Screen capture file storage

It looks like Jabber stores screen captures forever under My Documents/MyJabberFiles. Does Jabber jimit the growth of these? Is there a way to change this to use the temporary files directory so that they can be easily purged?
The endless growth of screen captures and chat history isn't a good behaviour.
Thanks,
Eric

I just came across this "problem" today as well. File transfers are stored in this location as well. My concern is not only from an excessive file growth problem, but also a litigation discovery problem. We don't like to have any data on our desktops that is discoverable. I would like to be able to change this default location for screen captures and file transfers to a network location. Or even better, an option to change the location to a network location and purge after x number of days.
We do not keep chat history for the same reason, to avoid having to retrieve files from desktops if a discovery request comes in.

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How do I add time/date stamp to my screen capture file names?

I'm on mac osx.
I'm trying to add time/date stamp to my screen capture file names. (at the moment it's just 'Picture 1' etc..)
I've tried the following command in terminal but have not had success. please help!!
defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "datestamp" at "timestamp"
killall SystemUIServer

Surely someone else will provide a better solution. Meanwhile, however, you might want to try the following script. Copy and paste the script into the AppleScript Editor's window and save it as an application. Then drop your screen capture files on the droplet's Finder icon.
on open theDroppedFiles
    tell application "Finder"
        repeat with thisFile in theDroppedFiles
            set theFileName to name of thisFile
            if (word 1 of theFileName is "Picture") and ¬
                (word 2 of theFileName = word -2 of theFileName) then
                set theExtension to name extension of thisFile
                set P to offset of theExtension in theFileName
                set theCreationDate to creation date of thisFile
                set dateStamp to short date string of theCreationDate
                set timeStamp to time string of theCreationDate
                set name of thisFile to "Screen Shot " & dateStamp ¬
                    & " at " & timeStamp & "." & theExtension
            end if
        end repeat
    end tell
end open
Message was edited by: Pierre L.

Screen Capture file location?

Suddenly my screen captures are sent only to the clipboard instead of the desktop as they used to. How can I change that back? I'm using ShiftCtrl+Cmd4 or ShiftCtrl+Cmd3.
Also, where would you change where the screen capture files ends up?

You're pushing too many buttons. The additional ctrl button copies to the clipboard.
See the Preference panels>Keyboard>keyboard Shortcuts for the list of buttons.

Screen Capture files are corrupted

I use the built-in Screen Capture all the time....Command-Shift-3 and Command-Shift-4.
As recently as two days ago, it worked beautifully.
Today, it's not working correctly. The files get saved to the desktop, but they are corrupted. I can make out the image that I captured, but it looks like the horizontal setting on old cathode ray TVs is waaay out of sync.
I've tried a different user on the machine. I've tried changing the format from png to jpeg to pdf and back to png. Same result.
This is weird.
Any ideas?

OK, weird. The problem has 'gone away' without doing anything specific. I didn't even realize it - I just did a screen shot because I needed it and then sent it to the person who needed it. Only later, did I realize that I had had problems just yesterday.
I didn't even get a chance to try the suggestions listed above.
By the way, all three versions of the file were corrupted: the desktop icon, the Quick Look version and the actual file as seen in Preview.
If it happens again, I'll be back.
Thanks for the help people. I hope to return the favor.
Message was edited by: Zonker in Russia

Screen Capture File Size Discrepancy

Can someone please explain to me why the screen capture (cmd-shift-4) generates such huge files?
I made a screen capture which was saved to my desktop as picture-1.png. Examining the file's properties showed that the file size was 1.03MB.
Next I opened the file in Photoshop, used Save For Web, and set the file type to PNG-24. This file, which in every way is identical to the original except for file size is only 11kb.
Why is the OSX screen capture larger by a factor of nearly 100?

Just by way of illustration, when I take a PNG screenshot of my 23 inch LCD I get a 4.4 MB file. But only if the desktop picture is all that is showing.
By contrast, a PNG screenshot of the same screen with OSX windows covering the desktop is only 360KB. Why the discrepancy?
PNG compresses using a raster notation that works at its best when continuous identical pixels cover some horizontal stretch. Just like Mac OSX windows. Noncontinuous colored pixels are very hard for PNG to compress, since there are very few identical colors. This is why photographs should be compressed with JPG (which uses a color averaging scheme) and web animations with PNG.
The OSX screenshot format uses 32 bit PNG, which is 16.7 million colors. So if you are reducing the bit depth to 24 bits, that is a huge reduction in filesize. Especially if the 24 bit format converts colors to identical runs, which compress better in PNG. I am talking about color variation you can't even see. That would explain the "factor of nearly 100" you noticed.

