How to Remove Screenshots from Desktop Mac

For those who care about such things, you will have noticed that there are certain tools and features that you leverage so much that it becomes almost impossible to recall a point in time when you didn’t have them to begin with.

And, if we’re going to be completely honest with ourselves, I think we’ll all be able to agree that screenshots rank high among these types of utilities. Thanks to the fact that it is so remarkably easy to screenshot, we don’t have to worry so much about manually storing certain types of information. All we usually do is take a quick screenshot of the item that we can readily refer to at our convenience.

However, while it might be somewhat easy (if not outrightly effortless) to take screenshot on tools like Mac devices, managing these types of images can be a completely different matter entirely.

This, among many other equally valid reasons, is why you are almost always best served learning the intricacies involved in how to remove screenshots from a desktop Mac like a pro.

Whether you need this information as a matter of urgency or you simply want to add to your repertoire of knowledge, being able to control just how and where screenshots appear on your Mac device can undoubtedly do you a world of good.

Without further ado, let’s get into everything that you might find relevant and pertinent on this particular matter!

An Introduction to the Basics of Managing Screenshots on Your Desktop Mac

So, before anything else, let’s take a quick look at one of the principal elements that necessitate the need to have an understanding of how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac in the very first place.

Now, arguably the biggest reason why any Mac owner will have to gain this knowledge sooner or later is because of the fact that when you take a screenshot on these types of devices, the factory setting of the tool directs the images to be saved on your desktop.

To be clear, there are certain undeniable merits to this default setting. Perhaps the biggest of these is the fact that you won’t have to scour your device to find an important screenshot. As it’ll be right there on your desktop, it’ll usually take you only a few seconds at most to find it and do whatever you would like to do with it.

However, this overwhelming pro inevitably becomes a con at some point. The reason for this quickly becomes apparent if you’re one of those people who takes a large number of screenshots on a fairly regular basis.

What Happens When You Take a Lot of Screenshots on Mac

What happens when you take a lot of screenshots on Mac is fairly predictable. Over time, your desktop will get oversaturated with the thumbnails of the screenshots that you’ve taken. If you don’t take decisive steps to correct this problem, it’ll only be a matter of time before your desktop becomes essentially useless to you.

Thankfully, you can avoid such an unpleasant outcome by simply learning the basics of how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac!

And this is where we come in!

Learning How to Remove Screenshots from Desktop Mac – Why You Should Pick Up This Skill ASAP!

Sure, we have already touched on one major reason why you would want to learn how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac today. However, you should know that it doesn’t end there. Far from it, in fact!

Some of the most important reasons why you would do well to understand all that there is to know about removing screenshots from the desktop of a Mac device in 2023 include:

It Can Serve as a Great Space-Saving Measure

If you aren’t already aware, be informed that all the screenshots that you take have a direct bearing where the available storage capacity of your device is concerned. In a few words, the more screenshots that you take, the fuller your storage space is likely to be.

Now, it stands to reason that when your storage space is already packed full of screenshots, you won’t have the latitude to save other equally important files. This can be tough, especially when you think about how precious space is on most Mac devices.

So, by making conscious efforts to delete old screenshots and images that aren’t of use to you, you can easily free up valuable space.

You Get to Suffer Less Visual Distractions

Did you know that the average attention span for humans is getting shorter and shorter? One thing that doesn’t help your case here is wanting to sit down and work only for your attention to either be drawn to one random screenshot or you won’t even be able to focus on anything, to begin with!

Again, taking the time to delete your screenshots will ensure that you never have to deal with such problems in the first place.

You’ll be Able to Find the Files You Need Much Faster

Without unwanted and unnecessary screenshot thumbnails to get in the way, it’ll be considerably easier for you to find the files that you need on your desktop. While it might not seem that way at first, you’ll be surprised by the sheer amount of time that you would effectively be saving when you delete these screenshots from your desktop Mac!

Learning How to Remove Screenshots from Desktop Mac – The Complete Guide

Hopefully, now, we can all agree that learning how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac is of the utmost importance. The only thing left is finding the best ways of carrying out this exercise.

Some of the best methods include:

Option #1 – By Using the Terminal Tool

For the uninitiated, the Terminal tool is arguably one of the strongest programs on your Mac.

This tool is highly regarded because it is unrivaled when it comes to helping users efficiently execute even the most complex commands.

If you want to use this tool to remove a screenshot on your desktop Mac, all you have to do is launch the program and type “cd Desktop” (do not include the quotation marks), and push the “Enter” button. You’ll be taken to the desktop folder immediately. Once here, just input “rm filename.png” (again, without quotation marks) and tap “Enter”. Be sure to replace “filename.png” with the name of the screenshot you want to delete specifically.

And with that, you’re all done!

Option #2 – By Using the Finder App

Another line of action that’s open to you here is using the Finder tool.

Simply put, Finder is essentially a graphical tool that you can take advantage of and use to remove unwanted screenshots on your desktop. All you have to do to leverage this tool is make your way to the particular image that you want to delete and proceed to right-click on it. Follow that move up by choosing the “Move to Trash” option. Now, move over to the “Trash” folder. You can easily do this by double-clicking on the Trash icon located in your Dock. Once you’ve accessed this folder, identify the screenshot that you just deleted and proceed to right-click on it again, and choose the “Delete Immediately” option.

With that, the screenshot will be gone from your device forever!

Option #3 – By Using Smart Folders

Finally, you can also say goodbye to the problem of screenshots on your desktop Mac by using Smart Folders. This method of learning how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac is also fairly simple to use.

Having said that, be informed that it takes a little planning to use.

Essentially, Smart Folders is one of the advanced features on Mac that gives users the ability to use specific criteria to group files into a collage. To use this method, you would need to first use the Finder icon to create a new Finder window. Now, you have to click on “File” and, from there, “New Smart Folder”. You have to set the criteria for the grouping at this point. You can use “Screenshot” for this. with that done, all the screenshots that you have on your device will appear here. Move them to the Trash folder immediately. Go to the Trash folder, highlight all of them, right-click, and select “Delete Immediately” and you’re done!

Bottom Line

See how easy it is to learn how to remove screenshots from desktop Mac? Now, you’ve got no excuse to let those screenshots take over your screen! Just pick the best approach for eliminating them that works for you and get to removing them once and for all!

For more ways to keep your Mac running smoothly, check these out!