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I find myself frequently wanting to change the names of my screenshots to something more memorable. I can change the location in which they're stored via the screenshot tool itself, and I can do some light editing with Preview. But to change the name, I have to then find the file using Finder/terminal, and edit it myself.

How can I rename screenshot files added to my Screenshot folder? asks a similar question, but the answers rely critically on saving the files in a single, specific directory. I would like to retain the flexibility of using the built-in Screenshot app's ability to choose locations and still have the opportunity to rename it on the back end, either in or out of Preview.

People who have a similar use case, how have you solved this problem?

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  • A long click on the filename allows you to rename the file. Remember, there’s no “Save As” dialog when you take the screen shot, or when in Preview. The first, you’re not leaving the app you were in when the snap was taken an in the latter Preview is meant for looking and quick annotations not full blown editing.
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 6, 2023 at 0:08
  • As you say, to long click on the filename requires navigating to the directory containing that file. Effectively that means navigating that directory tree twice: once in Grab (Screenshot) to the directory in which I want to save it, and then again to change the name.
    – Jason Hemann
    Commented Jan 6, 2023 at 1:22
  • That’s why the default behavior is to save to desktop. It can be renamed, edited, or whatever workflow whether automated or manual
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 6, 2023 at 1:33

2 Answers 2

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Perhaps a slightly different order to your workflow could help. A while back I posted a simple folder action that would auto-open the screenshot file as soon as it landed in the designated (same every time) Screenshots folder. With the screenshot file open in Preview, the file can be renamed and moved to the location you want. Here's a picture of the Automator window implementing the folder action. Automator Screenshot

The Automator script could be expanded to call Preview's Rename and Move commands.

HTH

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One way of being "flexible" is:

  • take screenshot ("Show Floating Thumbnail" must be enabled)
  • click on floating thumbnail
  • click on export icon in upper right corner (next to "Done")
  • select "Preview" from dropdown (or "Edit extension", if not present)
  • in Preview click on down arrow next to filename in window header
  • in drop-down window enter Name and select Where as desired
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