Mac users don’t have the PrintScreen feature for taking screenshots as you find on Windows computers. For beginners, it can be a bit annoying as they don’t know about the keyboard shortcut for the screenshots. If you are new to screenshots, you might be wondering why you would need them, but there is more to screenshots on macOS.
In this article, we will discuss how to delete screenshots on MacBook, but first, let’s understand why you need them and what are the ways to capture them on Mac.
Why Do You Need Screenshots?
In a nutshell, screenshots are a great way to capture something you find useful and informative. They help you save content in an image format while giving you an easy way to share things. You can capture screenshots on computers as well as phones.
Screenshots are important when you are looking to build a user guide or tutorials as it captures the entire screen or a part of the screen. So, can you screen record on Mac? The answer is YES. You can capture image, audio, or video screenshots of your screen for different reasons.
If you are a teacher or a student, you can add image screenshots to academic material to make any concept easy to understand. Video screenshots are good for gamers as they can capture a clip of their gameplay to put it on a forum or share it with friends, to name another example.
How to Capture Screenshots?
The process of capturing a screenshot depends on the reason and purpose, such as how you are going to use it. You can use keyboard shortcuts on Mac to capture your screen in different ways.
● Capture the whole screen by pressing down Command + Shift + 3 keys altogether.
● Capture the specific area by dragging crosshairs and pressing Command + Shift + 4 simultaneously.
● Capture the entire screen or app window, and use Command + Shift + 4.
● Record your screen with a timer or record a video for the screen; you can use Command + Shift + 5.
Where Can You Find the Stored Screenshots on Mac?
After capturing a screenshot of your screen, you can save it on the local drive. Desktop is the default location for saving screenshots on Mac. However, if you have the most updated version of macOS, the screenshots will be saved in their own specific stack made on the desktop.
Screenshots are important as long as you need them. These are small files that you store for single-use or a limited purpose. Once you use the screenshot, they become redundant, and deleting them is feasible. If you don’t delete them, they continue to consume space on the hard drive.
On average, a screenshot takes up to 4 megabytes of storage space. With a lot of screenshot files, you are only accumulating data that is no longer required. You can delete screenshots on Mac either manually or by downloading and using a cleanup tool.
Manual Method to Delete Screenshots in Mac
Before you delete a screenshot, you need to locate them first. The storage location may depend on the macOS version your Mac is running on. To find out all the screenshots on the desktop, click on the Stack. Now, go through any of the following methods if you are looking to learn more about how to delete screenshots on MacBook.
● Delete a Single Screenshot:
To delete a single screenshot on a Mac computer, simply select and drag the file to the trash folder. Alternatively, press down the Control + Click keys and move the file to the trash can.
● Delete Multiple Screenshots
For deleting more than one screenshot, select and drag all the files that you want to delete till they are properly selected. After that, you can easily drag all of them into the Trash folder.
● Delete Screenshots From Multiple Locations
If all the screenshots are saved in different locations on the MacBook, you need to navigate to all of them one by one to remove them from the computer. Once all the screenshots are deleted, don’t forget to empty the trash folder.
● Delete Screenshots Automatically on Mac
Automatic deletion is the easiest way to remove the screenshots permanently from MacBook Air M1. Manual procedures are time-consuming and can result in data loss. If you are willing to go for a manual deletion process, make sure to have backup copies of data available on an external drive or remote location.
CleanMyMac is an efficient tool that helps you delete screenshots from your Mac effectively without leaving any file residue. The benefit of using a professional app is that once you run the program, they locate and delete files automatically without any manual interruptions.
The Conclusion
To sum up, screenshots help you to store and share information easily over email or messaging apps. They are lightweight and hence easily manageable. Storing too many screenshots on your computer can result in storage issues, so it is recommended that you delete them regularly to optimize space.