How to edit a screenshot after saving on a Mac
Apple says that once you save marks on an image in Preview, you can't edit, move or delete them, so on a saved image macOS can only go back to an earlier version. In Shotbolt every mark stays a layer: reopen the screenshot from History and change it.
What macOS can do
The macOS screenshot tools save a PNG. Apple's Preview guide says that after you save annotations on an image file, you can't edit, move or delete them. You still have these options:
- Restore an earlier version. Open the image in Preview and choose File → Revert To → Browse All Versions. Pick a version and click Restore, or hold Option and click Restore a Copy to get a separate file. The whole image goes back, so you redraw any marks you wanted to keep.
- Plan ahead with a PDF. If you expect to change the marks later, Apple suggests converting the image to a PDF first and annotating the PDF.
- Take care in Quick Look. If you mark up a file in Quick Look or Quick Actions, Apple says your changes can't be undone after you close the window.
Steps in Shotbolt
Shotbolt's editor stores your original screenshot and your marks separately, so opening it again brings back each mark as you left it. Layers are in Free.
- Open the screenshot. Choose Open History… from the Shotbolt icon in the menu bar, then double-click the screenshot. One with saved layers shows an Edited pill. If it is still on screen as a Quick Access card, double-click the card.
- Select the mark. With the Select tool (V), click it on the picture, or click its row in Layers. Layers lists every mark, including one hidden behind another.
- Change it. Drag it to move it, pull a handle to resize it, set its color and style in the inspector beside the picture, or press Delete to remove it.
- Save. Press ⌘S. Shotbolt writes the new picture into the screenshot's file and keeps the layers for next time. Done (⌘↩) also copies the picture and closes the editor.
Arrows, shapes, notes, counters, highlights and covers all come back as layers. So does the background, and the crop, which you can widen again because the full picture is kept. Changes made with Adjust Pro (Shotbolt Pro) and Edit Text Pro (Shotbolt Pro) stay editable too.
Copy (⇧⌘C) also keeps your edit with the capture in History, and leaves a file you saved yourself as it was. Its message offers Save Edit if you want that file updated.
Limits
- The saved file is flat. Anyone you send it to gets a picture with no layers. Save As (⇧⌘S) writes a flat copy and does not save your layers, so use Save or Done for that.
- Layers stay in History on your Mac. Opening the saved file from Finder with Open With gives you a flat picture, and Save then makes a new screenshot. The layers do not travel to another Mac with the file.
- Layers leave with the capture. History keeps captures for 1 month by default. When one leaves, your saved file stays and its layers are deleted. Press ⌘D to Keep a capture, or change Keep captures for in Settings → Quick Access and History.
- History follows the file. If you move, rename or delete the saved file outside Shotbolt, History drops the capture the next time Shotbolt starts, and its layers go too.
- Rotating and resizing are not layers. A rotate, flip or resize changes the stored picture. Your marks stay editable, and that change does not come back as a layer.
Questions
Can I remove an arrow I saved in Preview?
Only by restoring an earlier version, because the arrow is now part of the picture. If no version has it, open the file with Tools → Annotate Image File… and use Patch (O), which copies a piece of the picture into a layer you drag over the arrow.
Can I change text that was in the screenshot itself?
Yes, with Edit Text Pro (Shotbolt Pro). You retype the words in the picture, and they stay editable after you save.
Is a blur permanent?
In the saved file, the cover is part of the picture. Your original stays in Shotbolt's own storage on your Mac, which is how you can delete the cover later. For text that has to stay private, read how to hide sensitive text.