I've OnyX in several Mac OS X. I've not re-set the default from.png to.jpg in my Mavericks 10.9.5 system. Too easy for only a few screenshots to change the suffix.png to.jpg. My older Mac that runs 10.5.8, I have set the default to.jpg because that's. Helpful to edit images on desktop. Also in older Mac, I use ToyViewer editor. When you want to take a screenshot for Mac, the first step is pressing the command + shift + 3 keys all at once. This will save a copy of the screen on the clipboard. You can also press this combination minus the command key so as to save this image on the desktop. In case you are running the development preview of the upcoming Mojave update.
Do you like to know how to take a screenshot on Mac? Then you are in the right place.
In case you are coming from the windows PC, you may be wondering about taking a screenshot minus the print screen key on the keyboard.
The good news is that there are several screenshot methods that are in novel versions of macOS and they include capturing a particular window, all of which produce images that can be used to flaunt high scores or clarify an issue with the supporting tech.
How to Take a Screenshot on Mac:
The use of keyboard commands:
Keyboard commands are very quick and easy as a way of taking screenshots on Mac, whether you want to capture the whole screen or just part of the screen.
Capturing the whole screen:
When you want to take a screenshot for Mac, the first step is pressing the command + shift + 3 keys all at once. This will save a copy of the screen on the clipboard. You can also press this combination minus the command key so as to save this image on the desktop.
In case you are running the development preview of the upcoming Mojave update for Apple’s macOS, the screenshot preview will be available in the screen corner to give you quick access to tools of editing. It is your choice to take advantage of the novel stacks feature of the screenshot to group the screenshots together.
Capturing selected areas:
Start by pressing the shift + command + 4 keys altogether. With the assistance of the mouse pointer turned to the crosshair, utilize it to select the area you want to cover. You can then fine-tune the selection by simply pressing the spacebar, which will allow you to take a capture of the full screen or to choose the open menu.
The place you select will get copied to your clipboard. Conversely, for your screenshot to get saved on the desktop as the PNG file, do not press the command key. If you possess and MacBook Pro that has a touch bar; you will get the options on its touch bar including the entire screen, the window, and the selected portion. You may also use it to save the screenshot on another folder like the documents, desktop, and the clipboard. Another exclusive feature is taking the screenshot of your touch bar display, which you can do by pressing 6 + Shift + command to take the shot.
Using grab to take screenshots:
Do not feel like memorizing shortcuts of the keyboard? Grab is a software program that comes pre-installed in the machine and allows you to create screenshots from the menu bar directly. This package also allows you to take time-delayed screenshots when you need to prepare the stage before you capture the image on the display.
Options of grab:
Start this software by going to the utility folder to open it, which is found in the folder of applications. After launching it, you will realize the program icon in the dock. If you wish, you can pin the icon for later quick access. Grab does not just feature the window while open and runs completely from the menu bar. You can either utilize the menu system of capture to take the screenshots you desire or use detailed keyboard shortcuts next to the relevant command.
Timed screenshots:
With this package, it is possible to take a screenshot of particular selections on the screen, a particular window, or the whole screen, the same options that were outlined earlier. The only new thing here is the option of the timed screen that gives you a delay of ten seconds before the capture of the screen. This is to means that if you require positioning the mouse or opening the menu in the right position then you have enough time for the same.
Preferences of Grab:
Start by opening Grab as before when you have not yet done. Choose the timed screenshot from its menu or just press shift + command + z. Remember that the cursor of the mouse does not show up by default in the screenshot. If you desire to ensure that it is captured inside the frame, choose preferences from the grub menu and choose the mouse icon from the pop-up window.
The cursor will show up when there is delayed capturing of screenshots, which is well because you will require the mouse to get the screenshots and other options. The shortcuts of the keyboard are better options for capturing screenshots, but if you do not have the desire of memorizing things, grab is the best alternative.
Use the preview to take the screenshot:
A preview is a default tool that allows you to open all things from PDF files to photos on the Mac and it has other hidden aspects. It is possible to edit images with preview, for example, by simply clicking the icon of the toolbox. This aspect also captures screenshots.
To take screenshots, open preview, select file found in the menu bar, and then from the menu, choose from the entire screen, from selection, or from the window, as per your preferences.
It is preferred to take the shortcut of the keyboard to this method since the former is quick, but preview offers one advantage; it is possible to choose the destination of the screenshots. Other options on the list save the screenshots on the desktop with the verbose filename. The preview will open the screenshot and allows you to make several edits, and you will then save the file at the destination of choice. Preview is a solid choice in this matter to you.
Take and save Mac screenshots:
What will happen after taking the screenshot? Making an assumption that you did not just send it to your clipboard, the Mac will time stamp the screenshot automatically with the exact time and day when it was taken, which then saves a PNG on the desktop. This is crucial for immediate reference, but in case you are taking several screenshots at once, then the desktop will get clattered with items sporting odd names.
The solution is that you have to move to trash the screenshots whenever you are done with them. However, if you are working with various screenshots, this may be very tiring. The good news is that you can make modifications through third-party MacOS software and terminal commands.
Conclusion:
Take, for example, tiny for mac app. This software will rename the screen automatically based on the first application window. In case you are using chrome or safari, it will include the title and URL of the active tab. This can help with planning when you are juggling several images at once.
Alternately, in case you are running your preview build called Mojave, there are quick and new editing tools you can use to take advantage of the saved screenshots automatically on the desktop. They get grouped to declutter things. When they seem as thumbnails in the screen corner shortly after taking them, you click on the images to edit them via the Markup app.
