If you have ever recorded a screen session on your Mac using QuickTime Player, you may have encountered a situation where the recording is not saved to the desktop or any other location. This can be very frustrating, especially if the recording contains important information or memories.
In this article, you will learn how to prevent this problem from happening, and how to recover a lost screen recording on Mac if it does happen.
Table of Contents
What Causes a Screen Recording to Disappear on Mac?
There are several possible reasons why a screen recording may not be saved to the desktop or any other location on your Mac. Some of the common ones are:
- You accidentally clicked on the X button on the floating thumbnail that appears after you stop the recording. This will delete the recording without saving it.
- You chose to save the recording to the clipboard instead of a folder. This will copy the recording to the clipboard, but it will be overwritten by the next item you copy or cut.
- You saved the recording to a folder that is hidden or hard to find, such as the ~/Library/ScreenRecordings/ folder.
- You encountered a system error or crash that corrupted or deleted the recording file.
How to Prevent a Screen Recording from Disappearing on Mac?
To avoid losing your screen recordings on Mac, you should follow these tips:
- Before you start the recording, click on the Options button on the screen capture toolbar, and choose a folder where you want to save the recording. You can also select Other Location… and browse to a specific folder. Do not choose Clipboard unless you intend to paste the recording somewhere immediately after you stop it.
- After you stop the recording, do not click on the X button on the floating thumbnail. Instead, click on the thumbnail to open the recording file, and then click on the File menu and choose Save. You can also rename the file and choose a different location if you want.
- If you do not see the floating thumbnail, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Screenshots, and make sure the Show Floating Thumbnail option is checked. You can also change the keyboard shortcuts for screen capture and recording options here.
- If you want to share the recording via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, or other apps, you can do so from the Share button on the floating thumbnail or the recording file. Do not cancel the sharing process until it is completed.
How to Recover a Lost Screen Recording on Mac?
If you have already lost a screen recording on Mac, do not panic. There may still be a chance to recover it using one of these methods:
- Check the Trash folder on your Mac. If you deleted the recording file by mistake, you may find it there. You can then drag it back to the desktop or any other folder.
- Check the ~/Library/ScreenRecordings/ folder on your Mac. This is a hidden folder where some screen recordings may be stored. To access it, open the Finder app, click on the Go menu, and choose Go to Folder…. Then type ~/Library/ScreenRecordings/ and press Enter. You may find your lost recording file there. You can then move it to the desktop or any other folder.
- Use a data recovery software to scan your Mac for deleted or corrupted files. One such software is Cisdem Data Recovery, which can recover various types of files from different storage devices. To use it, you need to download and install it on your Mac, launch it, select the hard drive where you lost the recording, choose the Audio and Videos option, and start the scan. After the scan is completed, you can preview and recover the files you want.
Conclusion
Losing a screen recording on Mac can be a frustrating experience, but it does not have to be a permanent one. By following the tips and methods in this article, you can prevent this problem from happening, and recover your lost screen recordings on Mac if it does happen. Remember to always save your recordings to a safe location, and back them up regularly.