How to Change the Default Screenshot File Format in macOS
The default file format for macOS screenshots is .PNG, but that may wind up being more of a nuisance than you'd prefer. That's why I set my MacBook to take screenshots as JPGs, as those are better for our websites.
Here's how to change the default format for your Mac screenshots:
1. Hit Command+Space to open Spotlight.
2. Type "terminal" and select Terminal.
3. Ignoring the quotation marks, type "defaults write com.apple.screencapture type " followed by the desired file format. Your options are JPG, TIFF, GIF, PDF and PNG. Make sure to enter a space between 'location' and the format.
4. Click Enter.
Now, your screenshots will appear in this format. If they do not, restart your mac and they will.
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macOS Guide
- How to Password Protect a Folder in a Mac
- How to Force Quit or Close Frozen Applications
- Move Your Mac files to a Windows PC
- How to Dual-Boot Windows and macOS
- Increase the Text Size on Your Mac
- Install or Uninstall Mac Apps
- How to Eject USB Devices and Memory Cards in macOS
- Switch Between Open Apps in macOS
- How to Unlock a MacBook with Your Apple Watch
- Clean Out Your macOS LaunchPad
- How to Use Trackpad Gestures to Navigate macOS
- How to Use Right-Click in macOS
- Use Siri on Your Mac
- How to Customize the Notification Center
- Add a Signature to PDFs with Mac Preview
- Use Memories in the Photos App on Mac
- How to Use Night Shift in macOS
- How to Change Your Mac's Password
- How to Edit Siri's Activation Keyboard Shortcuts on macOS
- Change Views in Finder
- Use macOS Dark Mode
- Transfer Files with AirDrop
- How to Use Mission Control on a Mac
- Use Optimized Storage
- How to Enable Parental Controls on a Mac
- How to Mark Up PDFs in macOS
- Back Up Mac with Time Machine
- How to Use Dictation on a Mac
- How to Use the macOS Feature
- Use Apple Pay in macOS
- How to Block Websites on Your Mac