Read Also :
Mac notebooks and desktops save screenshots as PNG image files. This guide will cover different ways to convert these screenshots to PDF and JPG formats. You’ll also learn how to change the default file formats for saving screenshots on your Mac.
Before we proceed, the next section is a quick refresher highlighting the different ways to take screenshots on macOS devices.
How to Take Screenshot on Mac
Macs have multiple keyboard shortcuts for capturing different types of screenshots. The Touch Bar (for MacBook Pros) also has a dedicated “Screenshot” tool for the same purpose.
Method 1: Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Pressing Shift + Command + 3 simultaneously will take a screenshot of the entire screen.
To capture a portion of the screen, press Shift + Command + 4 and use the crosshair tool to select the area you want to capture. To move the selected area, press the Spacebar (without raising your finger from the trackpad) and drag the selection to the preferred area.
If your MacBook has a Touch Bar, press Shift + Command + 6 to capture the Touch Bar screen.
Method 2: From the Touch Bar Control Strip
You can also take a screenshot of your MacBook screen using the Touch Bar. Expand the Control Strip and tap the Screenshot icon.
In the Captured Selected Portion section, select the area you want to capture, and select Capture on the screenshot menu.
How To Save Screenshot On Mac As Jpg Image
To capture the entire Mac display using the Touch Bar, select the Capture Entire Screen icon on the far-left, and select Capture.
There’s an option to capture an app window, too. Select the Capture Selected Window icon, hover the camera icon on the app you want to screenshot, and select anywhere on the app window.
Editing Screenshots on Mac
Whatever method you adopt, your Mac will display a thumbnail of the screenshot in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Tapping the thumbnail will launch a Preview window where you can resize and crop the screenshot, add texts and shapes, insert signatures, or share the screenshot via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, etc.
This built-in editor also lets you convert screenshots to other file formats.
Converting Screenshot on Mac
We assume you already know that there are different image formats. macOS, by default, saves screenshots in Portable Network Graphic (PNG) format. Images saved in this format have superior quality and larger file size over other common formats like JPG, BMP, etc.
Converting screenshots to JPEG format can help save your Mac’s storage space. You might also need to convert screenshots to Portable Document Format (PDF) to meet the file upload requirements of certain platforms or websites.
Luckily, the built-in macOS editor lets you convert screenshots from the default PNG format to JPEG (or JPG), TIFF, HEIC, PDF, etc.
1. Convert Screenshot to PDF on Mac
Capture the area of the screen using keyboard shortcuts or the Touch Bar and follow the steps below to convert the screenshot to a PDF file.
- Double-click or double-tap the screenshot to open it with Preview—macOS built-in image and PDF editor.
Alternatively, control-click the screenshot, select Open With and select Preview.
- Select File on the menu bar and select Export to PDF.
- Rename the file in the “Save as” dialog, tap the “Where” drop-down option to select where you want the file saved, and select Save.
2. Convert Screenshot to JPG on Mac
Rehashing screenshots to JPG on Mac follows the same process. Only that the macOS JPG conversion tool is a little more advanced—you get to choose the image quality of the resulting JPG file.
- Control-click the screenshot, select Open With on the context menu, and select Preview.
- Select File on the menu bar and select Export.
- Give the screenshot a new name/title in the “Export As” dialog box and select the preferred location you want the file saved in the “Where” dialog box. Move the Quality slider to the far right to convert the screenshot to the “Best” JPEG quality.
3. Convert Screenshot to PDF or JPG Using Online File Converters
There are several online-based file conversion tools that can convert your Mac screenshots to JPG images and PDF documents. Online-Convert and ZamZam are good examples of reputable online tools that let you convert between different files types.
Visit these platforms on your web browser, upload the screenshot, select the image or document format you want the screenshot converted to, and download the resulting file to your Mac.
4. Change Default File Format For Screenshots on Mac
As mentioned earlier, macOS saves screenshots in PNG file formats by default. Frequently converting (PNG) screenshots to other file formats can be stressful. Permanently configuring your Mac to save screenshots in your frequently-used file format will save you a lot of time, energy, and storage space.
We particularly recommend changing the default format for screenshots to JPG if your Mac’s storage is running low. That’s because PNG files often consume more storage space than JPG and PDF documents.
The image below highlights the file sizes of three screenshots (in different formats) we took at the same time on our test MacBook.
The PNG screenshot consumed the most storage space (3.1 MB) followed by the PDF (2.7 MB) and JPG (680 KB) screenshots.
- Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and double-click Terminal.
How To Save Screenshot On Mac As Jpg Without
- Type or paste defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG in the Terminal console and press Enter.
This command instructs your Mac to save screenshots files in JPG format.
- To save screenshots as PDF files, paste defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PDF in the Terminal console and press Enter.
Moving forward, your Mac will save screenshots in PDF file format. macOS also lets you save screen captures to other multimedia formats like TIFF and GIF. All you need to do is paste defaults write com.apple.screencapture type TIFF or defaults write com.apple.screencapture type GIF in the Terminal window and press Enter.
These commands will change the default file format for your Mac’s screenshots to TIFF or GIF, respectively.
To change the default screenshot file format to PNG, paste defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PNG in the Terminal window and press Enter.
To confirm if your Mac’s screenshot format has changed, take a screenshot and check the file details.
How To Save Screenshot On Mac As Jpg
Right-click or control-click a screenshot, select Get Info on the context menu and check the “Kind” row in the General section.
Screenshot On Windows
If the screenshot format remains unchanged, re-run the appropriate command, take another screenshot, and check the image format again. If you’re still unable to change the screenshot file format, restart your Mac and try again.
Refer to this troubleshooting guide on fixing screenshot-related issues on Mac if you’re having troubles with capturing, editing, or converting screenshots.