By default the screenshot you capture on Mac is in .png file format. The .png file format supports lossless data compression which means that the screenshot size is on the higher side, well thats not bad for some but for those who are uploading them to web would not prefer it. The good news is that you can change the default file format to any other file format of your choice like gif, jpg or even pdf. In this guide, I will share how you can change the default file format of screen captured on Mac.
Changing screenshot file format
Jul 31, 2014 How to change the screenshot file format on your Mac. The first step is to launch Terminal. Open your Applications folder by pressing Shift-⌘-A on the keyboard while the Finder is active. Next, navigate to the Utilities sub-folder and open Terminal. Alternatively, use Spotlight to launch Terminal. Grab does support PNG. After you capture an image using Grab, the options to save include jpeg, png, and tiff. To save as png, just select that as your file format. If you’re not seeing these option, use Terminal to change the default format. Open Terminal and type in defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png. Hope this helps!
To change the default file format, you need to use the Terminal (also referred as command line) on Mac. To open terminal go to Applications ❯ Utilities ❯ Open Terminal.
To demonstrate I’m changing the default file format to jpg. To change from .png to .jpg type the following command in terminal and hit enter.
Now verify the change by taking a screenshot, press
Similarly to change in other file formats, type the following commands in terminal.
Change to .gif
Change to .pdf
You can switch between these file formats any number of times as per your requirement.
Reverting the changes
If at some point you choose to go back to .png file format then type the following command in terminal:
- May 15, 2020 Step 4: From the File drop-down list, choose Save to export your Mac screen capture image as JPEG, PNG or TIFF. Part 3: How to Crop a Screenshot on Mac with Keyboard Commands. If you want to capture any portion of the screen on your Mac computer immediately, you can use the Mac screenshot keyboard commands.
- Feb 07, 2018 Screen Snippet - COMMAND + SHIFT + 4 Press the key combo and drag to select the portion of the screen to capture. Alternatively, if you use COMMAND + CONTROL + SHIFT + 4 at the same time, Mac OS X will copy the snippet to the clipboard rather than save it as an image to the desktop.
You could change the default system-wide by using a command line in terminal.
Change the ScreenShot File Format in Mac OS X - osxdaily.com
Various methods (similar steps, plus mistakes posted in their comments) appear
Mac Screen Capture Save As Jpeg Free
Or use one of the features available in the free 'OnyX by Titanium Software' that
allows an 'admin user' to change the defaults back and forth ~ without Terminal.
{And for occasional changes only, test the idea by making a duplicate of a file
(image) on the desktop and then change its name to something else; and then
add the jpg instead of .png. In several older Mac OS X you can do this OK...}
Some features changed after Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Mt Lion 10.8.5. The
'Save As' control in the Finder menu is gone -- from sometime back then.
You can open an image in Preview, and sometimes change the file type by
using the Export feature. I seldom use that but happened to notice.
Because my daily use Mac is PPC G4 Mini 1.5GHz Late 2005, with 10.5.8, I
tend to prefer the older systems; but not necessarily the lack of performance.
My newest Mac, a Late 2012 i7 Mac Mini, runs 10.9(.5) Mavericks as shipped.
The 2.3GHz quad-core & dual 1-TB 5400-RPM HDDs is odd match-up w/ slow
spin-rate HDDs as a hardware bottleneck, though 16GB RAM helps some. It
shipped with 'server' software but haven't used it as such. Mostly stock; I did
partition the two factory HDDs so there are four places to install different OS X.
Anyway, simply change the name of an image to .jpg so it no longer uses .png,
and the system will convert it to open as .jpg even if sent somewhere else online.
Or the command line (terminal) can be used. 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.
How To Make Screenshot Jpg On Mac
Too easy for only a few screenshots to change the suffix .png to .jpg. Yet in
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.
So you have a few choices.
The OnyX is a fairly good kit if you don't want to use Terminal. Or change
the file name/type and the OS X will change the image type, usually.
Maybe it's possible to see if an option appears elsewhere, to Change All.
Good luck & happy trails! 🙂
Jul 7, 2017 2:18 PM