Snagit Preferences – Mac

Explore Snagit for Mac settings to capture, edit, share, and save the way you want.

3d Snagit icon

In this tutorial:

Note: For Windows users, see Snagit Preferences – Windows.

Open Snagit Preferences

To open preferences in Snagit for Mac:

  • In the Capture Window, click the gear icon icon and select More Preferences.
  • In Snagit Editor, select Snagit menu > Settings (macOS 13 or later) or Preferences (macOS 12 or earlier).

General Tab

OptionDescription
Always keep Snagit running in the menu barRun Snagit Capture on computer startup.

Keep Snagit Capture available even when Snagit Editor is closed.
Snagit Shows
  • Capture Window: Displays the full range of capture settings as well as customized Presets for quick captures.
    Capture Window
  • Capture Widget (formerly OneClick Tab): Displays quick capture options as a tab anchored to the edge of the screen. The widget displays when you hover the cursor over the blue bar. Drag the widget to reposition along the top or side of the screen.
    Capture Widget
Editor color themeSelect Light, Dark, or System from the dropdown to choose the Snagit interface color theme.
Light and Dark color themes
Show additional information in tooltipsDisable this option to display minimal tooltips.
Example of minimal tooltips

Enable this option to display enhanced tooltips and select a style:
  • Text only: Display written descriptions of tool functionality.
    Example of enhanced text tooltip
  • Video + text: Display written descriptions and short, looping animations that illustrate tool functionality.
    Example of enhanced tooltip with video and text
Recent captures in traySets the number of files that can be displayed in the recent captures tray in the Editor. Enter a number 1-200.
Send anonymous usage informationSend anonymous data on Snagit usage to help TechSmith improve future versions. Learn more about usage reporting on the TechSmith website.
NotificationsSelect which notifications to receive from the following options:
  • Don’t show me notifications
  • Only show me help notifications: Receive tips and tricks on using Snagit features.
  • Show me all notifications from TechSmith: Receive tips, tricks, and information for TechSmith sales, webinars, and other promotional messages.

Note: The Send anonymous usage information option must be selected to turn on notifications.

Send anonymous crash reportsSend anonymous reports when Snagit crashes to help TechSmith identify and resolve bugs.
Automatically check for updatesAutomatically check for the latest version of Snagit when connected to the Internet.

Select how often Snagit checks for updates.
Automatically download and install updatesSelect if updates should automatically download and install.

Note: The Automatically check for updates option must be selected.

Reset “Don’t Ask Me” WarningsIf you previously selected the “Don’t Ask Me Again” option in a message, click the button to reset all messages to display again.

Capture Tab

OptionDescription
Hide Snagit and controls when capturingHide Snagit during capture to avoid including Snagit in captures.
Show video countdownDisplays a three second countdown before starting the video recording.
Minimize controls when recording fullscreen with one monitorWhen recording fullscreen with a single display, Snagit shows minimized Screen Draw, Pause, and Webcam controls. Click and drag to move the controls to a different location.
Open system screenshots and videos in SnagitOpen screenshots and videos captured using the MacOS system tools or keyboard shortcuts in Snagit Editor. The capture is moved from the default system location into the Snagit Library.

Select Keep original file to make a copy of the original file in the Snagit Library.
Require Start button for scrolling captureFor Scrolling captures (formerly Panoramic capture), enable this option to automatically start the Scrolling capture, or disable this option to require clicking the Start button to begin the Scrolling capture.
Show alert when microphone is mutedThe video recording toolbar shows an alert if Snagit detects that you are speaking into your microphone but microphone recording is turned off.
Fix Capture PermissionsPermissions are required for Snagit to capture and share images and videos. Click Fix Capture Permissions to open the System Permissions dialog and enable a webcam, microphone, scrolling captures and more. See MacOS Permissions.
Frame RateSelect Low, Medium, High, or Very High frame rate for video recordings. Higher frame rates can result in larger file sizes.
Downsample Retina video recordingsScales video recordings to smaller dimensions. The dimensions can vary depending on the original recording dimensions.

