InSnapInSnap Screenshot History: Filters, Search and Shortcuts
A reference to the screenshot history: every sidebar filter, the search syntax, layouts, batch actions and the shortcuts that get you around it faster.
InSnap's screenshot history is a local library of every capture, with its annotations, source app, tags and the text inside the image. This page is the reference: what each control does, how to search, and the shortcuts worth memorizing.
Opening the history
- Hotkey: assign one in Settings › Hotkeys (Screenshot History). It is unset by default.
- Menu: choose Screenshot History… from the InSnap menu.
- During a capture: press
,or.to step through recent captures without leaving the overlay.
The history window is a single instance: pressing the hotkey again brings it to the front.
The sidebar filters
| Group | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All | All captures | The default view |
| Favorites | Starred captures | Favorites are never pruned |
| Uploads | Uploaded / Not uploaded | Cloud state, when signed in |
| Type | Screenshot, Video, GIF, Steps | Media records have no original screenshot file |
| Time | Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days | Based on the capture time, or edit time for edited records |
| Tags | Your tags with counts | Click to filter; right-click to rename or delete |
Filters combine: for example, Favorites + Last 7 days + a tag shows only starred, recent, tagged captures.
Search syntax
Type in the search field at the top:
| Query | Finds |
|---|---|
payment declined | Captures whose OCR text, note, tags, app, window title or filename contains the words |
#invoice | Captures tagged invoice |
app:Safari | Captures taken in Safari |
is:fav | Favorites |
is:uploaded / is:local | Uploaded to Cloud / not uploaded |
is:image / is:video / is:gif / is:steps | By media type |
Words are combined with AND: app:Terminal #bug finds captures from Terminal tagged bug. Text search relies on the local OCR index; if it is off in Settings, only the metadata is searchable.
Layouts and thumbnails
The toolbar above the grid switches between three layouts:
- Grid — cards, best for visual scanning.
- Rows — justified rows that fill the width, best for mixed aspect ratios.
- List — one line per capture with title, app, size and time.
The thumbnail slider changes the tile size in grid and rows. The choice is remembered per window size; there is no per-folder setting.
Selecting and batch actions
- Click the circle on a card to select it.
- ⌘-click / Ctrl-click adds or removes a capture; Shift-click selects a range.
- ⌘A / Ctrl+A selects everything in the current filter.
- With one or more selected, a floating bar appears: Select all, Add tag, Favorite, Share, Delete, Clear selection.
Batch share uploads one capture at a time and stops on the first failure or cancellation.
The detail view
Click a capture to open it. The left side is the image with zoom and pan; the right side is the info panel:
- App icon, app name and time; favorite star.
- Source URL, when recorded and enabled.
- Note and tags.
- Basic info: app, window, size, share status, saved location.
- Text in the image, with a copy button.
- Upload history, when the capture was shared.
- Delete, at the bottom of the panel.
Arrow keys move to the previous or next capture; Esc returns to the grid.
Storage, retention and privacy
- Everything is stored locally in the app's data folder; nothing is uploaded unless you explicitly share.
- Keep capture history must be on for captures to be recorded.
- Retention can remove old captures by age or total size; favorites and tagged captures are kept.
- Deleting a capture removes its index entry, thumbnail and original file; media records keep user-saved video files outside the history folder.
FAQ
Why is a capture missing from the history?
Check that Keep capture history is on. Copying, saving, pinning and uploading are recorded; if the setting was off at the time, the capture was never saved. Deleted captures are also gone permanently.
Can I search text inside screenshots?
Yes, if text indexing is enabled in Settings. The OCR runs locally and covers Chinese, English and Latin-script languages well; Japanese kana, Korean and Russian are not reliably recognized.
Does clearing the history delete files I saved elsewhere?
No. It removes the history record, thumbnail and the original capture stored by InSnap. Files you saved with Save, and videos or GIFs you exported, are untouched.
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