camera icon macos screenshotThere are several ways you can take screenshots on a Mac. Preview offers the option from its File menu. There's also a little screen capture app in the macOS Utilities folder called Grab. But the simplest and most common method is to use your Mac's built-in shortcut key combinations. Taking a screenshot is as easy as hitting Shift-Command-3 to capture the whole screen, or Shift-Command-4 to capture a portion of the screen using the mouse cursor as a crosshair selection tool (a tap of the spacebar also turns it into a camera for capturing windows).

If you tack the Control key onto either of these shortcuts, macOS copies the captured image to the clipboard, which is useful if you want to paste it into an application that can edit or view images. Otherwise, screenshots taken using key shortcuts are saved straight to your desktop. If you'd like to change that default save location to somewhere different, simply follow the steps below. You can also change the default file format that the screenshots are saved in by following these steps. The last section of this article offers some tips for taking more control of your screenshot selections, so be sure to check those out too.

How to Change Where Screenshots Get Saved in macOS

  1. Open a Finder window and press Shift-Command-N to create a new folder where you want your screenshots to be saved. Click the folder's name if you'd like to rename it.
    screenshot save location 1

  2. Launch the Terminal app (found in Applications/Utilities).

  3. Type in the following command and then press the spacebar, but don't hit Enter just yet: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location

  4. Now drag the folder you just created into the Terminal window. The folder's path should appear after the command you typed in. Press Enter.
    screenshot save location 2

Your captured images will now be saved in the designated folder whenever you use the screenshot shortcuts. Note: Do not delete this folder until you've changed the save location to somewhere else using the same Terminal command, or you'll run into issues. If you want to switch things back in future so that images are saved on your desktop again, simply input the Terminal command as above, but change the path to ~/Desktop.

How to Change the Default File Format of Screenshots

  1. Launch the Terminal app (found in Applications/Utilities).

  2. To change the screenshot format to JPG, TIFF, GIF, PDF, or PNG, type in the command defaults write com.apple.screencapture type followed by a space, and then type the relevant format suffix. (We've used JPG in the example below.)
    screenshot format change

  3. Press Enter.

  4. Test if the command has been applied by taking a screenshot with Shift-Command-3. If the image is still being saved in the previous format, restart your Mac manually, or reboot by typing the Terminal command killall SystemUIServer and pressing Enter.

Tips for Taking Selection Screenshots

Tip: 1 When using the Shift-Command-4 shortcut combined with the spacebar to capture windows, you can eliminate the window's drop shadow from the screenshot by using Option-click instead of regular click.

Tip: 2 When using Shift-Command-4 to grab a portion of the screen, if you misjudge the initial point of your selection, hold down the spacebar before releasing the mouse button and you can reposition the entire selection area.

Tip: 3 When making a selection with Shift-Command-4, press the Option key before releasing the mouse button and move your mouse around to resize the dimensions of the selection area from its center point.

Tip: 4 When expanding a selection area with your mouse, hold down the Shift key to lock the dimensions of the area except for the direction that you're presently dragging in.

touch bar screenshot option
Bonus Tip: If you have a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar you can customize the Control Strip region to include a Screenshot button with selection options. Simply select System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Customize Control Strip, and drag the button onto the Touch Bar area.

Top Rated Comments

Mr.Seri0us Avatar
79 months ago
You can use Shift-Command-6 to capture the touch bar also...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex00100 Avatar
79 months ago
Keep doing these!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calvinline Avatar
79 months ago
I like the way that IOS saves screenshots automatically to an Album in photos called Screenshots. It would be really useful to have this automatic Screenshots album on the Mac as well. (For me at least)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrettArchibald Avatar
79 months ago
Tip: 1 When using the Shift-Command-4 shortcut combined with the spacebar to capture windows, you can eliminate the window's drop shadow from the screenshot by using Option-click instead of regular click.
Now this is handy, as I do Shift-Ctrl-Cmd-4-Spacebar many times throughout any given day, but I did not know that I could eliminate the dropshadow. This tip will save me plenty of time cropping it out in Photoshop!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikir Avatar
79 months ago
Touch bar is very handy for this
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...