Screen Capture File Type (PNG)

I would like to change the file type, currently PNG, of OS X's screen capture. Is there a preference I can change to choose different file types? I would like it to be JPEG.
Thanks for your help
John

Found answer by using terminal.
Alright, start up Launchpad. Go into your Utilities folder and start up Terminal. Just type in what I show you & I'll also included it in the text below so you can simply copy paste it into your Terminal.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
Now, the last part jpg is obviously saying that we want the default to be a JPEG. You can actually change this to any image format you want. You can change it to a BMP, TIF, PDF, whatever. Once you have that hit enter and type:
killall SystemUIServer
Make sure to capitalize it just as I have here. Once you have that hit enter. Ok Lets take another screencpature and see how the info has changed. Command+Shift+3 .. Right click .. get info ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SD7rAfBJPk

Screen Capture File Format

Does anyone know a way to change the default file format in the Mac OS screen capture utility to a different format other than PNG? Thanks.

cbenham wrote:
Does anyone know a way to change the default file format in the Mac OS screen capture utility to a different format other than PNG? Thanks.
There are two default screen capture mechanisms in Leopard:
The direct ⌘ shortcut, and the application, grab.
I presume you are referring to the ⌘ shortcuts since the default for grab is tiff
⌘-Shift-3 = Screen
⌘-Shift-4 = Selection
⌘-Shift-4 + Spacebar = Window
To change the format, in a terminal enter
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type image_format
where "image_format" can be
tiff
jpg
pdf
and possibly others.
When using the terminal, you are on your own and if you are unfamiliar with it, be very careful.
Message was edited by: nerowolfe

Screen Capture (file format) used to be pdf

Is there a way to change the default file format for a screen capture. The file format in OS 10.3 used to capture as a PDF. Now the format is PNG. I know you can open the file in preview and resave it.
I just want to see if there is someway to change preferences or something so it will default as a pdf file.
thanks

Hi, amantia and costicladop —
amantia, welcome to Apple Discussions!
There are various options to accomplish your objective.
OnyX 1.6.5 (a free utility) and Cocktail 3.6.5 ($14.95 shareware utility) offer the option to change graphic file format with a "single click" — in OnyX »» Appearance »» Screen Capture and Cocktail »» Interface »» Misc. »» Screenshot file format, respectively.
They're both just implementing Terminal commands — which provide another option.
bmp, gif, jpg, jpg-2000, pdf, photoshop, pict, png, sgi, tga, and tiff options are available in both utilities.
Hope this helps . . .
Regards,
Dean
p.s. costicladop — following your link engages an automatic download. (Duh.) Wanting to read something first, I went to http://www.arenasoftware.com/ — which forwards to http://www.digitalarena.co.nz/. The software page on that site only mentions three software products, none of which is shotChoice. Could you provide a descriptive link? Thanks!

Grab - default screen capture file location

HI. Is there a way to have Grab save screen captures to a location other than the Desktop? I checked in Preferences and there are none.
Thanks!

are you talking about the app "Grab" or are you talking about screen capture via the keystrokes cmd-shift-3 and cmd-shift-4? if you're talking about the cmd-shift-3/4 then there is an easy way to change the save location for the file.
in terminal issue the following command
*defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /LOCATION*
where LOCATION is the location of the directory you want to save to.
for example if you wanted to save to a folder that you've created on your desktop called 'Screenshots' then the command would be
*defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/YOURUSERNAME/Desktop/Screenshots*
or alternatively
*defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop/Screenshots*
this will take effect once you log out and log back in.
hope this helps

Help transferring a screen capture file (.gif) of an Agilent E4443A to a PC over GPIB???

I'm currently using an Agilent PSA Series Spectrum Analyzer E4443A which has an internal HD, but not accessible via LAN like the newer Window based Analyzers. I've read the programmer's manual and tried the examples, but no luck. I'm able to send the command in Labview to capture the screen using ":mmem:stor:scr 'C:mal.gif' " and that work's fine. I'm having trouble with using the " :mmem:data? 'C:mal.gif' " Not sure how to handle VISA read calls to get the data to a file. Example attached.
Mal G.
Test Engineering
Empower RF Systems Inc.
Attachments:
mal_g_gif.vi ‏13 KB

smercurio_fc wrote:
雪飘人间and梅 wrote:
I have the same problem with Agilent E4447.
With the command "MMEMTOR:C\111.GIF", I can store the .gif file to the E4447 C Drive, but how to transfer the picture to my PC?
See here: http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Agilent-E440x-Spectrum-Analyzer-screen-capture/m-p/361469
I want remote command for save screen shot in .gif and tranfered to local PC means Remote PC. I am using C#.NET for remote accessing.
I dont want use any Drivers,lib.
Thank you in Adavance

