For enhancing my efficiency with the built-in macOS screenshot tool, I add a new folder to my home folder called “Screenshots”, then I update the preferences so it writes all new screenshots there. For easy access, I then add it to my dock so I can easily drag and drop recent screenshots.
With this, I can take a bunch of screenshots in bulk and easily access them, without polluting my desktop.
Automated Setup Script
# create folder and set as screenshot location
mkdir ~/Screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location "$HOME/Screenshots"
# Add it to the right-hand side of the dock
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add "\
<dict>\
<key>tile-data</key>\
<dict>\
<key>file-data</key>\
<dict>\
<key>_CFURLString</key> <string>file://$HOME/Screenshots/</string>\
<key>_CFURLStringType</key> <integer>15</integer>\
</dict>\
<key>file-type</key> <integer>2</integer>\
<key>showas</key> <integer>1</integer>\
</dict>\
<key>tile-type</key> <string>directory-tile</string>\
</dict>"
# restart Dock
killall DockFinal manual step
After running the script, you may want to change the sort order to be “Date Added”. This can be done by right-clicking on the icon in the dock and selecting “Sort by” -> “Date Added”.