{"id":43533,"date":"2018-04-05T18:01:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T10:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=43533"},"modified":"2021-11-24T17:22:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T09:22:00","slug":"change-macos-screenshot-file-format","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By default, all the <strong>screenshots that you take on a macOS<\/strong> are saved on your desktop in the .PNG image file format. If for any reason, you want to change this file format from .PNG to any other, you can easlity do that.<\/p>\n<p>macOS allows you to change the default screenshot from .PNG to the following formats: JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and PDF.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Launch Terminal <\/h2>\n<p>Press <span class=\"key\">Command<\/span> + <span class=\"key\">Space<\/span> then type in \"Terminal\" and hit <strong>Enter<\/strong> to launch the Terminal app.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg\" alt=\"launch terminal\" width=\"1363\" height=\"613\"><\/figure>\n<h2>2. Changing the default format<\/h2>\n<p>Enter the following command to change the default screenshot file format, <strong>replacing .PNG with .JPG<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<pre>defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg;killall SystemUIServer<\/pre>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/changing-default-format.jpg\" alt=\"changing default format\" width=\"1000\" height=\"204\"><\/figure>\n<p>The <span class=\"bash\"><code>killall SystemUIServer<\/code><\/span> part of the command basically refreshes the system so the command is taken into effect.<\/p>\n<h2>Other file formats<\/h2>\n<p>If you would like to change the default .PNG format to other file formats, simply replace <code>jpg<\/code> after <code>type<\/code> with <code>gif<\/code>, <code>tiff<\/code> or <code>pdf<\/code>. Or you can also use the commands below.<\/p>\n<h3>GIF <\/h3>\n<pre>defaults write com.apple.screencapture type gif;killall SystemUIServer<\/pre>\n<h3>PDF <\/h3>\n<pre>defaults write com.apple.screencapture type pdf;killall SystemUIServer<\/pre>\n<h3>TIFF <\/h3>\n<pre>defaults write com.apple.screencapture type tiff;killall SystemUIServer<\/pre>\n<h2>Revert back to PNG<\/h2>\n<p>And of course, if you would like to revert it back to .PNG image format, use the following command:<\/p>\n<pre>defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png;killall SystemUIServer<\/pre>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>That\u2019s it! Now go and take screenshots and save it in your preferred format.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/screenshots-in-various-formats\" alt=\"screenshot in various formats\" width=\"970\" height=\"302\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Read also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/free-screen-capturing-tools\/\">20 best free screenshot tools and plugins<\/a> <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/fastest-way-screenshot-windows-10\/\">Fastest ways to take screenshots on Windows 10<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/making-fast-screen-captures-in-windows-and-mac\/\">Screenshot keyboard shortcuts for Windows and macOS<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/android-screen-recording-apps\/\">9 Android screen recording apps<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/win-screen-recording-softwares\/\">5 best screen recording apps for Windows<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/include-pointer-in-screenshot\/\">How to \u2013 Include mouse pointer in screenshot<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[3933,4615],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat Lim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat Lim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat Lim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3613a3bf757e4f67770f0b7a339edd0\"},\"headline\":\"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":241,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/launch-terminal.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"macOS\",\"Screen Capture Tips &amp; Tools\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format - Hongkiat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/launch-terminal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/launch-terminal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.hongkiat.com\\\/uploads\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/launch-terminal.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hongkiat\",\"description\":\"Tech and Design Tips\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799,\"caption\":\"Hongkiat.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/hongkiatcom\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/hongkiat\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/hongkiat\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3613a3bf757e4f67770f0b7a339edd0\",\"name\":\"Hongkiat Lim\",\"description\":\"Founder and Editor in Chief of Hongkiat.com. Hongkiat is also a designer, developer, entrepreneur, and an active investor in the US stock market.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/hongkiat\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format - Hongkiat","description":"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format","og_description":"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/","og_site_name":"Hongkiat","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom","article_published_time":"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Hongkiat Lim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@hongkiat","twitter_site":"@hongkiat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hongkiat Lim","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/"},"author":{"name":"Hongkiat Lim","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3613a3bf757e4f67770f0b7a339edd0"},"headline":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format","datePublished":"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/"},"wordCount":241,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg","keywords":["macOS","Screen Capture Tips &amp; Tools"],"articleSection":["Desktop"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/","name":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format - Hongkiat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-05T10:01:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-24T09:22:00+00:00","description":"Learn how to change the default .PNG file format of macOS screenshots into any other format.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/launch-terminal.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/change-macos-screenshot-file-format\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Change macOS Screenshot File Format"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/","name":"Hongkiat","description":"Tech and Design Tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Hongkiat.com","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/hkdc-logo-rect-yoast.jpg","width":1200,"height":799,"caption":"Hongkiat.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom","https:\/\/x.com\/hongkiat","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/hongkiat\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3613a3bf757e4f67770f0b7a339edd0","name":"Hongkiat Lim","description":"Founder and Editor in Chief of Hongkiat.com. Hongkiat is also a designer, developer, entrepreneur, and an active investor in the US stock market.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/author\/hongkiat\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uxU-bk9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43533"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58086,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43533\/revisions\/58086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43533"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=43533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}