Your Mac makes it pretty easy to take screenshots, but it’s easy to end up with a desktop full of them. That’s because the default save location for Mac screenshots is the desktop. But if you’re like me, you like to keep your desktop clean, and to do that, you have three choices: Stop taking screenshots on your Mac, keep moving or deleting old screenshots, or change where your screenshots are saved. Today, we’re going to focus on the third choice, as we’re going to learn how to change where your Mac saves screenshots.
How to Change the Default Location for Saving Screenshots on Mac
The easiest way to avoid screenshots on Mac is to save screenshots to your clipboard and paste them into other apps. The screenshot will not be saved to your Mac, helping you avoid all that clutter. If you take screenshots of everyday conversations and send them to your friends, or you’re looking for a quick way to send screenshots to your photo editing app, this is definitely the best way for you.
On Mac, use the keyboard shortcut Command + Control + Shift + 3 to take a screenshot of the entire screen and save it to the clipboard. You can then use Command + V in other apps to paste the screenshot wherever you want. Similarly, you can use Command + Control + Shift + 4 to take a screenshot of a portion of the screen. After pressing the keyboard shortcut, click and drag the portion of the screen you want to pin. When you're done, paste the screenshot wherever you want.
If you like saving screenshots, you can easily change the save location by using the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + 5 and clicking on Options in the floating screenshot menu. Now check the Save in section at the top and choose a folder of your choice. If your preferred folder is not listed, click on Other location and save it wherever you want.
