Changing the Steam screenshots folder on Windows and macOS was something I needed to do recently to better organize my gaming captures. I wanted to have all my screenshots neatly sorted into a specific directory to make it easier to find and manage them. Here’s how I went about it, step-by-step.To start with, I needed to find the right folder on both operating systems. Steam takes screenshots and saves them to a default location, but this location can be changed based on my preferences. First, I focused on Windows since it’s where I initially encountered this issue.On Windows, the process was relatively straightforward. I opened Steam and clicked on the “View” menu at the top left of the Steam client. From there, I selected “Screenshots” to bring up the Screenshot Manager. This is where all my screenshots were stored and where I could manage them. In this menu, there’s an option called “Show on Disk” which opened the folder where Steam had been saving the screenshots. I noted down this location because I would need to reference it later.Next, I navigated to Steam’s settings. To do this, I clicked on “Steam” in the upper-left corner of the client and then selected “Settings” from the dropdown menu. In the Settings window, I went to the “In-Game” section where I found the “Screenshot Folder” option. Here, Steam allowed me to select a new location for my screenshots. I clicked the “Browse” button, which opened a file explorer window, and then I navigated to the folder where I wanted my screenshots to be saved. Once I selected the new folder, I clicked “OK” to confirm the change.After setting the new folder, I took a few test screenshots in different games to make sure they were being saved in the newly designated folder. To my relief, everything worked perfectly. The screenshots were now being saved in the new location I had chosen. This process made it so much easier for me to keep track of my game captures and organize them more efficiently.Switching over to macOS, I had to follow a slightly different approach due to the differences in how the operating system handles file paths and permissions. I started by launching Steam on my Mac and going to the “Steam” menu at the top left of the screen. From there, I selected “Preferences,” which is equivalent to the “Settings” menu on Windows.In the Preferences window, I selected the “In-Game” tab. This section contained the same “Screenshot Folder” option I had seen on Windows. Here, I could see the current folder where screenshots were being saved. To change it, I clicked on the “Browse” button. This action opened a Finder window where I could navigate to the desired folder.I had already created a new folder in Finder where I wanted to store my screenshots. Once I found the folder, I selected it and clicked “Choose.” This set the new location for all future screenshots. To ensure everything was working as expected, I took a few test screenshots. I checked the new folder and verified that the screenshots were being saved there.One thing I noticed was that macOS sometimes requires me to grant additional permissions for applications to write to certain folders. If Steam didn’t have permission to write to the new directory, I had to adjust the folder’s permissions. To do this, I right-clicked on the folder, selected “Get Info,” and then adjusted the permissions under the “Sharing & Permissions” section to ensure that Steam had the necessary access.Overall, changing the Steam screenshots folder on both Windows and macOS turned out to be a smooth process once I knew where to look. On Windows, the settings were all available directly within the Steam client, making the change quick and simple. On macOS, it was a bit more involved, but with a bit of navigation and understanding of macOS’s permissions system, I managed to set it up without much trouble.This organizational change was quite beneficial. By having my screenshots saved in a specific folder, I could keep my desktop and other directories uncluttered. It also made it much easier to locate specific screenshots for sharing or reviewing later. For anyone looking to streamline their Steam screenshot management, following these steps should make the process straightforward and efficient.
How to Change the Steam Screenshots Folder on Windows and macOS [Tutorial]