Imported screen capture file looks blurry

Hi, I am re opening an old post, because I didnt find any answer.
The post is from 9'th of May 2008:
"I'm using a demo version of iShowU to record my computer screen. The resulting .mov file looks great! However, when imported into FCE and rendered, the quality is not nearly as good. It becomes blurry and the text is choppy.
I have tried several preset and a few custom settings in iShowU. Almost all of them produce a great looking movie when playing in Quicktime. But none of them look good in FCE 3.0. They look passable, but not as good as I had hoped.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mike
I have the same problem, using the FCE 4.0. I am struggling with this for two weeks now and still couldnt find any solution. I would really appreciate if somebody could help me,
thanks in advance,
Michał

Thanks for Your answers, it were inspiring
I think I have the answer.
1) You should use Animation codec, instead od dv pal or dv ntsc
do not scale it or resize if You plan to edit it
2)In FCE You MUST choose in the sequence preset, one of Apple Intermediate Codec. Using any dv preset, will cause blurring.
(I don't know how it works in FCP, any info will be greatly appreciated)
in FCE all apple intermediate (as HD ) are in 16:9 aspect ratio, i wonder how can I make screencast in 4:3?

Possible to use swf or other screen capture files with RH8

Or am I limited to image files. Wish I could transition to HTML but not an option right now.
Thanks for your help.

That and the fact that Windows Vista no longer supports WinHelp files out of the box. Users have to download a viewer to enable them to see their contents. WinHelp is a help format that is so little used nowadays that I'd do all you can to migrate to another format.
Read the RoboColum(n).

Is there a pref to turn off border/shadow in window screen capture?

Somewhere along the line, Apple changed screen capture of a window (cmd-shift-4 and then spacebar) so that now you get a white border and drop shadow around the window in the screen capture file. This is very pretty, but for the purposes of posting captures on websites, for example, the original 'just the window' capture is really much more useful. Is there a *defaults write com.apple.screencapture* (or something) preference that can be changed to set the border/shadow to off?
- padmavyuha

Yes, annoying isn't it? I got mine changed using this command in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
You then need to log out and back in. This fix is courtesy of "atverd" at MacOSXHints. Bless him, and Rob Griffiths.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Screen Shot file format

Is there any way to change the default screen capture file format from .png to something like .jpg?

In addition to what Niel suggested, you could use a program called Deeper that offers you a GUI interface to change not just screenshots, but many other aspects of OS X. It's available from Apple Downloads as well as from places like versiontracker.com.

Changing file type format in Screen Capture (shift command 4)

You'd think this would be in a preference menu! But it's nowhere to be found in any apps preference or system preferences.... I've seen posts how to do it in Terminal... and people sell programs to do it.... but Tiger and Leopard have t built in.. sort of....
The default file format when using SCREEN CAPTURE (ShiftCommand4) was a .pdf ... but then it was changed to .png Some people can't read .png... so I wanted my captures to be in .jpg format.
You can change the file format type of your SCREEN CAPTURE to any of the following:
JPG, JPG-2000, TIFF, BMP, PDF, Photoshop, PICT, SGI, PBG, TGA
But first you have to have a file you want to change (say it is a png).
Open the file using Preview.
Once open, under File (in the menu bar) go down to SAVE AS.
There's you'll see FORMAT and a pull down menu. Choose which one you want...
Screen capture will now open your captured pictures in that format.
Crazy, huh?

The OP here was using a keyboard shortcut, not Grabber.
I did some further exploring. I just tried TinkerTool again, and again was able to change the file format of saved screencapture files to jpeg. TinkerTool modifies the com.apple.screencapture.plist file the same way that the Terminal command does.
This clearly works for command-shift-3 and command-shift-4, which save the screencapture image as a file. However, on looking more closely at the O.P.s initial post in this thread, he/she actually said
I use keyboard shortcut control/command/shift/4
When you include the control key in the command, the screencapture image gets saved to the clipboard instead of to a file, and you wouldn't normally be aware of its format until you pasted the clipboard contents somewhere else. I don't know where the OP was pasting it, but as was noted in the thread cited above by Baltwo, pasting a sceencapture image from the clipboard into a mail.app message results in a .tiff file being pasted. I also find this to be true in my system - perhaps this is what the OP was doing all along.
However this is an issue caused by the receiving app, not by the screencapture function. It's possible to look directly at the contents of the clipboard via:
Finder>Edit Menu>Show Clipboard
With my screenshot format set to jpeg by TinkerTool, I used control-command-shift-4 to save a screenshot to the clipboard. Looking directly at the clipboard in Finder as above, the clipboard image was a jpeg. When I then pasted the clipboard contents into a mail message and used Mail>File Menu>QuickLook Attachments, the pasted graphic in the mail message was a .tiff.

Screen capture file storage

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