Automatically name screenshot as you take it

The keyboard shortcut you use with the Shortcut that you create may have to be different than Command-Shift-4, as it may not override the standard shortcut. I wrote the instructions as I created the shortcut to avoid missing any steps, but I can go through it again to make sure everything is correct. When the Shortcut was finished, I has able to press Command-Shift-9 and the prompt came up asking for the filename, then when OK was pressed, the screenshot was taken and stored in the Desktop folder.

This shortcut does take a full screenshot. To make it so that you can select part of the screen so that it works like the Command-Shift-4, then after you drag in the "Take Screenshot" action, you will to to:

• Click "Full Screen" where it says "Take Full Screen Screenshot and change it to "Interactive"
• Click "Show More"
• Then under "Selection", change it to "Custom"

This is what the completed Shortcut should look like after making that change. The top "Receive" action appears automatically when you assign the keyboard shortcut. I used Shift-Command-9, which shows as "⇧⌘)" in the "Run With"section in the sidebar.

Feel free to post what you ended up with.

Here is a way you can create your own Shortcut using the Shortcuts app:

• Open the Shortcuts app in your Application folder
• Choose "All Shortcuts" in the sidebar
• Click the "+" button on top of the app
• On top where it says "Shortcut Name", give a Shortcut a name such as "Named Screenshot"
• On the right sidebar search field, enter "Ask" and drag the "Ask for Input" action to the main screen.
• On that action, click on "Prompt" and type "Name of Screenshot:". This is not required but makes it clear what will be done.
• Click "Show More" on that action and uncheck "Allow Multiple Lines"
• In the search field, type "Get Name", and drag "Get Name" into the main screen below the action the is there.
• In the search field, type "Screenshot", and drag "Take Screenshot" below the last action.
• In the search field, type "Save", and drag "Save File" below the last action.
• Click "Show More" on the last action that you just added.
• Uncheck "Ask Where to Save"
• Now where is says "Save Screenshot to Shortcuts", click the "Shortcuts" and choose a folder where you want to save the screenshots. You can choose the Desktop folder if you want them saved on your Desktop or create a folder anywhere and save them there.
• Where it says "Subpath", start typing "Provided Input" and choose it when the suggestion comes up.
• Now all you need to do is create a shortcut to have this run.
• Click the Info button on top of the right sidebar.
• Click Add Keyboard Shortcut
• Choose the key sequence you want to use to run the shortcut. For example, Shift-Command-9. You just want one that will not override a shortcut that you already use.
• Click the Red button on the top left to close the Shortcut. You will see the Shortcut you just created. You can Delete or Edit it at any time.
• Go to the Shortcuts in the menubar and choose "Quit Shortcuts"

Now anytime you want to take a screenshot, just type your keyboard shortcut you used and a prompt will come up asking for the filename and then it will take a screenshot and save it in the location you specified. It may seem like a lot of steps to create the shortcut, but I tried to be as detailed as possible.

It looks like you just need to click the "Add Keyboard Shortcut" button in the sidebar. It will then change to "Run With:" and the key combination you chose. Here is what it will look like with Shift-Command-9.

Everything else looks perfect and should accomplish what you want. If not, let me know.

You can make it slightly more automated by using a Folder Action in Automator.

You should create a new folder just for screenshots as it might slow things down processing everything going into your Desktop folder.

Create a new Folder Action in Automator.

Add a Run AppleScript Action from the Utilities library.

Set the folder where you have screenshots saved.

Replace all of the text in the script with:

on run {input, parameters}
	tell application "Finder"
		activate
		repeat with anItem in input
			
			if name of (anItem) begins with "screenshot" then
				set extension to "." & name extension of (anItem)
				display dialog "Enter new name for " & name of (anItem) & ":" default answer "" buttons {"Cancel", "Rename"} default button "Rename" cancel button "Cancel" with title "Rename Screen Shot" giving up after 30
				set newName to text returned of the result
				if newName is not "" then
					set name of anItem to newName & extension
				end if
				
			end if
		end repeat
	end tell
end run

This doesn't run until the thumbnail disappears from the corner of the screen as nothing has been written to the folder, yet. You can keep working as when it runs it will pop up the dialog asking for a name.

You can turn on and off Folder actions using Folder Action Setup (search for it with Spotlight). It should be set up already once you save the folder action.

I've never tested stacking up a bunch of screenshots, so you may have to be cognizant of the date-time of the file you are renaming if they somehow show up out of order.

Web search finds: https://www.makeuseof.com/best-mac-screenshot-apps/

Maybe one will work for you.