Save
Choose manual save, quick save, auto save, or quick recording, and configure PixPin image quality, paths, filename variables, conflicts, and cleanup.
Open the PixPin menu in the Windows tray or macOS menu bar and choose Configuration → Save. General options appear first, followed by Manual Save, Quick Save, Quick Recording, and Auto Save.
Choose a save method
| What you want | Method | Where the file goes |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm folder, name, and format each time | Manual save: click save or press Ctrl+S⌘ Command+S | Choose in the save window; this page supplies the default filename |
| Save a series of captures directly to a fixed folder | Quick save: click quick save or press Ctrl+Shift+S⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+S | Uses the full quick-save path without a location dialog |
| Keep an image when copying, pinning, or recognizing | Auto save: once enabled, triggers on the checked operations | Keeps an image at its separate auto-save path |
| Obtain an MP4 immediately after recording | Quick recording: select quick recording in the recording toolbar | Uses the preset path when enabled here; otherwise choose a location before recording |
Quick save still requires an explicit action; auto save follows selected operations. Both can be used together with different folders. Auto save differs from screenshot history and does not automatically export recognized text, tables, or translation results.
General settings
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Save/Copy image quality (0-100) | Default 100. Sets JPEG, WebP, AVIF, and similar encoding quality. Lower values reduce file size at the cost of detail, without changing dimensions. PNG output is lossless and does not shrink by lowering this value |
| After Manual/Quick Save | Neither choice selected by default. Select Copy File and/or Copy Path. The first makes the file pasteable into folders or as an attachment; the second copies the location as text. With both selected, the receiving app decides which clipboard content to use |
| Write EXIF information when copying/saving | Off by default. Adds save time, time zone, PixPin version, and pixel dimensions to supported PNG, JPEG, WebP, and AVIF output. Does not print text on the image |
Copying a file differs from copying an image. Auto save does not rewrite the clipboard because post-save actions are selected. Image quality does not control screen-recording quality; quick recording export quality is chosen in the recording workflow.
Confirming quality in the manual image save window also updates this value. Set the system or preview-based save dialog in appearance → save dialog.
Manual save
Use this when saving into different project folders or confirming names and formats each time.
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| File name | Defaults to PixPin_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.png, substituting the actual time when saving. Enter only a filename here; choose the folder in the save window |
| Preview | Shows an expanded sample name. Check it after changing time formats, variables, or extensions |
| Remember the last extension used | Checked by default. Saving in a different image format updates the template extension, for example from .png to .jpg |
The format control beside the filename offers PNG, TIFF, BMP, JPEG, WebP, and AVIF. PNG preserves text and interface detail; try JPEG, WebP, or AVIF for smaller files and inspect the result. JPEG and BMP do not preserve transparency. TIFF uses lossless compression and 300 DPI information without changing pixel dimensions.
In version 3.6.6.9, saving in another image format still updates the template extension even when the remember-extension option is unchecked. For a fixed format, check or reselect the extension before saving.
Quick save
Use this to collect screenshots in one folder. Set the path first, then trigger quick save when needed.
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Path | Enter folder, filename, and extension. The default name matches manual save; ordinary Windows/macOS installations default to the system desktop |
| Preview | Shows the full path after expanding variables, helping you check location and name |
| If file exists | Defaults to Add numeric suffix. If 资料.png exists, saves as 资料_1.png and increments for further conflicts. Cover replaces an existing file with the same name |
| Open Folder | Opens the folder corresponding to the preview path. Reports when the folder has not yet been created |
| Change Folder | Selects a new directory while retaining the filename template |
| Notification and action beside it | On by default, with Locating file selected. Saving shows a notification whose button locates the file. You can instead choose copy file or copy path. The action selector is unavailable when notifications are off |
Notification copy actions require a click; the general post-save actions run automatically. For copying only when needed, keep notifications and turn off automatic copying.
The Mac App Store edition on macOS defaults to an app-accessible Pictures directory instead of the ordinary desktop location. Check the preview for the actual path or choose another folder.
Quick save in the recording playback window also uses this directory and naming template, but follows the video or animated-image format selected there. This is separate from the fixed quick-recording path below.
Quick recording
The Quick Recording checkbox is off by default and controls whether to use a preset save path. Checking it does not switch the recording mode to quick recording.
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Quick Recording | When enabled, quick recording uses the path below. When disabled or the preset is unusable, you must still choose a location before recording |
| Path and preview | Defaults to PixPin_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.mp4 in the system video directory, falling back to the desktop if no video directory is provided. The path format offers MP4 only |
| If file exists | Defaults to adding a numeric suffix. Overwriting is also available, with the same meaning as quick save |
| Open/change folder | View the target directory or select another while retaining the naming template |
Both platforms support these settings. Quick recording skips playback and exports MP4 directly. Use normal recording for editing, capture-area or volume adjustments, and keyboard/mouse animations. See quick recording.