If video quality is a concern, consider disabling this option. When disabled, the text and graphics appear crisper, but the video may result in larger file sizes and dimensions.
Automatically start video recordingAutomatically start recording after clicking the Video Capture button in the All-in-One capture toolbar. When this option is selected, it is not necessary to click the Record button.
Combine audio tracksRecords microphone and system audio on the same track and combines left and right channels in mono. Consider deselecting this option if you intend to send your video recording to Camtasia for editing.
System AudiomacOS 13 or later: Snagit uses the built-in macOS audio recording.

macOS 12 or earlier: The TechSmith Audio Capture Component allows you to record system audio (the sound from your computer speakers) during a video capture. Click Uninstall Component to uninstall the System Audio Plugin from your computer. To learn more, see MacOS Permissions.

Note: You will not be able to record system audio for any applications that require the plugin.

Share Tab

See Share Captures to learn how to add, customize, or remove a destination on the Share tab.

Keyboard Tab

You can change some of the keyboard shortcuts:

  1. Click the button for the keyboard shortcut you wish to change.
  2. Complete one of the following options:
    • Press the desired key combination in the keyboard to assign a new shortcut.
    • Click the red arrow icon Red arrow icon to undo shortcut change to cancel the change.
    • Click the X icon Gray X icon to delete shortcut assignment to delete the assigned shortcut.

The new keyboard shortcut appears in the field.

To view the complete list of default shortcuts, see the Snagit Hotkeys Guide.

Advanced Tab

OptionDescription
Scale down retina images when sharingReduces the size of a retina image to improve how it displays on a standard resolution screen. This option is enabled by default and reduces the image size when you:
  • Share an image with Snagit share destinations.
  • Drag images from Snagit Editor into another location.

Tip: Temporarily disable this option.

Hold the Shift key to temporarily disable this setting when dragging an image from Snagit Editor.

Keep a duplicate editable capture when savingCreates a copy of the .snagx files in the tray to allow for future editing when saving to another file type such as .png.
Automatically expand the canvas to fit objectsAutomatically increase the size of an image when pasting or dragging objects outside of the current image.
Show quick edit toolbar on canvasDisplay a floating properties toolbar for callouts, text, shapes, and other tools.
Quick edit toolbar
Always use black and white menu bar iconThe Snagit menu bar icon turns red during video recording. Select this option to keep the Snagit icon black or white when recording.

Comparison of red and black Snagit icons in the menu bar while recording video
Always use these settings to create new imagesSets the default image dimensions and canvas color when you select File > New Image (Command+N).

The canvas is the background, which may be visible if you crop or remove areas from an image, or if the image does not take up the entire canvas area.
Library Location
(formerly Autosave Location)
The Snagit Library stores image captures as .snagx files and video captures as .mp4 files.

The default location is /Username/Pictures/Snagit. Click the Choose button to select another location. See Snagit Library Location.
Default sharing formatSet the default file format for when you perform any of the following actions:
  • Select File menu > Export.
  • Click the Copy All button.
  • Click the Share Link dropdown and select a destination.
  • Drag captures from Snagit Editor into another application or location.

Note: This preference does not affect the Save As file format. If you select File menu > Save As, Snagit defaults to the previously used Save As format.

Mobile SharingClick Turn On Sharing to allow image and video sharing from TechSmith mobile apps to Snagit.
  • Keep original image dimensions: Snagit automatically resizes mobile images for better viewing in Snagit Editor. Enable this option to import mobile images at the original dimensions.
  • Connection Name: TechSmith Fuse remembers each connection and allows you to select which instance of Snagit to send the mobile images or videos. You can customize the name of each connection to be sure you are sending the files to the correct computer running Snagit.
  • Port: Port number for connecting TechSmith Fuse to Snagit.

Experiments Tab

Try out features that are still in development.

Note: Experimental features are under development and may radically change or disappear at any time. Quality and availability may vary, and does not include tech support.

To help us improve these features, we will collect anonymous usage data.

Experiments tab on Snagit for Mac
  • Click the dropdown to view additional details about each feature.
  • Select an item to turn the feature on.
  • Click Submit Feedback to share your experience and suggestions about experimental features.

Note: This tutorial is for Snagit version 2024. Previous versions may look or function differently.