Frequently asked questions

QuickLight Screenshot primarily runs from the macOS menu bar. Click its viewfinder icon to capture, edit an image, view history or open settings. The default region shortcut is Control + Option + A; shortcuts can be changed in settings.

QuickLight Screenshot requires macOS 14 or later. Website-edition VIP device activation additionally requires a Mac with Secure Enclave; use the app’s check to verify availability. See Downloads for available installers and distribution channels.

Screen Recording access obtains still screenshots; the app does not record microphone or system audio. Ordinary capture only needs Screen Recording. Scrolling capture also needs Accessibility access to scroll the target window. Manage or revoke these permissions in macOS Privacy & Security settings.

Verify that permission is enabled for the currently installed app. After replacing a build, or if macOS requests a restart, save editing work, quit the app completely and reopen it. For window or scrolling capture, move the pointer back to the target window after granting access.

Check the shortcuts settings page for registration failures or conflicts. Change combinations used by macOS or another app, or re-register shortcuts. Region capture defaults to Control + Option + A. Try the same command from the menu bar to check whether only the shortcut is affected.

Check the Downloads page. Available installers and channels are maintained by the administrator. A Coming soon message means no public download link has been configured, not that an in-app operation failed. Avoid installers from untrusted sources.

After selection, Return copies, Command + Return saves, Option + Command + Return pins, and Shift + Command + Return opens the editor by default. Toolbar buttons provide the same routes. Shortcuts and the default save folder can be changed in settings.

Yes. Right-click a QuickLight Screenshot pin to crop, restore the original, copy, save, open in the editor, or adjust scale and opacity. The menu bar can temporarily hide and restore all pins. Closing a pin is separate from deleting a saved image file.

Choose project export in the editor’s Save As panel and save a .qlshot file. Reopen it using the menu-bar image-editing command. A project retains image assets, layers, annotations and core editing state, but not the previous session’s undo stack or viewport zoom. PNG, JPEG and HEIC exports are flattened images.

Scrolling capture, OCR and translation require valid VIP authorization. Use membership settings to connect to the website and review local authorization. Claim conditions, validity and device limits are determined by the member center and verified local license. VIP does not include third-party OCR or model-service fees.

Choose the offline Mac system OCR engine to recognize text locally without an external OCR API key; valid VIP authorization is still required. Offline availability of custom OCR or vision models depends on your configured service. Model translation normally requires a connection to that service.

VIP unlocks the app feature, not a provider account, key or balance. Verify the endpoint, API key, model name and model access in API settings and test the connection. Test OCR separately in text-recognition settings. A successful connection test does not guarantee model availability or sufficient balance. Keys are stored in local Keychain; never send them to support.

Scrolling capture needs valid VIP, Screen Recording and Accessibility access. Start over a scrollable window and avoid manual scrolling or resizing. Animation, sticky elements, nested scrolling and dynamic loading can disrupt matching. Repeated frames, unreliable matches or size limits stop capture while retaining completed content where possible. Discard the last segment or use separate screenshots if needed.

For the website edition, manage or revoke the old device in the member center before connecting the same account and refreshing authorization on the new Mac. Device limits follow current entitlements. Signing out does not automatically remove a still-valid local license. Website activation needs Secure Enclave; purchase and restoration rules differ across distribution channels.

Do not treat an editable project as a redacted image. A .qlshot file retains original pixels, and covering or mosaic layers may be removable. Export a final image, inspect it for sensitive content, and share that image. Redacting one export does not delete original files, history images or other copies.

No. QuickLight Screenshot’s local check can flag possible QR codes, phone numbers and national ID numbers, but it can miss items or flag harmless content. It does not cover every kind of sensitive information. Manually inspect the final image for names, addresses, accounts and tokens, and recheck after changes.

History PNG files are stored locally at ~/Library/Application Support/QLScreenshot/History. Defaults are 30 days and 512 MB, adjustable in the history window. Expired or over-limit files are moved to macOS Trash. Save important images separately; history is not a backup.

Ordinary capture, editing and local history do not automatically upload screenshots to the website. Mac system OCR and privacy checks run locally. External OCR or vision models send the recognition image to your configured endpoint; model translation sends recognized text and related request content. Licensing and recommendations also use the network. See Privacy.