Auto save
Auto Save is off by default and keeps extra copies of screenshot operations. Enable it, choose a dedicated folder, then select the operations to back up.
| Option | Usage and default |
|---|---|
| Auto Save | Checking enables the paths and rules below |
| Path and preview | Defaults to a timestamped PNG in the system Pictures directory's PixPinAutoSave subfolder. The Mac App Store edition uses an app-accessible Pictures directory. Preview shows the expanded result |
| If file exists | Defaults to adding a numeric suffix; overwrite replaces the same-named file |
| Open/change folder | View or replace the auto-save directory, as with quick save |
| Automatically clean files older than … days | Off by default, with 7 days preset and a range of 1–365. After a successful auto save, deletes files with the same extension in the current save folder whose modification time is older than the specified days |
| Save types | Seven choices, all selected by default. These are triggering operation types, not formats such as PNG or JPEG |
The save types trigger as follows:
| Type | When an image is retained |
|---|---|
| Copy | When copying an image from a screenshot |
| Pin | When creating a pin from a screenshot |
| Text Recognition | When starting text, table, formula, or document recognition from a screenshot, retaining the image sent for recognition |
| Translate | When starting translation from a screenshot, retaining the source image |
| Save | Keeps an extra copy when manual or quick save starts from a screenshot. Auto save precedes the manual save dialog, so canceling that dialog does not undo the backup |
| Long Screenshot | After an ordinary long screenshot has results, on copy, pin, edit, text recognition, or close. Does not continuously generate files while scrolling |
| Screenshot | When choosing edit image in the capture interface and entering the separate image editor, rather than merely starting a selection |
Once auto save has triggered during a screenshot workflow, subsequent operations do not repeatedly back it up. Canceling an ordinary screenshot does not trigger it; actions on existing pins are not equivalent to these screenshot triggers.
Cleanup does not distinguish file creators: old files with the same extension from other software in the target folder are also deleted. Use a dedicated auto-save directory. Cleanup checks only the actual folder used for the current save, without recursing into subfolders. Monthly folders do not cause past months' folders to be cleaned.
Paths and filename variables
Each of the four panels has Variable Reference beside its title. Open it and click a variable row to copy, then paste into a name or path. $…$ denotes time formats; %…% denotes variables. Preserve the example's capitalization.
Time formats and common variables
| Syntax | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$ | Date and 24-hour time, such as 2026-11-06_14-30-05. MM is month; mm is minutes. Hyphens avoid colons in filenames |
%title%, %process% | Source window title and process name provided by the save operation. Screenshots use the selection's window information; fallback names are used when unavailable |
%width%, %height% | Image or selection dimensions supplied by the operation. Useful in names, but not verification of final file dimensions. Check actual files after scaling, cropping, or high-DPI output |
%os% | Outputs windows on Windows, mac on macOS |
%MYDOCUMENTS%, %MYDESKTOP% | Full system Documents and Desktop paths, usable at the start of quick-save, auto-save, and quick-recording paths |
%ONEDRIVE% | OneDrive folder, depending on environment configuration or a OneDrive folder in the user directory. Preview reports an error if not found |
%COMPUTERNAME%, %USERNAME% | Computer hostname and username, distinguishing files from different devices or users |
%uuid%, %uuidv7% | Random unique identifier and time-ordered UUID v7, helping avoid duplicate filenames |
%timestampS%, %timestampMS% | Unix timestamps in seconds and milliseconds, respectively, for matching other records |
Settings previews have no actual screenshot context, so title, process, and dimensions use samples such as PixPin and 0. The fixed quick-recording path also lacks source window and dimension information; use dates, times, or UUIDs.
Modifiers and ready-to-use examples
%title#10% retains the first 10 title characters. %process!% removes the last dot and suffix, changing Editor.exe to Editor. Combine them as %process!#12%. Invalid filename characters in titles become hyphens.
| Scenario | Enter |
|---|---|
| Manual save with source title | 资料_%title#10%_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.png |
| Quick save in a dedicated desktop folder | %MYDESKTOP%/PixPin/PixPin_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.png |
| Auto save organized by year and month | %MYDOCUMENTS%/PixPin/$yyyy$/$MM$/PixPin_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.png |
| Quick recording in a shared Documents location | %MYDOCUMENTS%/PixPin视频/录制_$yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss$.mp4 |
These system directory variables resolve on both Windows and macOS; you need not copy another computer's username or drive letter. Missing directories in these full paths are created when saving is attempted; opening the folder does not create them in advance.
$ and % characters, variable names, and the full path.Filenames must not contain \ / : * ? " < > |. In paths, / separates directories and cannot appear in a manual-save filename. Use $$ or %% to output a literal $ or %, respectively.
Restore defaults
Click Restore Default at the bottom and confirm to reset general options and all four save panels. Restore All Default also affects other pages. Resetting cannot recover overwritten or automatically cleaned files.
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