Change where Mac screenshots save, and what they're called

A default Mac buries its desktop in files named Screenshot 2026-09-11 at 14.32.07.png. All three parts of that are adjustable.

Updated 16 September 2026

Changing the folder#

1. Press Cmd+Shift+5.
2. Click Options.
3. Pick a destination, or choose Other Location to browse.

Anything you pick applies to every shortcut, not just the toolbar. Make the folder first if it doesn't exist — the picker won't create one for you.

Three destinations in that list aren't folders at all, and they're underused:

• Clipboard — makes every capture behave like Windows, no files ever.
• Mail — opens a new message with the capture attached.
• Preview — opens the capture without saving, so you decide afterwards.

Changing the file format#

PNG is the default and the right choice for interface screenshots — lossless, sharp text. But a Retina full-screen capture can run to 8 MB, which is too much for email.

Open Terminal (press Cmd+Space, type terminal) and run:

• defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg — much smaller, slight softness around text
• defaults write com.apple.screencapture type heic — smaller than JPG at better quality, but not universally supported
• defaults write com.apple.screencapture type pdf — vector-ish, useful for print
• defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png — back to the default

Then apply it: killall SystemUIServer

Renaming the prefix and dropping the timestamp#

The word Screenshot at the start of every filename is adjustable:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "Shot"

And the long timestamp can go entirely:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture include-date -bool false

Files then become Shot.png, Shot 1.png, Shot 2.png. Run killall SystemUIServer after either command.

Removing the drop shadow from window captures#

Window captures come with a large soft shadow that eats margin and looks wrong on a coloured background:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true

Then killall SystemUIServer. To do it case by case instead, hold Option when you click the window.

Undoing everything#

defaults delete com.apple.screencapture followed by killall SystemUIServer resets every setting on this page to stock, including the save location.

These settings apply to every capture method on the MacBook page, not just the toolbar.