How can I get full-resolution screenshots when the Simulator's "Pixel Accurate" option is disabled?

Asked 2/11, 2017 at 5:51 Answered 25/10, 2019 at 2:12

On Xcode 9.1 the Pixel Accurate option is disabled and grayed out under the Window menu.

How can I take App Store screenshots without this option?

Anecdotal answered 2/11, 2017 at 5:51 Comment(2)

i hope this will be of some help. #18607426 – Pelag 2/11, 2017 at 7:55

not the issue @kakakikikeke, the issue is that that menu item is disabled. The issue is seen here, twitter.com/CalQL8KOS/status/926151516406337536, feel free to add the link to the question – Hadhramaut 2/11, 2017 at 18:15

The original answer is wrong!

Russ from the Apple Simulator team says:

To take app store screenshots uncheck the "Optimize rendering for Window Scale" option in the Debug menu. I recommend turning this back on normally as it improves rendering performance. Double-clicking does not make the device use native resolution, that's just an accident due to the size of device you tested with and the size of your screen.

==========

ORIGINAL ANSWER (DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY):

Make sure Window -> Show Device Bezels is unchecked.
Double click the simulator's toolbar (the top bar listing the device and OS).

Note - sometimes, double-clicking the toolbar will just minimize the window to the dock. Alternately, simply click OSX menubar Window->Zoom.

Hello happy days, the simulator resizes and provides the right resolution for App Store screenshots.

Anecdotal answered 7/11, 2017 at 1:48 Comment(6)

Toggle out of Devices bezels for this to work (uncheck Show Device Bezels) – Timid 8/11, 2017 at 22:34

To take app store screenshots uncheck the "Optimize rendering for Window Scale" option in the Debug menu. I recommend turning this back on normally as it improves rendering performance. Double-clicking does not make the device use native resolution, that's just an accident due to the size of device you tested with and the size of your screen. – Titer 9/11, 2017 at 19:5

Strangely this does work perfectly, for me anyway. I have a relatively small external monitor (1920 x 1080) but when I "Zoom", then screen shot, it actually makes correct full-size 12.9 iPad screenshots: 2048.2732 pixels. – Renegado 6/2, 2018 at 15:18

Notice that Russ from Apple says "that's just an accident due to the size of your screen" In fact that comment from Russ seems to be incorrect. ... it worked perfectly for me, actually creating real-pixel-size screenshots for every simulator device. Or, maybe something has changed, or maybe it only works with external monitors!!!!! :) (Samsung monitors! :) ) – Renegado 6/2, 2018 at 15:19

this answer is INCORRECT. Please see @Titer answer below. (Not the comment in this answer) – Faulk 28/6, 2020 at 20:28

"Optimize rendering for Window Scale" is not an option in xcode 12. Have not found a way to get properly sized screenshots yet... – Nerve 28/10, 2020 at 12:9

You could set the simulator to landscape mode by clicking ⌘ + → first, then you could click ⌘ + 2 to select Pixel Accurate option, don't forget set simulator to portrait mode by clicking ⌘ + ← :)

Thirtieth answered 8/11, 2017 at 7:15 Comment(2)

How witty, sir! – Matrona 13/11, 2017 at 18:36

In other word, if you have an external screen, rotating it portrait and setup the proper orientation (in System Preferences), then the simulator can run Pixel Accurate in portrait mode? – Pettifogging 22/11, 2017 at 22:8

As of Xcode 12 we always enable all of the options.

In previous releases they were not enabled unless your screen was large enough to display the device at the full resolution without running off the edges.

Titer answered 9/11, 2017 at 19:9 Comment(11)

thanks for the correction. i know it's very hard to serve such a large and diverse user base, but from one team's perspective, this change in the simulator was frustrating! on a more positive note, i'm sure you're balancing priorities and resources as much as possible to help people, so thanks for the great work and for answering! – Anecdotal 9/11, 2017 at 20:29

hey @Anecdotal and Russ - thanks for the info Russ, but, I've tested it really extensively (just with a MBP, which happens to have a cheap external monitor connected) and in fact, oddly, IT DOES, DEFINITELY, make screenshots to the simulator device pixel size - which is totally different from the physical monitor size, and, totally different from the size the simulator happens to display the window (allowing for the OSX menu bars, etc etc). Who knows! – Renegado 6/2, 2018 at 15:21

