SnapTrellis
SnapTrellis support · Version 1.1.2

Let’s get you back to your screenshots.

SnapTrellis keeps related screenshots together in groups, then sends each group as one numbered, labeled image.

Quick start

  1. Press ⌥⇧4 and drag across what you want. It’s copied right away, so you can paste it with ⌘V, and it joins a group.
  2. A small card appears beside your capture. Click it to type a label (Return saves, Esc skips), or click Mark Up to blur, type, or add markers. The card never takes your keyboard, and it leaves on its own after a few seconds.
  3. Press ⌥⇧C to copy the whole group as one image, or click Merge on the group. Then paste it into a text, an email, or a doc.

Want to try it before capturing anything? Choose Help → Welcome to SnapTrellis, add the sample group, and click Merge. Merging the sample is always free.

Prefer to watch? See the 30-second walkthrough on YouTube (silent, with captions), or play it on the homepage without YouTube.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work from any app:

⌥⇧4Capture an area
⌥⇧3Capture the full screen
⌥⇧RCapture the same spot again, without dragging (how)
⌥⇧CCopy the current group as one image
⌥⇧SShow or hide the Trellis

While you’re selecting an area, press Return to capture the whole screen instead, or Esc to cancel. In the app, File → Label Last Screenshot… (⌘L) and File → Preview Group (⇧⌘P) work from the keyboard too.

To turn a shortcut on or off, use Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts in the SnapTrellis menu or the menu bar icon. ⌥⇧2 can also capture an area; it starts off on new installs because on a US keyboard it types €. While a shortcut is on, that key combination can’t type its character in other apps. If a shortcut does nothing, another app may be using it. Turn it off in Keyboard Shortcuts and capture from the menu bar icon instead.

In the editor, single keys pick a tool: C crop, T text, A arrow, R rectangle, O oval, L line, H highlight, B blur, X hide, and M marker. Select any markup and press Delete to remove it.

Groups

Your first capture starts a group named for the app and time, like “Mail · 9:41 AM.” Captures keep joining it until you send the group or stop capturing for 45 minutes; then the next capture starts a fresh group. Double-click a group’s name to rename it: the new name becomes the merged image’s title, and a group you’ve named waits for late replies until you send it.

To collect into a group yourself, choose File → New Group… or pick a group under Capturing into at the top of the Trellis. A group you make or pick yourself keeps collecting until you choose another one. To stop automatic groups altogether, turn off Settings → Group New Captures Automatically.

Drag screenshots to reorder them, or drag image files from Finder onto a group. Right-click a screenshot to add a label, move it to another group, copy it smaller (75, 50, or 25 percent), or save it as PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, or PDF.

Merge and send

Click Merge on a group to copy it as one image, ready to paste; ⌥⇧C does the same from any app. The arrow beside Merge also offers Save as One Image… and Share as One Image…

The merged image puts the group’s name on top, numbers every screenshot with its label, and lists marker notes under the screenshot they belong to. Wide screenshots stack in one column so their text stays readable. To choose a layout (Automatic, One Column, or Side by Side), click Preview. You can also drag the image from Preview straight into another app.

Markers and markup

Click Mark Up on the card, or click a screenshot in the Trellis, to open the editor. Press M and click a detail to drop a lettered marker (A, B, C…): a dot marks the exact spot, and a thin line leads to its letter. Type its note right there. Drag the letter to move it clear of what you’re pointing at, or choose On the Spot to show just the letter.

Press T and click to type on the screenshot. Drag a corner to make the text bigger or smaller, or a side to re-wrap it, and choose Plain or Box. You can also blur or hide anything private, draw arrows and shapes, highlight, crop, or remove a background. SnapTrellis remembers your color, size, and text style for next time.

Your Mac’s own screenshots (⌘⇧4)

Screenshots you take with the Mac’s own ⌘⇧4 can join SnapTrellis too. Choose Settings → Collect Mac Screenshots (⌘⇧4)… and pick the folder your Mac saves screenshots to, usually your Desktop. From then on, each new screenshot also appears in SnapTrellis. The originals stay where they are and are never changed. Not sure where your screenshots go? Press ⌘⇧5 and look under Options → Save to.

Free trial and unlock

Capturing, labeling, marking up, and copying single screenshots are always included. Merging a group into one image needs the free trial or the unlock.

Apple handles every payment and refund. To ask for a refund, use Apple’s Report a Problem page.

The Trellis, out of your way

Drag the SnapTrellis icon at the top of the Trellis to move it, or use Position at the bottom to put it on another screen edge or corner, or to reset its size. The sidebar button tucks it into a slim tab, and ⌥⇧S hides it completely, which is handy before you share your screen. SnapTrellis shows a Dock icon by default; to hide it, turn off Settings → Show in Dock.

Screen Recording permission

SnapTrellis needs macOS Screen Recording permission to take the screenshots you ask for. To capture an area, it briefly holds a still image of one display so you can drag a rectangle, then saves only that area. It never records your screen continuously, and never records video or audio.

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Choose Privacy & Security → Screen Recording (called Screen & System Audio Recording in newer versions of macOS).
  3. Allow SnapTrellis.
  4. Quit and reopen SnapTrellis if macOS asks you to.
  5. Try capturing again.

Privacy, Sensitive screenshots, and cleanup

Screenshots stay on your Mac, in SnapTrellis’s own app storage. There’s no account and no tracking; the privacy policy has the details.

Right-click a screenshot and choose Mark Sensitive to mask it inside SnapTrellis until you reveal it on purpose. Sensitive screenshots are never copied to the clipboard automatically. For a run of private captures, turn on Capture to Sensitive Group in the menu bar icon’s menu. Masking isn’t encryption, and it doesn’t affect copies you already saved or shared. Before sending anything, check the image for details you don’t mean to include.

Finish takes a screenshot out of your Trellis without deleting it right away. You’ll find it in History for seven days, or you can use Undo.

Still need help?

Email support@snaptrellis.com. Include your macOS version and what you expected to happen. Please remove anything private before attaching a screenshot.