How To Delete Screenshots On Mac? [Step By Step Guide]

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How to Delete Screenshots on Mac?

“Choose the file(s) you wish to remove, and then use the keyboard shortcut Command + Delete to delete screenshots or any other files from your Mac.

For a more comprehensive guide on capturing and erasing screenshots on your Mac, please read on…”

“Capturing images of your screen, a process known as taking screenshots, serves various purposes. Whether it’s for personal reference or to assist someone, screenshots prove quite handy. However, with repeated use, your computer accumulates numerous screenshots that may become obsolete. In such cases, it’s advisable to delete them. This is particularly relevant for Mac laptops, as entry-level MacBooks often have limited storage capacity. This article provides a guide on How to Delete Screenshots on Mac, as well as delving into further details.

When your Mac is cluttered with numerous, unnecessary screenshots, it’s a wise decision to remove them and free up disk space. I’ve encountered questions on platforms like Quora, asking how to delete screenshots on MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. It’s important to note that the method for deleting screenshots is the same for both laptop types. For the purpose of this post, screenshots are demonstrated on a MacBook Air.”

How To Delete Screenshots On Mac (Macbook Air or Macbook Pro)

“In principle, you can delete any file, including a screenshot, by simultaneously pressing the Command and Delete keys on your keyboard. Ensure you’ve selected the file(s) before performing this action.”

“Furthermore, you can delete one or more files by either right-clicking with two fingers on the Screenshot stack/folder or any single file, or by selecting multiple files and then clicking ‘Move to Bin.’ The final step is to navigate to the Bin and empty it.

Each screenshot on your Mac consumes storage space, and accumulating numerous images can consume gigabytes of memory. Hence, it’s crucial to periodically clear them to free up space. If you’ve stored screenshots in different locations, manually checking and deleting them can be a time-consuming process. In such scenarios, you can streamline the task by using a Cleaner app, which can locate all the screenshots from various folders simultaneously, eliminating the need for manual searching.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: If you don’t already have the app, you can download it from the App Store. Once installed, open the Cleaner app.

Step 2: Navigate to the ‘Screenshots’ section and select all the screenshots.

Step 3: Click on ‘Review and Remove.’

Step 4: If necessary, choose the screenshots you wish to keep.

Step 5: Click ‘Remove’ to delete all the screenshots in one go.

Step 6: Check the Trash bin and clear it as well.

You have now successfully deleted all the screenshots from your Macbook in one go.”

How To Take Screenshot On Mac?

How to Take Screenshots on Mac Using Shortcut Keys?

“Capturing a screenshot on a Mac is just as straightforward as on Windows, requiring just three key combinations.

Step 1: Navigate to the content or image you wish to screenshot.

Step 2: Adjust the display to achieve a more precise screenshot.

Step 3: Simultaneously press SHIFT+COMMAND+3 to capture the screenshot.

Upon taking a screenshot, a small preview window will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen.

You can easily access these screenshots on your desktop, making them readily available for further use.

For those who need to capture a specific portion of the screen and save time on cropping the screenshot later, Mac offers specialized screenshot apps. These features are available in the latest Mac versions like Mojave and Catalina.”

Keyboard Shortcuts for Taking Screenshot on Mac

Shift + Command + 3 – Take a screenshot of the full Desktop screen.
Shift + Command + 4 – Take a screenshot of a certain area of your Desktop screen.
Shift + Command + 4 + Space – Take a screenshot of a certain window on the Desktop. Also, this shortcut can be used to take a website screenshot on your Mac.

How to Take Screenshots on Mac Using Screenshot App?

“When you access Launchpad on your Mac and search for ‘Screenshot,’ you’ll find the app icon, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on it to launch the app.

Upon launching the app, you’ll see a range of options at the bottom of your screen, allowing you to capture full-screen shots, specific areas, or even record your screen.

While hovering your cursor over each option provides a brief description of its functionality, I’ll also provide an explanation for each one here, numbered from 1 to 7:

This option captures the entire screen.
This option captures the selected window.
This option captures a selected area.
This option records the entire screen as a video.
This option records a selected area as a video.
This option displays additional options.
This option initiates screen recording.”

How To Remove Screenshots From Mac Desktop Without Deleting?

“When you take screenshots by pressing Command+Shift+3, they are automatically saved on your desktop, which can clutter your desktop over time. To maintain a clean desktop, you can create a designated folder for your screenshots and move them there. However, if you don’t want to keep manually moving new screenshots into the folder, you can change the default saving location to that folder. Here’s how:

Step 1: Create a folder on your desktop and name it ‘Screenshots’; this will be your dedicated location for saving and accessing your screenshots.

Step 2: Right-click on the ‘Screenshots’ folder to access a set of options.

Step 3: Choose ‘Get Info.’

Step 4: Look for the ‘Where’ information in the new tab that opens.

Step 5: Copy this information into the Notes app on your device for later use.

Step 6: Press Command+Space and type ‘Terminal,’ then hit Enter to open the Terminal app.

Step 7: In the new Terminal window, enter ‘defaults write com.apple.screencapture location.’

Step 8: Open the Notes where you saved the ‘Where’ information and copy it.

Step 9: Paste the copied text after the code that was previously written (make sure to include a space after ‘Location’ before pasting the path).

Step 10: Add ‘/Screenshots’ to the end of the code and then press Enter.

Note: Alternatively, you can simply drag the ‘Screenshots’ folder to the Terminal, which will automatically input the folder’s path. This method combines steps 8, 9, and 10 into one.

Step 11: Enter ‘killall SystemUIServer’ and press Enter again. This is done to ensure that the changes you made take effect.

Now, you can move older screenshots from the desktop to the ‘Screenshots’ folder. Any new screenshots you capture will be automatically saved in the ‘Screenshots’ folder since you’ve changed the storage location for screenshots.

In Conclusion

you’ve learned how to take screenshots on a Mac and how to organize them by removing them from the desktop without deleting them. While deleting is a straightforward process, retaining them can be challenging. Therefore, the option to remove them from the desktop without deletion offers a more organized solution. We’ve provided detailed steps for both processes for you to choose according to your preference.”