Taking screenshots is incredibly useful, as they have a variety of applications, from sharing a bug to communicating with your team effectively. Every day we send out dozens of screenshots, and, by now, these images are simply part of our working lives.
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How do I change the default screenshot name in OS X Lion? Macos osx-lion screenshot. In OS X Lion, when I press cmd + shift + 4. / Where Do Screenshots Go On Mac? Where Do Screenshots Go On Mac? Last updated on November 18, 2019 By Serhat Kurt 2 Comments. Mac OS has a built-in screenshot taking feature and taking a screenshot is very easy. I take a lot of screenshots on my Mac. Name. Email. Website. Got a tip for us? Recent Comments.
By default, macOS saves screenshots as PNG files on your Desktop and labels them as “Screen Shot x,” where “x” is the date and time the screenshot was taken. In macOS Mojave, you can also preview, crop, and annotate screenshots before saving them.
![]() Change where screenshots are saved on Mac
You don’t have to keep screenshots on your desktop. In fact, it’s pretty easy to stop your screenshots from going to desktop, change their default saving location as well as their naming convention and file type. Here’s how to do that.
Save screenshots to iCloud the easy way
To automatically save your Mac screenshots in iCloud:
Now, every file on your Desktop and in your Documents folder will be stored in iCloud, including screenshots. So no needs to ask 'Why are my screenshots not showing up on my desktop?'
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:
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:
The screenshot will be copied to a pinboard in Paste and synced using iCloud.
Use custom cloud storage with Dropshare
Dropshare makes it easy to move any file to a number of different cloud storage services including Dropshare’s own cloud storage, Amazon S3, and Google Drive. You can’t use Dropshare to upload to iCloud, but you can use a 10GB of cloud space for free instead. Best of all, the app uploads your screenshots as soon as you take them. Here’s how to set it up:
Now, whenever you use the shortcuts you set, screenshots will be captured and uploaded to Dropshare automatically.
If none of those options appeal to you, there is still a way to save screenshots to iCloud. There are applications, like MacPilot, that allow you to access low-level system commands that would normally only be accessible via Terminal. So, you could use one of those to change the default screenshot location.
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:
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.
Taking screenshots is easy indeed, but there’s so much more you can do with them than just leave them on your Desktop. Use the tips above and you’ll see just how powerful using screenshots can be. Best of all, the apps that can help you out here are all available for a free trial on Setapp, a platform of over 150 high-quality macOS apps and utilities.
When you take a screenshot on your Mac, macOS will by default name the file “Screen Shot Date Time” where “Date” and “Time” are the actual date and time when the screenshot was taken. This makes for long file names that aren’t necessarily helpful.
If like me you want to have more control over that file name, then read on as I show you how to change the default name of screenshots on Mac. How to change screenshot file names on MacStep 1: Launch Terminal.Step 2: Copy/paste or enter this command line, and replace “iDB” with whatever you see fit. Hit Enter when done.
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