Default Location For Mac Screenshot

You likely take tons of screenshots, and who could blame you? Screenshotting is an easy way to save bits of information or capture a shareable memory. Across iOS and macOS, screenshots are simple to take – but where do screenshots go on Mac?

1. Change Location Of Screenshots Mac
2. Default Folder For Mac Screenshots
3. Set Default Location For Screenshots Mac
4. Macbook Screenshot Location
5. Mac Default Screenshot Folder
6. Mac Change Default Screenshot Location
7. Default Screenshot Location Windows 10

Taking a screenshot is only the first step. You then have to find it, and save it to your desired folder, iCloud, or share it with someone. We'll tell you where your screenshots go, how to change the Mac screenshot location once they're captured, and tell you about a few great apps that make the process easier.

By default, when you capture a screenshot on your Macbook, it ends up on your desktop. For users that work with screenshots either for creating training materials or for drafting research papers, this can be a pain, as you tend to accumulate all these png/jpg files on your desktop. Therefore, you can create a new folder for your screenshots, or you can set any other folder such as Documents as the save location. Here are some of the options you can use. Documents: As mentioned earlier, you can directly save all your screenshots in the Documents folder. A is a Library folder, and it comes with the system installation.

Defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /folder path/ We decided to save our screenshots to a folder called Screenshots so the command we executed looked like this: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location Users/usman/Pictures/Screenshots/. You will need to log out and log in again for the change to take effect. To change the image format (by default it saves as PNG), execute the following command in Terminal. Defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/lorikaufman/Screenshots Press Enter to execute the command. When that command is finished running, the prompt comes back. Now, you need to reset the user interface (UI) on your Mac so it recognizes the change you just made. Mac – how to change default location for screenshots Open terminal shell by searching terminal in spotlight search or from launch tray. Run the following command to see. Create a folder for screenshots. We'll create and use folder screenshots on Desktop. Run the following command to change the.

Make sense of your screenshots

Change Location Of Screenshots Mac

Install Setapp to get access to the best screenshot apps. Save all your screen captures without cluttering storage on Mac.

Where are Screenshots saved on a Mac

When you take a screenshot on your Mac, it will be saved to your Mac's Desktop folder by default. This is done to make screenshots easy to find once you snap them. To locate your screenshots, either view your desktop to find thumbnails of your screenshots or locate the 'Desktop' section in the Finder app.

How to change where Mac screenshots are saved?

To change screenshot location Mac computers provide a few options. First, the Shift-Command-5 keyboard shortcut allows you to record or capture a portion of the screen, with an options menu that allows you to save the screenshot to a few different locations. This is a quick way to have a screenshot saved to your Documents folder – but what if you want a unique Mac save screenshots to folder function?

For that, you need Terminal. Here's how to change where screenshots are saved Mac Terminal style:

1. On your Mac, create a folder called 'Screenshots' (or anything else you like)

2. Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Terminal

3. Type this command: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location

4. Drag the 'Screenshots' folder you've just created onto the Terminal window. You'll see its path displayed after the command.

5. Hit Return

6. Quit Terminal

Remember this is a ‘forever' option and changes your screenshot location Mac folder for good. To change this again, you'll have to go through the same process in Terminal.

There are a few issues with Apple's default screenshot tooling. First, there are several shortcuts for taking screenshots, and only the Shift-Command-5 option brings up a unique save menu. Terminal is root level on your Mac, and you can really mess things up if you're not careful.

For capturing, editing, and saving screenshots, we prefer CleanShot X. This Mac app has an incredible amount of features for capturing, editing, marking up, and saving screenshots, videos, and even GIFs of your Mac screen! We especially like it for capturing conversations; CleanShot X has a unique ‘scrolling' capture feature, which is like a panorama mode for screenshotting conversations.

Default Folder For Mac Screenshots

CleanShot X also has its own cloud feature if you want a dedicated home for screenshots to live, or you can customize it to save screenshots anywhere you like in the app's settings. After a capture, CleanShot X pins a small thumbnail to your screen where you can edit, save, or share your new screenshot, GIF, or scrolling capture. It's amazing.

Save screenshots to iCloud

Set Default Location For Screenshots Mac

By default, your Mac syncs your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud, which are also available on your iPhone or iPad via the Files app. Taking and saving screenshots to either of those locations from your Mac will automatically surface them across your device.

