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How To Delete Screenshots On Mac

How to delete screenshots on Mac is a convenient feature for capturing information or saving images. However, it can also clutter your desktop and consume valuable storage space.

Author:Daniel BarrettMar 29, 202371 Shares1741 Views
How to delete screenshots on Macis a convenient feature for capturing information or saving images. However, it can also clutter your desktop and consume valuable storage space.
Fortunately, deleting screenshots on a Mac is a straightforward process that can help you maintain a tidy and organized workspace.
In this article, we've outlined how to find and delete screenshots on your Mac, as well as provided some additional tips for managing them.
By following these steps, you can free up space on your Mac and avoid clutter, ensuring that you have a clean and efficient workspace.

How To Delete Screenshots On A Mac

Finding Your Screenshots

By default, screenshots taken on a Mac are saved to the desktop. However, you can also choose to save them to a specific folder or location. To find your screenshots, follow these steps:
  • Open Finder.
  • Click on the "Desktop" or "All My Files" icon in the sidebar.
  • Look for files with names that start with "Screen Shot" followed by a date and time stamp. These are your screenshots.
If you've saved your screenshots to a different location, navigate to that folder using Finder to find them.

Deleting Screenshots

Once you've found your screenshots, deleting them is a straightforward process. Here's how:
  • Select the screenshots you want to delete by clicking on them. To select multiple screenshots, hold down the "Command" key while clicking.
  • Right-click on one of the selected screenshots and choose "Move to Trash" from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can drag the screenshots to the Trash icon in the dock.
  • To permanently delete the screenshots and free up storage space on your Mac, empty the Trash. You can do this by right-clicking on the Trash icon in the dock and choosing "Empty Trash" from the drop-down menu.

Additional Tips

Here are a few additional tips to help you manage your screenshots on your Mac:
  • To quickly take a screenshot, press "Command" + "Shift" + "3" to capture the entire screen, or "Command" + "Shift" + "4" to select a portion of the screen.
  • You can change where screenshots are saved by default by opening the "Screenshot" app in the "Utilities" folder, which can be found in the "Applications" folder.
  • If you're worried about accidentally deleting important screenshots, you can back them up to an external hard drive or cloud storage service.
With these simple steps, you can keep your Mac organized and free up space by deleting unwanted screenshots.

MacBook - How To Delete Screenshots

Where Are Screenshots Saved On A Mac?

By default, when you take a screenshot on your Mac, it is saved on the desktop. However, if you want to save them to a different location, you can do so by using the Terminal command.
To do this, open Terminal and enter the command "defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /path/to/new/location", replacing "/path/to/new/location" with the actual path to the folder where you want to save the screenshots.
If you don't remember the location of your screenshots, you can easily find them by opening Finder and navigating to the desktop. Alternatively, you can use Spotlight search by pressing "Command" + "Spacebar" and typing "screenshot" into the search bar.

How To Manually Delete A Screenshot On Your Mac

If you want to manually delete a screenshot on your Mac, there are a few ways to do it. The easiest way is to simply select the screenshot and drag it to the trash.
Alternatively, you can right-click on the screenshot and select "Move to Trash" from the context menu.
Once the screenshot is in the trash, you can either empty the trash to permanently delete the screenshot or restore it if necessary.
To do this, open the trash and select the screenshot you want to restore. Then, right-click on the screenshot and select "Put Back" from the context menu.

Delete Multiple Screenshots At Once

If you have a lot of screenshots cluttering up your Mac's desktop or screenshots folder, you may want to delete them in bulk instead of one at a time. Fortunately, there are a few ways to do this.

Manually Select And Delete Multiple Screenshots

You can manually select multiple screenshots by holding down the "Command" key on your keyboard and clicking on each screenshot you want to delete.
Once you have selected all the screenshots you want to delete, right-click on one of them and select "Move to Trash" from the drop-down menu.

Use The Built-in Clean Up Tool

If you have a lot of screenshots scattered across your desktop, you can use the Clean Up tool to automatically organize them and delete multiple screenshots at once.
To use this tool, right-click on your desktop and select "Clean Up" from the drop-down menu. This will automatically move all screenshots to the same location and you can then select them and delete them all at once.

Use A Third-party App

There are also several third-party apps that can help you delete multiple screenshots at once. Some popular options include Tidy Up, Gemini 2, and CleanMyMac X.
These apps can help you identify and select duplicate or similar screenshots and delete them in bulk, saving you time and effort.
Regardless of which method you choose, make sure to review your selected screenshots before deleting them to avoid accidentally deleting something important.

How To Automatically Delete Screenshots On Mac

If you take a lot of screenshots on your Mac and don't want to clutter your desktop, you can set up your Mac to automatically delete screenshots after a certain period of time.
To do this, open Terminal and enter the command "defaults write com.apple.screencapture delete-after-capture - bool true", then press "Enter." This will automatically delete screenshots after they are captured.
Keep in mind that this command only affects screenshots taken after the command is entered. If you want to delete all existing screenshots on your Mac, you'll need to manually delete them or use a third-party app that can help you delete them in bulk.
If you change your mind and want to turn off automatic screenshot deletion, you can enter the command "defaults write com.apple.screencapture delete-after-capture - bool false" in Terminal and press "Enter." This will disable automatic screenshot deletion.

How To Find Lost Screenshots On Mac

If you've lost a screenshot on your Mac, don't worry. There are a few ways to find it. First, you can check the trash to see if it was accidentally deleted.
If it's not there, you can try using Spotlight search by pressing "Command" + "Spacebar" and typing in the name of the screenshot or a keyword from the screenshot.
You can also try using data recovery software like Disk Drill or EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover lost screenshots.
However, the success of recovering lost screenshots depends on how long ago they were lost and whether the storage space where they were saved has been overwritten.

People Also Ask

How Do I Delete Screenshots On My Mac Without Using The Trash?

You can delete screenshots on your Mac without using the trash by selecting the screenshots you want to delete and pressing the "Command" + "Delete" keys. This will move the screenshots directly to the trash without showing the confirmation dialog box.

How Can I Delete All Screenshots On My Mac At Once?

To delete all screenshots on your Mac at once, open Finder and navigate to the "Desktop" or "Screenshots" folder.
Press "Command" + "A" to select all the screenshots, and then press "Command" + "Delete" to move them to the trash. Finally, empty the trash to permanently delete the screenshots.

Can I Recover Deleted Screenshots On My Mac?

If you have deleted screenshots on your Mac, they can be recovered using data recovery software like Disk Drill or EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.
However, the success of recovering deleted screenshots depends on how long ago they were deleted and whether the storage space where they were saved has been overwritten.

How Do I Disable Screenshot Preview On My Mac?

To disable screenshot preview on your Mac, open Terminal and enter the command "defaults write com.apple.screencapture show-thumbnail - bool FALSE" and then press "Enter." This will turn off the screenshot preview feature.

How Do I Change The Default Location Of Screenshots On My Mac?

To change the default location of screenshots on your Mac, open Terminal and enter the command "defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /path/to/new/location" and then press "Enter." Replace "/path/to/new/location" with the actual path to the new location where you want to save the screenshots.

Final Thought

Keeping your Mac organized and free of clutter is essential for staying productive and efficient. How to delete screenshots on Mac is a quick and easy way to free up storage space and keep your desktop organized.
By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily find and delete screenshots on your Mac. So, take a few minutes to clean up your desktop and enjoy a more streamlined workspace.
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Daniel Barrett

Daniel Barrett

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