Mac OS Tip: Change Screenshot Default File Format
Most Mac OS users are familiar with the Screen Shot functionality and its many options and key combinations, all of which is dependent on how nimble your fingers are (see the table of key combinations for screen shots at the end of this post), but did you know that you could change the default file format that they are saved as?
By default, since Mac OS 10.4 all screen shots are saved as PNG files, before that they were saved as PDF files. However there are many folks that still would like to save their files as a different format such as JPG or GIF. This is an easy change to make, but it requires you to fire up the Terminal to make the change.
- Locate the Terminal App. /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
- Type the following:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type "file type"
Replace “file type” with the extension of the file type you wish to save as such as PDF, JPG, GIF, etc.
Screenshot Commands
| Key Combo | Result |
|---|---|
| Command+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+3 | Capture entire screen and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 | Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard |
| Command+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file |
| Command+Control+Shift+4 then Space bar | Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard |
