Or, to return Mac screenshots back to PNG format: defaults write com.apple. To save Mac screenshots as TIFF: defaults write type tiff killall SystemUIServer To save Mac screenshots as GIF: defaults write type gif killall SystemUIServer To save Mac screenshots as PDF: defaults write type PDF killall SystemUIServer To save Mac screenshots in HEIC format: defaults write type heic killall SystemUIServer To save Mac screenshots in JPG format: defaults write type jpg killall SystemUIServer Open Terminal from the Application > Utilities folder, or use Spotlight to open it.Ĭopy and paste one of the following commands into Terminal and press the Enter key. Preview lets you grab any part of the screen that you want to snip.

If you want to take a screenshot on a Mac without a keyboard you can with macOS Preview.

Here are the steps to change Mac's screenshot format using Terminal: Preview allows you to view PDF documents and images on your Mac for free but it also takes screenshots. This rule will apply to all screenshots you take from now on, unless you choose to revert it to PNG format again. Using simple Terminal commands, you can set your Mac to save screenshots in the format you want. How to Use Terminal to Permantly Change the Mac Screenshot Format One makes a permanent change for all screenshots, and the works on a per-screenshot basis.

Step 2: Tap the See more icon at the top-right corner of the Paint app and select Print. So, whether you're only allowed to use JPG formats or you simply prefer working in PDFs, here are two ways to change the default screenshot format on your Mac. Step 1: Right-click on the screenshot you want to convert to PDF, click Open with option, and select Photos. However, if you like, you can change this to make Mac screenshots save automatically in other formats, like JPG, GIF, TIFF, HEIC, or even PDF. When you press Cmd + Shift + 3 or 4 to take a screenshot on Mac, it saves the file in PNG format.

Screenshot on mac to pdf