How do I capture a single window instead of the whole screen?

On macOS press Cmd+Shift+4 and then Space: the cursor turns into a camera — hover the window and click, and it is captured together with its shadow and rounded corners. On Windows, Alt+PrtScn copies the active window to the clipboard, or pick the Window mode in the Snipping Tool after Win+Shift+S.

Content & Creation

6 min

How to take a screenshot on Mac and Windows: shortcuts

Q: How do I take a screenshot on a Mac?

Cmd+Shift+3 captures the whole screen, Cmd+Shift+4 a selected area, Cmd+Shift+4 followed by Space a single window together with its shadow, and Cmd+Shift+5 opens the panel with every mode plus screen recording. Files land on the desktop as PNG by default. Add Ctrl to any of those shortcuts and the shot goes to the clipboard instead of a file.

Q: How do I take a screenshot on Windows 11?

Win+Shift+S opens the Snipping Tool and lets you grab an area, a window or the whole screen — the capture goes to the clipboard and into a pop-up editor. Win+PrtScn saves the full screen as a file in Pictures → Screenshots. PrtScn copies the screen to the clipboard, Alt+PrtScn copies only the active window. On recent Windows 11 builds the PrtScn key opens the Snipping Tool by default.

Q: Where are screenshots saved?

On macOS, the desktop unless the folder was changed — you can change it in the Cmd+Shift+5 panel under Options. On Windows, captures taken with Win+PrtScn go to Pictures → Screenshots. Shots taken to the clipboard (PrtScn, Alt+PrtScn, Win+Shift+S) are not saved as files at all: paste them into an editor or document with Ctrl+V.

Q: How do I screenshot a browser tab without the browser interface?

System shortcuts capture the tab along with the browser chrome and the taskbar. To get only the page content, use developer tools: F12, then Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) and the screenshot command — you can capture the visible area, the full scrolling page or a single element. Extensions do the same in one click.

Taking a screenshot is a ten-second job if you know the shortcut, and a few minutes of hunting through menus if you do not. Here are the shortcuts for macOS and Windows, the difference between capturing to a file and to the clipboard, how to grab a single window or a browser tab — and what to do with the shot afterwards if it is heading into a deck or a post.

Screenshots on macOS

macOS has four shortcuts and they cover every scenario. Files land on the desktop by default, as PNG, named “Screenshot 2026-07-29 at 12.00.00”.

Shortcut	What it captures
`Cmd` + `Shift` + `3`	The entire screen
`Cmd` + `Shift` + `4`	A selected area — the cursor becomes a crosshair
`Cmd` + `Shift` + `4`, then `Space`	A single window with its shadow and rounded corners
`Cmd` + `Shift` + `5`	The panel with every mode, a timer and screen recording

Two habits worth picking up. First: add Ctrl to any of those shortcuts and the capture goes to the clipboard instead of a file — paste it straight into a document or editor and stop littering the desktop. Second: the Cmd + Shift + 5 panel has an Options menu where you can change the save folder and set a 5- or 10-second timer, which is how you capture a dropdown that closes the moment you press a key.

While selecting an area, modifiers help: hold Space to move the selection you have already drawn, Shift to lock one side, Option to resize from the centre. Esc cancels.

Screenshots on Windows

Windows also has four options, but the logic differs: some shortcuts save a file and others only put the capture on the clipboard — which is the main source of confusion.

Shortcut	What it captures	Where it goes
`Win` + `Shift` + `S`	Area, window or screen — the mode is picked on the top bar	Clipboard and a pop-up editor
`Win` + `PrtScn`	The entire screen	A file in Pictures → Screenshots
`PrtScn`	The entire screen	Clipboard
`Alt` + `PrtScn`	The active window only	Clipboard

On recent Windows 11 builds the PrtScn key opens the Snipping Tool by default instead of silently copying the screen — the behaviour is switched in the accessibility settings. The Snipping Tool itself does more than it looks: a delay timer, window and free-form capture, pen and highlighter markup, cropping.

If a capture went to the clipboard and you need a file, paste it with Ctrl + V into any graphics editor and save. The opposite case is more common: no file is needed at all, and the shot goes straight into a deck or a chat.

Capturing a browser tab

System shortcuts capture everything on screen: tabs, bookmarks, the taskbar, the clock. For a post or a slide that is noise — you want the page content only. Two ways to get a clean frame.

Developer tools

Open DevTools with F12, press Ctrl + Shift + P (Cmd + Shift + P on macOS) and type screenshot. You get capture of the visible area, of the full scrolling page and of a single selected element. Free, works in Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, needs no extensions.

A browser extension

The same thing in one click. The Flagram extension captures the visible area of the tab and opens the editor with the shot and the page address already filled in — handy when the screenshot is going straight into dressing anyway.

What to do with the shot next

A system utility hands you the frame as-is: cropped at the window edge, on a white background, in an arbitrary ratio. Fine for a work chat, not for a presentation, a post or a case study. The minimum treatment takes a minute and has four steps.

Crop to the essential — keep the block the shot exists for, without the taskbar and spare tabs.
Add a browser frame — it shows the viewer this is a web interface and hides the cropped window edges.
Put it on a background — solid or gradient, so a light interface does not dissolve into a white slide or feed.
Pick a format — 16:9 for a deck, 1:1 and 4:5 for a post, 1.91:1 for a link preview.

All of it happens on one screen in the screenshot editor : drop the file in or paste the capture from the clipboard with Ctrl + V. The image is rendered in your browser and never uploaded — which matters for work screens with sensitive data.

FAQ

How do I take a screenshot on a Mac?

Cmd+Shift+3 for the whole screen, Cmd+Shift+4 for an area, Cmd+Shift+4 then Space for a window, Cmd+Shift+5 for the panel with recording. Files go to the desktop; add Ctrl to send the shot to the clipboard.

How do I take a screenshot on Windows 11?

Win+Shift+S opens the Snipping Tool for an area, window or screen, and the capture goes to the clipboard. Win+PrtScn saves a file to Pictures → Screenshots. Alt+PrtScn copies the active window.

How do I capture a single window?

On macOS, Cmd+Shift+4 then Space and click the window — it is captured with its shadow. On Windows, Alt+PrtScn or the Window mode in the Snipping Tool.

Where are screenshots saved?

macOS: the desktop, changeable in the Cmd+Shift+5 panel. Windows: Pictures → Screenshots for Win+PrtScn. Clipboard captures are not saved as files — paste them with Ctrl+V.

How do I screenshot a browser tab without the browser interface?

Through developer tools: F12, then Ctrl+Shift+P and the screenshot command — visible area, full page or a single element. Or an extension that does it in one click.

Wrapping up

Screen capture comes down to four shortcuts per system, and the thing worth remembering is not all of them but the difference between a file and the clipboard. On macOS the Ctrl modifier switches between the two; on Windows they are separate shortcuts — Win+PrtScn writes a file, Win+Shift+S fills the clipboard.

If the shot is going further than a work chat — into a deck, a post or a case study — budget a minute for the treatment: crop the noise, add a browser frame and a background, pick the format for the platform. You can do that in the Flagram screenshot editor by pasting the capture straight from the clipboard.