Author's Posts

ScreenFloat v2.2.1, a free update for existing customers, is now available on the Mac App Store and includes numerous improvements for cutting recordings, automation, and more.

What is ScreenFloat?

ScreenFloat is your Screenshot All-Rounder.
Capture screenshots and recordings that float above other windows, allowing you to reference anything on your screen, anywhere. It’s like Picture-in-Picture, only for screen captures.
It keeps your Desktop clutter-free, as every capture you make is stored in its Shots Browser, where you can manage, organize and find your shots. They’re also synced across your Macs.
Easily copy the non-copyable, as ScreenFloat recognizes text, barcode and faces in your shots, which also allows you to effortlessly redact sensitive parts of your screenshots.
Add non-destructive annotations, redactions and markup, crop, “fold“, resize, or de-retinize your shots, or trim, cut or mute your recordings. Quickly pick colors.
Create shareable and embeddable links for your captures using iCloud, ImageKit.io or Cloudinary.com.
And so much more.

A screenshot is just a screenshot. Until you use ScreenFloat.

Tip: Check out the Get to Know ScreenFloat 2 Blog Post series for a deep-dive into its functionality and what it can do for you.

What’s New in ScreenFloat v2.2.1?

  • When you cut your recordings, you now get more info about the resulting video, where the playhead is, and how long your individual cuts are.
    Also, preview playback has been improved, as well as scrubbing through the recording.
At the top, you now see the duration of the finished recording. At the bottom left, you can see the duration and range of the currently selected cut, and at the bottom right the position of the playhead
  • There’s now an easier way to make new cuts, by holding down X on your keyboard as you play back your recording:
  • Standby Window Capture (macOS 14 or newer required) – grab a screenshot of any window from its green resize button, or from the Capture item in your menu bar.
  • AppleScripts and Shortcuts can now be run on floating shots directly, in addition to the already existing Double-Click Workflow Actions.
Right-click a floating shot to send it off to an AppleScript or Shortcut.
  • The new Permissions overview gives you all the details you need to know about why, how and when ScreenFloat makes use of certain privileges you grant it
  • You’re now able to set a floating shot’s visibility not only to the currently active app, but any currently running app
  • And many more minor improvements and bugfixes, like the Shortcuts app no longer launching right away when setting up a new Double-Click action, or the cutting window remembering its size.

Links and Availability

ScreenFloat is a one-time purchase, exclusively available on the Mac App Store for USD 15.99 / EUR 14,99 / GBP 15.99 , and a free update for existing customers.
A free, 28-day trial is available for download from the website.
It requires macOS 12 Monterey (macOS 14 Sonoma recommended for full functionality)
A (free) iCloud account is required if you want to sync your ScreenFloat library across your Macs.
ScreenFloat is currently localized in English, German, Chinese (Simplified), and Dutch.

ScreenFloat Website + Free Trial
ScreenFloat on the Mac App Store
Eternal Storms Software Productivity Bundle on the Mac App Store (includes ScreenFloat, Yoink for Mac and Transloader at ~25% off)

Get to Know ScreenFloat 2 Blog Post Series
ScreenFloat 2 Usage Tips

Contact & Connect

I hope you enjoy ScreenFloat (and my other apps) : )

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As a sort-of follow up to my post about Apple’s macOS Engineers running out of places to put new permission dialogs in, I had a thought, because, I do have those from time to time.

Here’s what’s up: In macOS, when you want to, for example, create a screenshot app and want it to be able to actually take screenshots, you’ll have to get permission from the user for it. With the upcoming macOS 15 Sequoia, that is going to be upped to two dialogs. One: the initial permission request, and two: a weekly reminder, asking if you want to continue to allow this app to capture your screen.
Here’s where my aforementioned thought comes in: Wouldn’t it be nice if a screenshot app from the Mac App Store was able to, like, take screenshots, right out of the box, without any permission dialogs?
I feel like apps on the Mac App Store should get some perks for being reviewed and vetted by Apple’s App Review.

So here’s my thought, wrapped into a couple of examples, to really drive my point home ad nauseam:
– A developer of a screenshot app that has successfully gone through App Review to be published on the Mac App Store should be able to request a default screen capture entitlement for it, which lets macOS know that no permission dialogs need to be presented, or asked for weekly, at all. It can just take screenshots right after download, because, you know, it’s a screenshot app, and that’s what the user downloaded it for.

– A developer of an audio recording app that has been reviewed by App Review to be released on the Mac App Store should be able to request a default Microphone recording entitlement, so it can record audio right after download, because, you know, it’s an audio recording app, and that’s what the user downloaded it for.

– A developer of an app that uses the user’s current location for core features that has successfully been reviewed by App Review to be released on the Mac App Store should be able to request a default Location entitlement so it can get its work done right after download, because that’s what the user downloaded it for.

Shouldn’t that be sort of the point of App Review?
I kind of understand making apps obtained from outside the Mac App Store jump through permission dialogs (to an extent, I just hate the new weekly permission reminders so much), but I feel like apps obtained from the Mac App Store could appear so much more user-friendly and polished without them, and would definitely make apps obtained from there feel special.

I guess what I’m saying is: Apple, please stop this Tour-de-farce security permission dialog onslaught and give users and developers some credit.

P.S.: I do realize it’s a pipe-dream. With all the ways stuff can be kept from App Review – which has happened time and time again – it’s not a system fit for such an implementation. Which, in turn, draws App Review’s reason for existing into question altogether.

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As a macOS engineer, what do you do when you’re told by Apple’s security team you have to turn it even more into Windows Vista and place even more useless alibi-security permission dialogs somewhere, but you’ve run out of new places to put them in?

Well, you get creative, and show multiple permission dialogs for the same permission.
Can’t innovate anymore, my ass!

Why the heck is this a thing on macOS Sequoia?
When you run the screencapture CLI from Terminal (or any other app) for the first time, you’re usually greeted with this dialog:

Fine. So you grant that permission, run screencapture again, but now you’re greeted with this stupid, infuriating, completely pointless dialog:

Huh!? Yes, I know Terminal can access this computer’s screen and audio. I just granted it that permission!

Seriously? Is this the way forward for macOS? Apple, I know you can do better. Because you used to.

Rant end.

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