I used to use Onyx to handle these two fixes, but since the M1 and Big Sur addition isn't out yet, I found out there's a Screenshot app in the Utilities folder that's probably been there for years.

Remove the screenshot thumbnail.

Since I think Mojave, any screenshot will initially appear as a thumbnail in the lower-right corner of the screen. If you're like me and do not want that, it's easy to turn off in this Screenshot app. Go to Utilities folder, open Screenshot. In the toolbar that appears, click Options and uncheck the "Show Floating Thumbnail" preference. Now any screenshot that you take with Command-Shift-3 or Command-Shift-4 will no longer have that delay of the thumbnail.

Change screenshot landing location

In that same toolbar, choose the Save to location to wherever you want. I created a folder, SCREENSHOTS, that I store in Docs, but place permanently in my Dock for easy access. Now there's no more messing up the Desktop with the tons of screenshot that I take throughout most days.

The Screenshot app will now remember the settings you set from that point onward.

I think both of these can be done in the Terminal, too.

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M1 2020 Mac mini (16G 2T) • Monterey 12.x • Dual 25" Acer 1440p LCDs • M1 2020 13" MBAir (256G 8G) •



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2020 09:19AM by tuqqer.

Huh, never knew. I see it here in Mojave.

I've used Image Capture a few times, or just the usual keyboard commands for screenshots.

Does Shift Command 3 or Shift Command 4 no longer work in Big Sur or on the new Apple silicon?

Thanks!

A real Mac tip! It's like the old days.

I prefer Shift Command 5

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

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raz
I prefer Shift Command 5

Agreed, this is the fastest way to bring up that same toolbar that is now in the Screenshot app. Any settings made will become the default then for command-3 and command-4 (and Command-4 Spacebar and Command-4 Spacebar then holding down Control key to place the screenshot in the Clipboard)

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M1 2020 Mac mini (16G 2T) • Monterey 12.x • Dual 25" Acer 1440p LCDs • M1 2020 13" MBAir (256G 8G) •

Is Grab not still in utilities?

I use command shift 5 and it gives me the menu options you are showing. I do this because I often switch from desktop to clipboard depending what I am doing with the capture. I'm in Mojave.

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tuqqer

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raz
I prefer Shift Command 5

Agreed, this is the fastest way to bring up that same toolbar that is now in the Screenshot app. Any settings made will become the default then for command-3 and command-4 (and Command-4 Spacebar and Command-4 Spacebar then holding down Control key to place the screenshot in the Clipboard)

Hmmm... I used to always use Shift-Command-4 to get the crosshair for a screenshot. Now I just mis-read that sequence above and hit Shift-Command-s (by mistake instead of 5) and I got a similar option to select an area to snap.

I'm huge fan of screenshots, and the Mac does a great job of providing options for them.

One of my favorite features, is the ability to take a screenshot of a selected area of the screen, and then click its preview that appears at lower right, and to then use the "Markup" tools to put arrows or circles/rectangles to highlight specific things. I use this combo a lot in the tech support type of things I do for work and family.

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[www.zeemaps.com]

While we're vaguely on the subject... it's great you can use this utility to change the landing location for screenshots. That used to be possible by editing a plist somewhere I think, and should always have been readily exposed to the user.

Does anyone know why Apple introduced a delay to files appearing on the Desktop at some point in the past few OSes? It drives me nuts - used to be able to take a screenshot, switch to desktop, and add it to an email or do whatever with it. Now, take the screenshot... switch to desktop, count to 3 or maybe 5 or occasionally 10, then the screenshot icon appears. Drives me nuts (mostly because it wastes my time, it's a completely user-hostile change). It's true with adding other files too but the screenshot is the thing I looked for most often (and moving screenshots to another destination folder doesn't seem to speed their appearance up at all.)

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gabester
Does anyone know why Apple introduced a delay to files appearing on the Desktop at some point in the past few OSes? It drives me nuts -

It's pretty instant, once that thumbnail is turned off. Here's how fast it is on my system:

[www.loom.com]

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M1 2020 Mac mini (16G 2T) • Monterey 12.x • Dual 25" Acer 1440p LCDs • M1 2020 13" MBAir (256G 8G) •

Thanks! This info is super good as I never checked if I could turn off the preview feature. Turned off now.

I use the command line to change the file type to .jpg from .png as I mostly Cmd-Shift-4 to screencap subsets of pictures to send to Mrs. Zealand or similar, but it seems that this app doesn't give that option, at least in 10.14.6.