
| Studio | The main "Cropped" window. Crop, rotate and resize images, trim and crop videos, join clips into one video with music and a voiceover, pick social media sizes, and choose the exact format and quality before you export. |
| Annotate window | Opens when you click a screenshot. Add arrows, boxes, X marks, text, numbered steps and highlights, blur or black out private details, and crop. |
Quick start
- Take a screenshot. Press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + 8 (Windows: Ctrl + Shift + 8), drag over part of the screen and press Return. The screenshot shows up in the Drop Zone, already optimized and copied to your clipboard. See Screenshots.
- Record your screen. Press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + 0 (Windows: Ctrl + Shift + 0), pick an area, then press the same keys again to stop. See Screen recording.
- Mark it up. Click the screenshot in the Drop Zone to add arrows, text, boxes and numbered steps. See Annotate screenshots.
- Shrink any file. Drop images or videos on the Drop Zone. Cropped saves smaller copies in Downloads/Cropped and keeps your originals. See The Drop Zone.
- Put screenshots side by side. Select two or more in the Drop Zone and click Arrange to get one image. See Put screenshots side by side.
- Fine-tune in the Studio. Press ⌘ Command + O in the Studio to add files, crop them, then press ⌘ Command + ↩ Return to optimize. See The Studio.
- Make one video from several. Drop two or more videos on the Studio and choose As one edit to join them, add music and record a voiceover. See Combine videos.
Get started checklist
The first time you open Cropped, the Studio shows Get started with Cropped: eight things to try, from your first screenshot to choosing where files are saved. Each one ticks itself off when you do it, in any Cropped window. Try it starts a screenshot or recording, and Show me points at the right button or setting.
- Take a screenshot
- Add an arrow or text to a screenshot
- Drop a file on the Drop Zone
- Crop an image to a size, such as 16:9
- Optimize and see how much you saved
- Record your screen
- Trim a recording or video to the part you need
- Choose where your files are saved
Close the checklist with ✕ or Esc whenever you like. Bring it back anytime, even after you finish it, with Get started at the top of the ? help panel at the bottom left of the Studio. While items are left, Get started also sits at the bottom of the Studio's sidebar, and on Mac Help › Getting Started in the menu bar opens it too. Click Start over to go through it again.
Where your files go
- Optimized files are saved to Downloads/Cropped unless you pick another folder. Cropped never overwrites a file. If a name is taken, it adds -2, -3 and so on.
- Originals stay untouched. Cropped only ever writes new copies.
- Screenshots and recordings are kept in Cropped's capture history, and the optimized copy goes to Downloads/Cropped. See Where captures are saved.
Close and quit
Closing the Studio, the Drop Zone or the Annotate window only hides it. Cropped keeps running so your capture shortcuts keep working. Click Cropped in the Dock (Windows: the taskbar) to bring the Studio and the Drop Zone back. To stop Cropped completely, quit it with ⌘ Command + Q (Windows: Ctrl + Q).
Get help in the app
Click the ? button at the bottom left of the Studio to ask a question in plain words. Cropped answers from this guide, right inside the app, and links to the page with the details. The buttons at the top open the Get started checklist, the full Guide, and the Wishlist, where you can request a feature or vote on what others asked for.
Find what you need
- New to screenshots in Cropped? Start with Screenshots, Capture a window and Use Cropped as your screenshot tool.
- Editing a video? See Edit videos to trim and pick clips, Combine videos to join clips, add music and record a voiceover, Captions to add captions from what's said, and Jump Cuts to cut pauses, retakes and ums for you.
- Using Claude, Cursor or Codex? AI tools lets your AI app take screenshots, annotate, crop, edit videos and shrink files with Cropped.
- Making files smaller for the web or email? Read Optimize images and Video formats and presets.
- Posting to social media? See Crop and export sizes.
- Need a favicon or an app icon? See Make a favicon and app icons.
- Looking for a key? See Keyboard shortcuts.
- Which version do you have? It's at the bottom of the Studio's queue. See App updates.
- Missing a feature, or found a bug? Request a feature and vote on what others asked for.
Still stuck? Click the ? button at the bottom left of the Cropped Studio to ask, send us a message, or request a feature.