For pedantic people like myself, who like to keep their Desktop tidy, I came across this tip to save screenshots to a different location automatically.

  1. Create a folder (mine is called Screenshots)
  2. Open a Terminal window
  3. Type the following: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location
  4. Drag and drop the folder into terminal. You’ll end up something like the following: defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/pkua/Desktop/Screenshots
  5. Hit enter!

If you remove the folder, you won’t be able to save screenshots and you’ll get a warning like below:

What happens when you delete the folder

You can easily find the location by finding the missing folder using the command: defaults read com.apple.screencapture location

Enjoy!