How to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11

Few tools on our computer are as useful as screenshots. Thanks to them, we can save almost anything we see on the PC. Generally, All the screenshots we take have the same location: Images/ScreenshotsNow, how do you change the screenshot folder in Windows 11? Is it possible? What are the advantages? Let's see.

How to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11?

We have already seen on other occasions How to activate the Capture widget in Windows 11. But today we are going to explain how to change the screenshots folder in Windows 11. This means that Yes, it is possible to change the location of the screenshots you take on your PC..

When you press the Windows + Print Screen or Prt Sc keys (if your keyboard is in English), the screenshots are automatically taken to the Images – Screenshots folder in the file manager. And if you use the Snipping Tool, these also have a default location. How can you modify this folder? Next, Let's look at two ways to achieve this..

From the Image Properties

The first way to change the screenshots folder in Windows 11 is from the Pictures – Screenshots folder properties. You can create a new folder with the sole purpose of saving your captures or you can choose any other folder that you feel more comfortable with.

These are the Steps to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11 from Properties:

1. Open Windows File Explorer (you can press Windows + E, open it from Start, or from the taskbar).
2. Next, go to the Pictures folder.
3. Right-click the Pictures folder and select Properties.
4. Now select the Location tab.
5. Click Move to select a new destination folder or type the name of the desired location.
6. Another option is to click Search Destination and select the one you want.
7. Finally, click Apply and then OK to successfully save the changes.

Now, if at any given time you want to return to the default location for Windows screenshots, you need to go back to the Location tab. Then, in the folder properties, click on “Restore defaults" and that's it. The screenshots will now be saved back to the previous folder.

From the Snipping Tool Settings

The second way to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11 is through Settings. Snipping tool. If you are used to taking screenshots using this tool, they will have the same destination as above: Images – Screenshots. Steps to change the location from Clipping Path are the following:

1. Open the Windows Snipping Tool (either by pressing the Windows key + Shift + S or by typing its name in Start).
2. Tap the three dots in the top right corner of the Snipping Tool.
3. Select Settings.
4. Scroll down to find the “Screenshots are saved to” option and tap Change.
5. Select the new location you want to give it.
6. Save the changes and you're done.

In addition to changing the screenshot folder in Windows 11, there are other interesting options available in the Snipping Tool Settings. For example, you can enable options like prompting to save edited screenshots, add a border to each shot or apply a color corrector to HDR screenshots, etc. You can also activate interesting alternatives for screen recordings.

What if you take screenshots with a third-party app?

There's something you should keep in mind if you take screenshots on your PC using a third-party app. In this particular case, to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11 you'll likely have to Enter the settings within the application to modify the location of saved.

Since this is a non-Windows application, Any changes you make to the operating system will have no effect on the location from screenshots taken with the third-party app. So don't be surprised if, after following the steps above, the screenshots still end up in the same place. You'll have to make the changes exclusively from the app you use to take screenshots for this to work.

Advantages of changing the screenshot folder in Windows 11

Now, when is it appropriate or necessary to change the screenshot folder in Windows 11? Honestly, this depends on your specific tastes and needs as a Windows user. All in all, The main reasons have to do with organization and workflow that we have.

More organizationIf you work on different projects at the same time, it's wise to keep your screenshots organized. You can achieve this by having a folder assigned to each type of work. By changing the default location for screenshots to a more personal folder, we can more easily locate them.

Keep the orderAs we've already seen, all the screenshots we take end up in the same folder, Screenshots. That's not even counting all the images in the main folder, Images. So changing the location of your screenshots helps you avoid being overwhelmed by a huge amount of multimedia content.

faster accessHave you ever considered that if screenshots go directly to the Desktop instead of a folder, you can use them more quickly? Sending screenshots to this location could be the solution you need to make copying and pasting screenshots easier and less complicated.

Gain space on your main driveChanging the screenshot folder in Windows 11 also frees up space on your PC's main drive. This can be achieved by moving screenshots to a folder on an external drive or to a previously created partition.