Get 10 GB storage for screenshots

Save all your screenshots to a favorite cloud provider with Dropshare. Get the app via Setapp and enjoy 10 GB of free storage.

We don't all want that – many of us have other cloud services we prefer, like Dropbox, Google Drive, or others. This is especially true if you use your Mac for both personal and business. Instead of wondering where are screenshots saved Mac computers can share your captured content to cloud providers using Dropshare.

Most of us will simply snap screenshots, let them pile up on our Desktop, then curate them later on. This is fine, but the workflow can get messy, and if you would rather save your screenshots to a cloud service provider that isn't iCloud, Dropshare makes it really easy. You can even record keyboard shortcuts for Dropshare to capture and send your screenshots to any cloud service provider you like. Here's how:

1. Get and install Dropshare

2. Type in your email address and password to create your account

3. Click on the Dropshare icon in the menu bar, choose the cog, and select Preferences

4. Choose the Screenshots tab

5. Single deck blackjack online. Next to Capture & Upload Screen, choose Record Shortcut

6. Press the keys you want to use for the shortcut

7. Repeat step 6 for Capture & Upload Selection as well as Capture & Annotate, if you want to use those features

8. Optionally, change the default file format to JPG by choosing it from the menu next to 'Capture all screenshots in'

9. Close the Preferences window

If automation doesn't suit you, Dropshare doesn't require it. You can drag and drop screenshots onto the Dropshare icon in your Mac menu bar, and select where they should be shared. Again, a great option for those who use their Mac for business and personal uses, and have cloud storage lockers for each use-case.

Change your Mac's default screenshot directory using Terminal

If you don't want to turn on Desktop and Documents in iCloud, you can use Terminal to change the default location for screenshots:

1. Follow steps 1–3 above to activate iCloud Drive
2. Click on the iCloud Drive icon in the Finder window
3. Create a folder called 'Screenshots' (or anything else you like)
4. Keep iCloud Drive open in the Finder so you can see the folder
5. Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Terminal
6. Type: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location
7. Drag the 'Screenshots' folder you've just created in iCloud Drive onto the Terminal window. You'll see its path displayed after the command.
8. Hit Return
9. Quit Terminal

From now on, every time you take a screenshot, it will be saved in that folder in iCloud Drive.

If you are not sure about using Terminal, there are a few other options for saving screenshots in iCloud or any other cloud storage service where you have an account.

Send your screenshots to the Paste clipboard

Paste is a clipboard manager for Mac that allows you to copy multiple items to its inboard, categorize them, and recall them from the clipboard whenever you need. It's like Mac's own clipboard but turbo-charged. Paste syncs with iCloud, allowing you to access your pinboards on another Mac or iOS devices on which you have Paste installed and connected to your iCloud account.

To use your pinboards to save screenshots to iCloud:

1. Take a screenshot using the normal keyboard shortcut or using a Touch Bar
2. Go to the Finder, click the screenshot on the Desktop, and press Cmd + C to copy it

The screenshot will be copied to a pinboard in Paste and synced using iCloud.

How to change the default file format of a screenshot

As we mentioned earlier, screenshots are saved as PNG files by default. That means that when you save a window, for example, transparency is preserved and the drop shadow appears on the background of any image you place your screenshot on top of — it's handy from compositing screenshots on top of a desktop background in an image you're creating. However, if you want to save screenshots as JPG files, you can use Dropshare or Terminal.

We've described how to change the file format to JPG in Dropshare above, so here's how to do it in Terminal:

1. Launch Terminal from Applications > Utilities
2. Type: defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
3. Hit Return

And that's it. All screenshots you take now on your Mac will be saved as JPG files. You can revert back to PNG files by using the same Terminal command, but replace jpg with png.

If you want to change the file format of screenshots you've already taken, you can use an image converter like Permute. Just drag your screenshots onto the app's window and select JPG as the file format Permute will convert them and save them back to the folder they came from originally.

Finally, if you have lots of screenshots and need to organize them, rename them, tag them, or just view them in a beautiful browser, try Inboard, which will make sorting them a breeze and display them in the Pinterest-like way.

What if I can't find my screenshots?

Okay, you've taken screenshots, and you're pretty sure they're saving to the right location – but you still can't find them! What's going on?

Now is a good time to check your keyboard settings to make sure your Mac is acting as you expect it should with regard to screenshots. Here's how:

What if I can't find my screenshots?

