5 Mac Screenshot Tips Every Power User Should Know

Screenshots are essential for communication, documentation, and collaboration. Here are five tips to make your screenshot workflow faster and more effective.

1. Master the Built-in Shortcuts

macOS has several built-in screenshot shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
Cmd + Shift + 3	Capture entire screen
Cmd + Shift + 4	Capture selected area
Cmd + Shift + 4 + Space	Capture a window
Cmd + Shift + 5	Open screenshot toolbar

2. Change Your Default Save Location

Tired of screenshots cluttering your Desktop? Change the default save location:

1. Press Cmd + Shift + 5 to open the screenshot toolbar
2. Click Options
3. Under “Save to”, select your preferred location

Or use Terminal to set a custom folder:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Screenshots
killall SystemUIServer

3. Remove Window Shadows

By default, macOS adds shadows to window captures. To remove them:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
killall SystemUIServer

To re-enable shadows:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool false
killall SystemUIServer

4. Use Quick Actions for Annotation

After taking a screenshot, look for the thumbnail preview in the bottom-right corner. Click it to:

• Crop and rotate
• Add basic annotations
• Share directly
• Save to a specific location

This is faster than opening Preview or another app.

5. Consider a Third-Party Tool

For power users, the built-in tools have limitations:

• No advanced annotation (blur, spotlight, arrows)
• No automatic upload and sharing
• No screen recording with annotation
• No customizable shortcuts

Tools like LudyShot fill these gaps with:

• One-click cloud upload
• Beautiful annotations
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts
• Screen recording with audio

Bonus: Organize Your Screenshots

Use Finder’s Smart Folders to automatically organize screenshots:

1. Open Finder and press Cmd + Option + N
2. Name it “Screenshots”
3. Set criteria: Kind is Image and Name contains Screenshot

Now all your screenshots are in one place, automatically.

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What screenshot tips do you swear by? Let us know on Twitter/X!