How to screenshot a window on Mac

Press ⇧⌘4, then the Space bar: the pointer turns into a camera and the window under it lights up. Click to capture just that window, with a soft shadow around it on a transparent background. Hold ⌥ (Option) as you click to capture it without the shadow.

Updated November 2, 2026

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Capture one window

Press ⇧⌘4, then press Space once.
Move the camera over the window you want; it is highlighted in blue.
Click. Hold ⌥ while clicking to leave the shadow out. Press Esc to cancel.

The same works for an open menu, the Dock or the menu bar: open the menu first, then press ⇧⌘4 and Space and click it. With ⇧⌘5 you can also click Capture Selected Window in the toolbar.

Turn the shadow off for good

macOS has no setting for it, but one Terminal command does it. Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true; killall SystemUIServer

To bring the shadow back, run the same command with false.

Window screenshots in SimpleShot

SimpleShot, a free capture app for Mac, has a key of its own for windows (⇧⌘6 with the standard keys): the window under the pointer is highlighted with its app’s name, and a click captures it. The shadow is a switch in Settings, not a Terminal command. The window is captured on its own even when another window covers part of it, and it can land on a background straight away: a gradient made from its own colours, with padding, rounded corners and a shadow, ready for a post or a slide. Crop it to 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 or 9:16 in the editor, then copy, save or drag it into a message from the thumbnail.

	macOS	SimpleShot
Window capture	⇧⌘4, Space, click	⇧⌘6 (or Space during ⇧⌘4), click
No shadow	Hold ⌥ each time, or a Terminal command	A switch in Settings
On a background	No	Yes, in one click (Beautify)

Questions

How do I screenshot just one window on a Mac?

Press ⇧⌘4, then Space, then click the window. The file is saved to the desktop with the window and its shadow, nothing else.

How do I take a window screenshot without the shadow?

Hold ⌥ (Option) while you click the window. For every screenshot, run the Terminal command on this page, or switch the shadow off in SimpleShot’s settings.

Why is there a border around my window screenshot?

That is the shadow, on a transparent background. Some apps show the transparency as white or black. Capture with ⌥ held to leave it out.

How do I screenshot a menu on a Mac?

Open the menu, press ⇧⌘4, then Space, and click the menu. Or open it, press ⇧⌘4 and drag over it like any area.

One window,
ready to post.