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Level 1

25 points

Screenshots not appearing on desktop in macOS Sierra

When I take screenshots, they do not appear on the desktop of my MacBook Pro, and this only recently started after I downloaded macOS Sierra (and I'm not writing the nightmare I went through with Apple Tech support to fix other major problems with Sierra that ended in my hard drive having to be wiped....).

When I take a screenshot, nothing appears on the desktop. But I've found that there are actually screenshots, but the only way I know they are there is by having All My Files selected in Finder - they appear there. If I click on one of them, it suddenly appears on the desktop.

What's going on, and how do I fix this?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Oct 20, 2016 6:37 PM

Best reply

Valatore

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Oct 21, 2016 3:29 AM

It depends on how you're trying to screenshot. If you're using (cmd + shift + 3) or (cmd + shift + 4) then it should be saving to your desktop unless your OS is being told to save it elsewhere. You can check if it's being saved elsewhere by opening finder and selecting the "All my files" tab, then doing a search for "screenshot".

If it's not being saved at all then the problem might be that you are also pressing ctrl. When taking a screenshot in OSX or macOS, adding ctrl to the previously mentioned hotkeys means that it will take the screenshot and save it to your clipboard so that it is ready to paste, rather than a hard copy of the file.

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26 replies

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

Oct 21, 2016 5:27 AM in response to RB116

Hello !

It seems you are pressing command + shift + 4 then pressing space bar move the camera pointer over the window to highlight it and the click .

This option works with open finder windows and most application windows , to cancel it we have to click on key ( esc ) .

If you are taking normal screen shot we have to press command + shift + 3 . the screen shot is on the desktop . also if we click on finder , click on all files the screen shots are always there .

I have never faced or to say heard this issue . I am not sure but have you done any changes in : click on go > computer > Macintosh HD ( read and write permissions ) .

And which method have you used to take screen shot , please reply .

Thanks !

Nov 12, 2016 12:27 AM in response to RB116

What I've done to have quick access to my screenshot is to open the terminal at the Desktop folder and move them (using mv on terminal) to another folder, where they can be visualized

damian-k

Level 1

4 points

Dec 16, 2016 7:30 AM in response to RB116

I just saw this too;
Shift + cmd + 4

then nothing on the desktop

did a smart search for .pngs

they were at the top of the list

clicked on it once, just to highlight

suddenly it appeared on the desktop

arrowed down through the list of screenshots

as each one was touched, it appeared on the desktop.

anyone have any ideas?

Dec 16, 2016 7:35 AM in response to damian-k

command + Shift + 3 for full screen shoot, Command + Shift + 3 for selected place screen shoot. thank you

dialabrain

Level 10

122,627 points

Dec 16, 2016 7:52 AM in response to damian-k

FWIW, I've noticed once in a blue moon when I take a screen shot it won't appear right away. If I wait it out however it shows up. I don't know why but I suspect the Mac happens to be busy doing something and has to finish before the screen shot shows up. Just a guess.