DaVinci Resolve: Export a Still and Share It in Slack

To export a still from DaVinci Resolve 18.5 or later, move the playhead to the frame in the Media, Cut or Edit page viewer, choose File > Export > Current Frame as Still, give the file a name and format such as PNG or JPEG, and click Export. On the Color page, you can instead right-click the viewer, choose Grab Still, then right-click the still in the Gallery and choose Export. To share it, drag the exported file into Slack's message field.

Method 1: Export Current Frame as Still

This is the direct route: it writes one image file from the viewer.

1. Open the Media, Cut or Edit page.
2. Use the viewer's playback controls to move to the frame you want.
3. Choose File > Export > Current Frame as Still.
4. Enter a file name and choose the format.
5. Click Export.

Blackmagic Design added this command in DaVinci Resolve 18.5. If your version doesn't have it, use Method 2.

Method 2: Grab Still on the Color page, then export from the Gallery

Grabbed stills are mainly grade references for comparing shots, but you can export them as image files too.

1. Move the playhead to the frame and open the Color page.
2. Open the Gallery panel if it isn't showing.
3. Right-click the viewer and choose Grab Still. The still appears in the Gallery.
4. Right-click the still in the Gallery and choose Export.
5. Name the file, pick a folder, and choose a format from the format list. Check the format before you click Export; it may not default to PNG or JPEG.

Open the exported file and compare it with the viewer before sending it to a client, especially when the still is for a colour note.

Which format to choose

For a thumbnail or a client upload, export at the timeline resolution and crop to a new file in an image editor if the platform needs a different size. Don't screenshot the whole Resolve window; you'll capture the interface along with the frame.

Share the still in Slack

Slack's desktop app takes files in two ways:

• Drag and drop up to ten files into the message field.
• Click the + next to the message field and choose the files.

Files can be up to 1 GB. Slack shows an inline preview only for images under 25,000 pixels on the longest side and under 45 million pixels in total, which covers any normal video frame.

Name the file before you share it, such as sc04-tk2-01h02m10s.png. A named file is easier to find in a thread later than one called image.png, and it tells the reviewer exactly which frame you mean. Paste the timecode as text in the same message. Named, captioned stills also work as references when you brief a videographer for a new shoot.

If a still has to survive several hops, such as Slack, then a download, then a deck, every re-save of a JPEG can lose quality. How to stop chat apps compressing your deck images covers keeping the original file in the loop. For pasting a screen capture rather than a file, see how to paste a snip into Discord, Slack and Teams.

Review and upload sites

Review platforms, CMS image fields and video thumbnail slots expect a file. Drag the exported still onto the upload area or use the site's file picker. Pasting a copied image into a rich-text field usually puts it in the comment body, not in the thumbnail or attachment slot. Files vs file contents explains why a copied image and an image file behave differently.

Can you copy a Resolve frame to the clipboard?

Resolve's documented still exports write files. If you need the frame on the clipboard, for example to paste into a chat that doesn't accept drops, open the exported file and copy the image from your image viewer, or copy the file in File Explorer. A screen capture of the viewer with Win+Shift+S works for a quick look, but it's captured at your display's resolution and includes anything drawn over the viewer.

Keeping stills tidy

• Export to a dated folder per project or review round, not the desktop.
• Delete stills of unreleased material from laptops and shared folders once the review is done.
• Close or hide clipboard tools and file windows before you share your screen in a review call.

If you export several stills per session and drop them into Slack, email and upload forms, a clipboard manager that keeps files saves trips back to the export folder. Edge Drop, made by the team behind this site, keeps files you copy in Explorer as cards you can drag into Slack or a browser upload, next to text cards such as timecodes. How to drop clipboard images into Word, Slack and Explorer covers the receiving side.

FAQ

Where does Grab Still save the still?

In the Gallery on the Color page. To get an ordinary image file you can share, right-click the still and choose Export.

Why don't I have File > Export > Current Frame as Still?

The command was added in DaVinci Resolve 18.5. Update Resolve, or use Grab Still and export from the Gallery.

Should I share stills as PNG or JPEG?

PNG for frames with text, graphics or fine detail you'll edit later; JPEG for quick review where file size matters more.

How do I get stills out of Premiere Pro instead?

Premiere has its own frame export. How to get Premiere stills onto the clipboard covers it, and where motion designers keep still frames covers organising them.

Related reading

• How to Copy a Frame in Premiere Pro and After Effects
• After Effects: Copy Frame to Clipboard vs Save Frame As
• How to Paste a Screenshot Into Discord, Slack, and Teams
• Why Slack and Teams Images Look Blurry (and How to Fix It)

Sources

• DaVinci Resolve 18.5 New Features Guide (Blackmagic Design, PDF) — Export Current Frame as Still from the Media, Cut and Edit viewers.
• How to grab stills and export them in DaVinci Resolve (Evercast) — Grab Still on the Color page and exporting from the Gallery.
• Add files to Slack (Slack Help Center) — drag and drop, the + button, file size and preview limits.
• DaVinci Resolve (Blackmagic Design) — product page.

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