don't forget about grab.app.

Over the weekend, I had to take a number of screen shots for a project that I was working on. In Mac OS X, you can take screen shots easily by holding down the Option + Shift +3 keys and then select a section of the screen you want to capture. If all goes well, you will have a .pdf file on your desktop which contains the screenshot you just chose. I am not sure what it is about my set up, but every once and awhile when taking screenshots with the Option + Shift +3 keys, I can see the pdf that is produced on the desktop, but when I try to open it, it disappears (even when I list files using the command line). I have been able to solve this by restarting the computer (after unsuccessful attempts running disk utility), but this weekend, I was still having a problem after restarting.
the solution: grab.app Grab has been around since the early Mac OS X Server days. (It was one of the only apps that made sense to me back then) Sure you can download Snapz Pro by Ambrosia Software, which is an excellent application, but if your needs are simple, go to your /Applications/Utilities/ folder and take a look at Grab. Grab will allow you to capture a selection, windown, screen, or a timed screen. Grab is a very simple application, but worth using if you need to take screenshots! Check it out!