How to change Mac screenshot file format in OS X

The first step is to launch Terminal.

It is in the Applications folder in the utilities folder.

Change the screenshot format to JPG

Type or paste the following line into a Terminal window and hit the Return key to execute the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg;killall SystemUIServer

Change the screenshot format to GIF

Type or paste the following line into a Terminal window and hit the Return key to execute the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type gif;killall SystemUIServer

Change the screenshot format to PDF

Type or paste the following line into a Terminal window and hit the Return key to execute the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type PDF;killall SystemUIServer

Change the screenshot format to PNG

Type or paste the following line into a Terminal window and hit the Return key to execute the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png;killall SystemUIServer

Change the screenshot format to TIFF

Type or paste the following line into a Terminal window and hit the Return key to execute the command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type tiff;killall SystemUIServer

How to change where screenshots are saved on Mac

Step 1: Make sure to create the folder you want the screenshot to go to.

Step 2: Search for Terminal in Spotlight Search in the top-right menu bar.

Step 3: Open Terminal and type the following command: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Documents/Screenshots

Step 4: To apply the changes, enter the following command: killall SystemUIServer

If you entered the commands successfully, your screenshots will now save to a Screenshots folder within your Documents.
Note that you can type any directory that you wish to save screenshots to, as it doesn’t have to be ~/Documents/Screenshots if you would prefer something else. For example it could be Documents, or Downloads.

To revert back to saving screenshots to your desktop, enter the following command:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Desktop
followed by:
killall SystemUIServer