Want to condense an image to its essential form or render it fit for use in website, document or signature? Find out here how to crop in Preview on a Mac (including techniques for irregular crops and cropping circles).
First, Mix Rock Flour and Water
When glaciers flow over rock, they grind it down to a smooth surface. They also take ground-down rock particles (called rock flour) with them, of course, and dump them into the beautiful lakes that form at the bottoms of glaciers.
Part of what makes these lakes so beautiful is that very rock flour: it reflects sunlight in that hyper-realistically bright and shiny blue color so characteristic of alpine lakes.
Now, let’s cut down images ourselves to make them beautiful and bright:
How to Crop in Preview on a Mac
Time needed: 3 minutes
To crop an image to size in Preview on a Mac using macOS:
- Make visible the Preview markup toolbar.
Here’s how: Click Show Markup Toolbar in the standard toolbar.
Preview keyboard shortcut: Press Command Shift A to toggle the markup toolbar. - Click Selection Tools in the markup toolbar.
- Choose the kind of selection you would like to use.
More than rectangles: You can select circles or ellipses with Elliptical Selection and free-form shapes using the Lasso Selection and Smart Lasso.
- Use three finger drag to make the selection.
Alternative: You can also click and drag, of course.
Modifier keys
– Shift: Keep the selection to a square or circle.
– Option: Keep the selection centered on the starting point (instead of keeping it as its opposing extreme point).
Start with everything: Press Command A to select the entire image. - Move or resize the selection.
Move: To move an existing selection, use three finger dragging again.
Change: To change the size or shape of the selection, use one of its handles; the handles at the corner let you move corners, the handles on the sides only their respective sides.
Preview keyboard shortcuts: Use the arrow keys to move the selection by one pixel and Shift in combination with an arrow key to move by 10 pixels. (You can zoom in and out using Command + and Command -.)
- Press Command K to crop.
Menu alternative: You can also select Tools | Crop from the menu.
Cut: To cut the selection out of the image instead of cropping, use Command Shift I to invert the selection, then crop.
How to Crop in Preview on a Mac: FAQ
Can I add to or subtract from a selection for cropping in Preview?
No.
To add to or subtract from a selection, first crop the other shape, then cut out the inner one.
How can I stop Preview from selecting text instead of my desired shape?
If you find Preview keeps selecting text it has identified in an image instead of the selection you are laying out for cropping, you can override its interpretation of your dragging.
To prevent text instead of rectangular selection in Preview on a Mac:
- Select Tools | Rectangular Selection from the menu.
How does lasso selection work?
The lasso tools (Lasso Selection and Smart Lasso) let you make a free-form selection and always completes the selection so it encompasses a contiguous area by drawing a straight line from the point where you end the selection to the starting point.
How can I crop a circle in Mac Preview?
To creep a circle:
- Choose the Elliptical Selection tool.
- Press and hold the Shift key.
- Make the circular selection as desired.
Resizing: Hold the Shift key also while changing the size of the selection. - Release the Shift key.
- Crop.
(How to crop in Preview on a Mac tested with macOS Sonoma 14.1 and Ventura 13.3; updated April 2024)