What was the reasoning for the change from being able to specify resolutions, especially given you now disable some options? – Curdle 25/3, 2019 at 17:53

@Renegado We removed the Optimize Rendering option in Xcode 10 so now screenshots are always full resolution. As evidenced by this question and the comments/responses it just caused too much confusion to be worth it. – Titer 27/3, 2019 at 7:59

THIS is the right answer. Stackoverflow should really allow to uncheck previously ansers marked as correct – Faulk 28/6, 2020 at 20:27

BUT - I'm using xcode 12 with iPhone 11 simulator and the screenshots (no matter the settings) are always in 828x1792 which is not the required size (which is 1242x2688). How do I get 1242x2688 screenshots using the simulator? – Nerve 28/10, 2020 at 12:28

@AdamGerthel Your claim is incorrect. iPhone 11 is 828x1792 pixels. Perhaps you meant iPhone 11 Max? – Titer 15/12, 2020 at 10:12

@Titer Which claim? I said that the iPhone 11 screenshots when taken using the simulator are 828x1792 which they are (just double-checked). See see help.apple.com/app-store-connect/#/devd274dd925 for required dimensions. It's too low. – Nerve 16/12, 2020 at 11:7

@AdamGerthel Sorry let me clarify: the iPhone 11 does not render at 1242x2688. The correct size for that device is 828x1792, so the screenshots are correct. Where are you getting the 1242x2688 number from? – Titer 22/12, 2020 at 6:32

@Titer I don't remember where I got those specific dimensions (i.e 1242x2688) from, and I see now that they don't match the list I linked to. Perhaps the list has changed, or perhaps I pressed the wrong buttons when commenting. BUT, my point was that they don't match App Store's image size requirements for iPhone 11, which is still true. So bottom line is that a screen shot taken with the simulator (no matter the device) can not be used directly (without modification) by App Store. – Nerve 22/12, 2020 at 13:45

@AdamGerthel The screenshot requirements are here: help.apple.com/app-store-connect/#/devd274dd925. The App Store requires a screenshot from the largest phone and a Plus phone then it can scale where needed. Take screenshots using the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 8 Plus Simulators. Then you will have the required sizes. – Titer 6/2, 2021 at 19:7

I found the menu is only enabled when your screen resolution is able to support pixel accurate display( so as physical size). This is annoying because making a screenshot always generates a picture at the current size of the simulator on Xcode 9.1. It requires to the simulator to display in the pixel-accurate mode for qualified screenshots. For iPad Pro(12.9-in, 2732 x 2048 pixels), the mode is only available in landscape when my MacBook Pro is set to "More Space"- with actual resolution at 3840x2400.

Rorke answered 3/11, 2017 at 6:6 Comment(1)

Note, this is (fortunately) basically wrong, see below. – Renegado 6/2, 2018 at 15:20

Since the computer I own (2017 MacBook Air) don't support landscape mode and resolution is 1440x1000 I'm stuck. In Xcode 9.0 you could still select 100% scaling and scroll down in the simulator. That's no longe possible.

I can understand if apple drops support for 2005 computers, but not 1 month old ones :S

So the only option I could find is to buy a extra screen! BUT for just making a screenshot you can still press CMD+S and it will make a native resolution one!

Schroth answered 5/11, 2017 at 5:53 Comment(2)

See answer below. All you need to do is double-click the top bar of the simulator! – Anecdotal 8/11, 2017 at 7:37

Note, this is (fortunately) basically wrong, see below. – Renegado 6/2, 2018 at 15:20

In case this helps anyone else, the issue for me was my second monitor. I tried all of the solutions here, but none of them worked until i unplugged my second display. I work on a 15" 2016 MBP and the second display is a 2560×1440 QHD Asus monitor connected by HDMI to a USB-C hub.

Doormat answered 30/4, 2018 at 18:4 Comment(0)

Since I only needed to take a screenshot, I found out the quick fix was to go to "Hardware" > "Rotate Left"/"Rotate Right" and "Pixel/Point accurate" becomes available.

Flyleaf answered 25/10, 2019 at 2:12 Comment(0)

Quick fix:

Hardware > Device > Manage Devices > Delete the iPhone that you're having trouble with (from the sidebar). [Remember to "Close Window" on Simulator and exit Simulator before deleting]
Add it again from the "+" button on the bottom left.
Restart Simulator and launch the device again.
Done.

Doralynne answered 30/8, 2018 at 12:34 Comment(0)

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