

JPG is perhaps the most popular alternative, since it’s compressed by default while still retaining fairly decent image quality, and it’s also an extremely common type of web graphic.įor many of us, switching the screenshot format to JPEG is the primary objective. Now take a screen shot as usual in Mac OS X (Command+Shift+3) and locate the file on the desktop to verify the change has taken place, the file extension should now be. Hit the return key to execute the command. The next screenshots will be in JPG format, rather than PNG.įor macOS Catalina and earlier, use the following command in Terminal:ĭefaults write type jpg killall SystemUIServer After you have launched Terminal, type the following command to change the capture file format to JPG (JPEG):įor macOS Big Sur and newer, use the following command to change the screen shot file type to JPG:ĭefaults write type jpg The most common file type to switch screen shots to is JPEG. Syntax needs to be entered exactly and onto a single command line prompt to execute properly. (Terminal is accessible through Spotlight and Launchpad as well), and then use the following command strings below to change to the desired file format. To get started, launch Terminal, located in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder


To switch the image file format used by screen shots you’ll need to use a defaults command. How to Change the Screen Shot Capture File Format in Mac OS This applies to all versions of macOS and Mac OS X.
