Nothing is as frustrating as losing precious screenshots. Whether it's important work charts, precious gaming moments, or every wonderful moment, the panic of losing them is very real. Common situations like accidental deletion, format errors, system crashes, or disk damage can erase your visual memories in a second. But don't worry! Screenshot recovery is often possible. This guide will show you step by step how to easily locate and retrieve screenshots on Windows/Mac.

Part 1: Where to Find Screenshot on Mac/Windows

How to Find Screenshots on Windows

If you are using Windows + PrtSc to screenshot your desktop, you can find them in the screenshot folder without any hassle.

Step 1. Open This PC (My computer in old versions) on your desktop.

Step 2. Click the Pictures tab in the left panel, and you will see the Screenshots folder on the right page. All the photos you took in this way will be saved in this folder. Double-click it to find your target screenshots.

If you are using a shortcut key combo like Windows + Shift + S to take screenshots, it will be complicated to find screenshots on Windows since your operating system will not save them automatically like the above one.

Method 1

You should click the prompt window in the bottom-right corner and store the screenshot manually to a specific folder by pressing the Save button or pressing Ctrl + S on your keyboard.

Method 2

If you want to share the screenshot with others, you can open your dialog box, click on the input box, and then tap Ctrl + C on the keyboard. You can also tap Windows + C to choose selectively.

How to Find Screenshots on Mac

If you are using shortcut keys Command + Shift + 3 or Command + Shift + 4 to take screenshots on your Mac, you can view them on the desktop. If you cannot find them, you can use Terminal to check the location: defaults read com.apple.screencapture location.

If you cannot find screenshots by following the methods above, you may lose the screenshots due to various reasons. Read more to learn how to retrieve screenshots on Windows/Mac.

Part 2: How to Retrieve a Screenshot on Windows

Method 1: Retrieve Deleted Screenshots from the Recycle Bin

If you delete screenshots accidentally on Windows, you can go to the Recycle Bin on the desktop to recover them, since all the deleted Windows files will be there. Just double-click your desired file and tap the Restore button to retrieve deleted screenshots. If you have cleared the recycle bin, you need a third-party tool to recover deleted files not in the Recycle Bin.

Method 2: Retrieve Screenshots by Showing Hidden Files

Some screenshots may be marked as hidden when saved due to system bugs, third-party software intervention, or virus influence. By default, Windows does not display hidden files, so you cannot see them in folders. To display hidden files and view screenshots in Windows, you should:

Step 1. Enter File Explorer Options in the search box on the desktop in the bottom-left corner.

Step 2. Select the View tab and check Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

Step 3. Press the Apply button.

Method 3: Restore Deleted Screenshots Using File History

If you have enabled File History on your computer, you can easily get back deleted screenshots using this feature:

Step 1. Go to the search box in the bottom-left corner of the desktop and enter Restore your files with File History.

Step 2. Click the left or right arrow to locate the date containing your desired screenshot.

Step 3. Look through and select the target screenshot. Click the Restore button in the middle to retrieve missing screenshots.

Part 3: How to Retrieve a Screenshot on Mac

Method 1: Retrieve Screenshots from the Trash

All the deleted files on a Mac will go to the Trash first. If you haven't emptied the Trash, you may be able to retrieve deleted screenshots there.

Just click Trash at the dock, right-click your target screenshot, and select the Put Back option to restore screenshots to their original location. If you have a habit of emptying the Trash on Mac, this method won't work.

Method 2: Restore Screenshots Using the Time Machine

Likewise, if you have enabled Time Machine on your Mac before, you can retrieve screenshots using this feature with ease.

Step 1. Click the Time Machine button in the top-right corner. If you can't find it, you can go to System Performance - Time Machine.

Step 2. Locate your lost screenshots by adjusting the timeline, and then click the Restore button to finish the screenshot recovery.

Part 4: Ultimate Way to Restore Deleted Screenshots on Windows/Mac

Tried everything, but still in vain? Try Apeaksoft Data Recovery! This tool will help you recover those valuable screenshots in one click! It is available on both Windows and Mac!

Step 1. Free download this data recovery tool to your computer.

Step 2. Select the location where the screenshots were stored (e.g., a disk, folder, or even the Recycle Bin). Press the Start Scan button to start the process.

Step 3. Click the Image tab in the left navigation bar and look through the right page to retrieve deleted screenshots.

You can also search for file names with the suffixes of .jpg or .png in the search box above.

Step 4. Preview the files. If it is the one you want to retrieve, check it and click the Recover All button in the bottom-right corner of the interface.

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