Okay, you've taken screenshots, and you're pretty sure they're saving to the right location – but you still can't find them! What's going on?

Now is a good time to check your keyboard settings to make sure your Mac is acting as you expect it should with regard to screenshots. Here's how:

1. From your Mac menu bar, select the Apple logo on left

2. Select 'System Preferences'

3. Select 'Keyboard'

4. Tap on the 'Shortcuts' menu tab

5. Select 'Screenshots'

6. Make sure all five boxes are checked

Again, your screenshots should be saving to the desktop by default. If you still have trouble finding them, it's entirely possible another app is causing issues, which is really difficult to diagnose. This is a reason we prefer Inboard for managing screenshots.

The Inboard app is a much more visual and intuitive way of managing your screenshots and saved photos. It bills itself as a 'private Pinterest' for your Mac, and that's not wrong. We love Inboard because it displays your screenshots in a vibrant collage format, and allows you to tag or categorize your screenshots however you like.

You can use Inboard the same as you would Pinterest and save screenshots for projects – again, great for those with Macs used for business and personal use. There are even Chrome and Safari extensions to capture and save full-screen shots directly to Inboard, making capture and management a snap.

Conclusion

Taking screenshots is as much a part of using your iPhone, iPad, and Mac as typing is. Whether you're saving information, sharing something funny with friends or family, or using screenshots to save as notes for a later time, we all utilize the feature.

Because screenshots are so ingrained in our routines, finding, sharing, and storing them is critical. That's why we enjoy Dropshare, Inboard, and CleanShot. We touched on all three apps here, and each has a ton of options for streamlining your workflow. No matter what your needs are, these apps deliver.

All three are available for free as part of a seven day trial of Setapp, a sensational suite of productivity apps for your Mac. During your week-long trial, you'll have access to these three apps as well as nearly 200 other great Mac apps in Setapp's catalog, all free to test and try at your leisure. When the free trial is over, Setapp is only $9.99 per month.

Families can take advantage of Setapp's $19.99 per month family plan, which grants unlimited access to the entire Setapp catalog of apps on up to four unique Macs. What are you waiting for? Give Setapp a try today!

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

Sign Up

Macbook Screenshot Location

• You can choose where your screenshots go on a Mac by using the built-in screenshot menu.
• By default, all screenshots you take on your Mac will be saved to the Desktop, labeled with the date and time they were taken.
• If you hold down Control while taking a screenshot, it'll be temporarily saved to your computer's clipboard instead of the hard drive.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

There are few things more frustrating than saving a file, only to realize that you have no idea where on your computer it's actually been saved to.

You could spend your time combing through every folder and subsection, looking for it — or you could just take the time beforehand to make sure your files always go to the right place.

On a Mac, there are several ways to take a screenshot of your entire screen, a specific window, or a selected section. And luckily, it's easy to decide where you want all of your screenshots to go automatically.

Here's what you should know about where screenshots go on your Mac.

Where screenshots go on a Mac, and how to change it

By default, any screenshot you take on your Mac will go to the Desktop. Once you press any of the screenshot shortcuts, the picture will appear on your Desktop, labeled as 'Screen Shot,' followed by the date and time.

You can also hold down the Control key while you take the screenshot to copy it to the clipboard. Your Mac's clipboard is the space that anything you copy or 'Cut' goes to — in other words, once the screenshot is saved there, you can paste it by pressing Command + V.

When you copy a screenshot to the clipboard, it won't be saved to your hard drive. This means that unless you paste the picture somewhere and save that, the screenshot will disappear as soon as you copy something else.

Although these are the two spaces where screenshots go by default, you can choose a new saving location at any time. To do this:

1. Press Shift+ Command + 5. If you're running MacOS Mojave or newer (if you've bought or updated your Mac since 2018, this should be the case), this will open the advanced screenshot menu.

2. In the menu bar that appears near the bottom of the screen, click 'Options.'

3. A pop-up will open, divided into a few sections. The first section, 'Save to,' will let you pick where your screenshots will be saved by default — you can click one of the preset options, or select 'Other location' to choose a new folder.

Mac Default Screenshot Folder

Mac Change Default Screenshot Location

Once you've chosen a new location, any screenshot you take (without holding Control) will be saved there.

Default Screenshot Location Windows 10

Devon Delfino contributed to a previous version of this article.

Related coverage from Tech Reference: