In this article, you will learn How to change the default screen capture format in macOS. The Joint Photographic Group is also referred to as “JPG or JPEG ” and it is a format often used for photography on the internet. JPEG files are web-friendly because the files are smaller than PNG files. Please see how to convert HEIC images to JPEG format on Mac with Quick Actions, how to Create local Backup Repository and Add HyperV to VBR Inventory, and how to Install Veeam Backup and Replication with the default PostgreSQL.
Reasons to change the default screen capture format in macOS?
Here are some reasons for converting from PNG to JPG format. They are faster, they help decrease bounce rates due to faster load time thereby increasing your Google ranking, and reducing storage. Want to know how to change the default screen capture format? Read on to learn more.
The default file format for macOS is PNG and this became more of an issue to me due to the file format which led to performance degradation on my blog. Because of this, I have decided to change the default file format to JPG.
Kindly refer to this guide on “how to convert images from PNG to JPG on WordPress, Windows, and Mac“.
PNG Image Format
The PNG image file is a Portable Network Graphic file when making screenshots on Mac which is a raster image and the file builds graphics piece-by-piece.
The PNG uses lossless compression, that allows large files shrink into smaller sizes without losing resolution. If a PNG is reverted to its original size the resolution remains the same. PNG is better with limited color images, such as logos, and with images transparency.
Change the default file format
To change the default file format. Click on the “Launchpad” and from the search window, enter “Terminal”. Double-click on the Terminal to launch it.
Alternatively: You can launch Spotlight by hitting the Command + Space bar to open Spotlight, type in Terminal as shown below and open it.
Regardless of your approach, this will open the terminal as shown below. To change default screen capture format, please run the following command below followed by your desired file format “JPG, TIFF, GIF, PDF, and PNG”.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type JPG
Henceforth, your screenshots will appear in your chosen format. Peradventure, if the change does not reflect immediately, please restart your device. In my case, a restart was not necessary and my files are now in JPG format.
To convert this back to the default “simply enter the command followed by PNG as shown below.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PNG
I hope you found this blog post helpful. Changing the default screen capture format is easy with the steps mentioned above. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.
