When you take a screenshot on a modern Mac (using Command + Shift + 3 or Command + Shift + 4), the image does not immediately save to your desktop. Instead, a small floating thumbnail preview of the screenshot appears in the bottom-right corner of your screen for about five seconds.
This floating thumbnail allows you to quickly click it and annotate the image before saving. However, if you are rapidly taking multiple screenshots in quick succession, this hovering thumbnail is extremely annoying. It blocks parts of your screen and will actively get captured inside your subsequent screenshots if you aren’t careful. You can easily revert to the older macOS behaviour and force screenshots to save instantly without the floating delay.
How to Disable the Floating Thumbnail
You can turn off this feature using the hidden options within the Mac Screenshot utility.
- Press Command + Shift + 5 on your keyboard to open the advanced Screenshot tool.
- A small floating toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen.
- Click on Options.
- A pop-up menu will appear. Look at the bottom section of this menu.
- You will see an option labelled Show Floating Thumbnail with a checkmark next to it.
- Click Show Floating Thumbnail to uncheck and disable it.
You can now press the Escape key to close the toolbar.
The next time you press Command + Shift + 3 or 4, you will hear the familiar camera shutter sound, but no thumbnail will appear. The screenshot will instantly process and save directly to your Desktop (or your designated save folder) at maximum speed, allowing you to take multiple rapid-fire captures without any visual interference.