Screenshot filename format changed recently (macOS Catalina, 10.15.6)

Until recently, screenshots were moved to my Dropbox/Screenshots folder and named "Screenshot CCYY-MM-DD HH.MM.SS.png" but now they're called "Screen Shot CCYY-MM-DD at HH.MM.DD.png" - is it possible to change the format back as they're no longer sorted correctly?


I fixed the time format thanks to this community post in the Dropbox forum but no mention of how to change the text parts - https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-files-folders/Screenshot-File-Naming-Format/m-p/446851


Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 21, 2020 2:36 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 22, 2020 8:55 AM

In the Terminal:


defaults write com.apple.screencapture name "Screenshot"
killall SystemUIServer


There appears to be no means to alter the strftime(1) formatting of the date/time stamp, or remove the word "at" in the output filename, as these are incorporated within the application itself.

6 replies

Aug 22, 2020 9:02 AM in response to VikingOSX

That's fantastic - thank you!


As for changing the time format, I don't know if macOS recently changed where it's pulling the time format from but changing the Medium Format config worked for me - https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/245771/change-date-time-format-in-the-screen-shot-filename


For now I have a little script to "sed" out the "at" from any filenames in my Screenshots dir :)

Sep 14, 2020 12:52 AM in response to pah57

I have the same question, and also a related one.

First, I certainly would want control over the date-time format. By default it should be taken from my system preferences setting.

Second, I use jpeg rather than png as png is a lot larger than jpeg. However, I seem no longer to be able to set the file name extension to "jpeg", it has become "jpg", thus leaving out the "experts" (as Microsoft used to do). We're beyond three-letter extension limits...

I want to set the format of the screenshot to jpeg, the file name to CCYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS and the file name extension to .jpeg.

Should not be a great problem.

Sigh.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Screenshot filename format changed recently (macOS Catalina, 10.15.6)

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.