Public:Mac OS X screencapture
From LiquidWiki
Screen-capture in Mac OSX does not seem to be well documented. I've created this page as a single point under which to gather the information I've managed to glean from multiple sites. This is mainly written for 10.4 or later.
I don't believe Grab uses the same settings, as it uses different key strokes, will have to investigate.
Contents |
Keystrokes
- Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop
- Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop
- Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop
- Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard
- Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard
- Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard
Changing Settings
The following settings can be changed from Terminal or also by browsing in Finder to ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.screencapture.plist and double-clicking to open in Property List Editor. After inputting one of the following setting updates, you'll need to type killall SystemUIServer into Terminal or else you'll have to log out before the settings will take effect.
Changing output format
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type %image_format%
Where %image_format% can be jpg, tiff, pdf, png, bmp, pict, gif, psd (PhotoShop), sgi (Silicon Graphics) and tga (Truevision targa).
From MacRumors Guides and MacDeveloperTips.com
Changing output directory
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location %path%
%path% needs to be the absolute path. You can't shortcut to your home folder by using '~'. You have to use the full path. Default is /Users/%yourname%/Desktop
Disabling drop shadow effect
When using Command-Shift-4 then space to take screenshots (or its Control key derivative), a shadow effect is included in the screenshot, apparently to clarify the edgeless appearance of a window with no scrollbars. According to the source for this trick, it's only applicable for OS X v5 Leopard
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
Shadows can be restored by using the command with 'false'. (Note to self: Include screenshot of issues rendering shadows)
