Change MacOsx Screenshot file type and file name

1

Great question! I’ll provide you with a few methods to customize screenshot saving on macOS:

Method 1: Terminal Command
You can use the defaults write command to change screenshot settings:

# Change screenshot format to JPEG
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg

# Set custom screenshot location (optional)
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /path/to/your/folder

# Restart SystemUIServer to apply changes
killall SystemUIServer

Method 2: Custom Keyboard Shortcut with Preview

  1. Open Screenshot (Shift + Command + 5)
  2. Click “Options”
  3. Choose save location
  4. When taking a screenshot, hold Option key to manually name the file

Method 3: Third-Party Tools
Consider apps like:

  • Cleanshot X
  • Snagit
  • Skitch

Keyboard Shortcuts:

  • Full Screen: Shift + Command + 3
  • Selected Portion: Shift + Command + 4
  • Specific Window: Shift + Command + 4, then Spacebar

Pro Tip: Always include file extension when naming (e.g., screenshot.jpg)

2

To change the default filename for screenshots on macOS, you can use a Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "YourCustomName"

For example, if you want your screenshots to start with “MyScreenshot_”, you would type:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "MyScreenshot_"

After running this command, restart the SystemUIServer to apply the changes:

killall SystemUIServer

Now your screenshots will be named like:

  • MyScreenshot_2024-11-29 at 10.15.23.jpg
  • MyScreenshot_2024-11-29 at 10.16.45.jpg

Some additional tips:

  • The custom prefix will be followed by the date and time
  • You can include spaces or underscores in your custom name
  • The command works for all screenshot types (full screen, selected area, window)

If you want to revert to the default naming, you can use:

defaults delete com.apple.screencapture name
killall SystemUIServer

Would you like me to explain how to implement this or provide more details about screenshot naming?