How to Save Pictures to Your MacBook

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: September 19, 2024 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to save a picture from a message, document, or the Internet to your MacBook computer. Unlike a Windows PC, Macs can't right-click—at least not with the mouse. In this article you'll learn how to right-click on a Mac so you can save images, or just drag and drop the image where you want to save it.

Quick Steps

Locate the image that you want to save.
Hover your cursor over the image.
Press and hold the Control key on your keyboard.
Click the image.
Select the Save option from the contextual menu that pops up.

For popular FAQs on saving pictures on your Mac, jump to more common questions.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using the Context Menu

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1
Go to a photo that you want to save. Open the message, document, or web page that contains the photo you'd like to save on your MacBook.
- Not all web pages permit images to be saved or downloaded. For example, you can't download pictures from the Instagram website.
2
Open the image if necessary. If the image is in a preview format (e.g., a result on Google), you'll first need to click the image to open it in full-size view.
- Some images, such as occasional images inserted into articles, serve as links to other pages. If clicking an image opens an unrelated page, click your browser's "Back" button to return to the original image.
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Your mouse pointer should be sitting on top of the image that you want to save.
4
Open the context menu. Hold down the Control key, click the image, and then release the Control key. A pop-up menu should appear on or near the image.
- You have to hold down Control for the entire duration of the click, or the menu won't appear.
- On some MacBooks, you can click and hold the picture to prompt the pop-up window to appear.
- You can also try "right-clicking" the picture by pressing your Mac's trackpad button with two fingers, or by pressing the right side of the trackpad button on some MacBooks.
5
Click Save Image to "Downloads". It's in the context menu. This will prompt the photo to download immediately into your Mac's "Downloads" folder, which is usually a folder literally named "Downloads".
- If you're using a browser other than Safari, you can click Save Image As instead. This option will allow you to select a name and a specific download location for the file before you download it.
- You can open the "Downloads" folder by opening Finder (the blue, face-shaped app icon) and then clicking Downloads on the left side of the window.
- If you set your Mac's default "Downloads" folder to a different folder (e.g., the "Desktop" folder), you'll find the image there instead.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Drag-and-Drop

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1
Go to a photo that you want to save. Open the message, document, or web page that contains the photo you'd like to save on your MacBook.
- Not all web pages permit images to be saved or downloaded. For example, you can't download pictures from the Instagram website.
2
Open the image if necessary. If the image is in a preview format (e.g., a result on Google), you'll first need to click the image to open it in full-size view.
- Some images, such as occasional images inserted into articles, serve as links to other pages. If clicking an image opens an unrelated page, click your browser's "Back" button to return to the original image.
Click the yellow circle in the upper-left corner of the window that contains the image. This makes the window smaller so that your Mac's desktop is visible.
4
Click and drag the photo onto your desktop. Click and hold the image with your mouse pointer, then drag the image off of the edge of your browser window until it's suspended over the desktop.
- You should see a transparent version of the image appear when you drag it away.
When you see a white + in a green circle appear over the thumbnail of the picture, release the click you were holding. This will place the image file on your desktop.

Common Questions: Saving Images on Mac

How do you right-click on a Mac?

To right-click on a Mac, press and hold the Ctrl button on your keyboard while you click on an item with your mouse or trackpad.

Why won't my Mac let me save images?

You may not have permission to save items on your Mac account, or you might be trying to save the image in an invalid location. The image also might have protections placed on it so you can't right-click it to save it. In this case, you can try dragging and dropping the image to your desktop.

How can I save a screenshot to my photos on Mac?

If you have macOS Mojave or later, you can change your screenshot save location by pressing Cmd + Shift + 5 and clicking Options at the bottom of the screen. You can then select your save location in the menu. You can also drag and drop the screenshot from your Desktop to your Photos album.

Video

Tips

If you encounter a photo which can't be saved, you can still take a screenshot of the photo.

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Creating folders on your computer is a great way to organize photos and make them easier to find.

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Rename photos when you save them. Doing so will make the images easier to find when you want to locate them on your Mac.

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Warnings

Never use other people's photos in your own content without their explicit, written permission.

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Some photos cannot be downloaded from their webpages or sources.

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