What is the best tool to take a screenshot on a Macbook Air M4?

I usually use Command-Shift-4, or Command-Shift-5; the standard tools.

If editing is needed, I’ll use Preview or Photos, the markup support, or one of the various photo-editing tools installed locally. Affinity Photo and Pixelmator are used locally, but are probably more than needed. Gimp is another option.

The standard tool supports markup:

• How to record the screen on your Mac - Apple Support
• Mark up files on Mac - Apple Support

I maintain about a dozen Confluence pages (kind-of-a-Wiki) at work. I use Command-Shift-5 with the Options set to save the screenshot to Preview, where I use Preview-> Tools-> Annotate to add boxes, arrows, text, etc… to the screenshots, before doing a copy & paste into the page I am editing.

I have hundreds of screenshots in those pages, and the Command-Shift-5/Preview combo has been invaluable, as well as quick and easy to use.

I’ve gotten very good at using keyboard shortcuts to add the boxes, arrows and text to the screenshots before pasting them in their final home.

• I use GraphicConverter + To save a screenshot to the Clipboard instead of your desktop, take either of these actions:
  • Control-click the screenshot thumbnail that appears in the corner of your screen, then choose Save to Clipboard from the shortcut menu that appears.
  • Or press Control in addition to the other keys you press to take the screenshot. For example, instead of pressing Shift-Command-3, press Control-Shift-Command-3.

Once captured I click on GC & hit CMD+ j to open the copy buffer in GC to fully edit it,

I second using macOS Screenshots and then Preview for basic editing.

Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac - Apple Support

Annotate an image in Preview on Mac - Apple Support