How to Screenshot One Monitor with Two Monitors Connected

Windows: press Windows+Shift+S, choose rectangular snip, and drag from one corner of the monitor you want to the opposite corner. macOS: press Shift+Command+4 and drag around the target display. These methods capture a selected monitor-sized region while leaving the other display out.

Choose the capture boundary first

Two shortcuts are often confused:

What you need	Windows	macOS
Every pixel of one monitor	Windows+Shift+S, rectangular selection around that display	Shift-Command-4, drag around that display
One application window	Click the window, then Alt+Print Screen	Shift-Command-5, choose Window
Choose a mode on screen	Snipping Tool overlay	Screenshot controls

A monitor capture includes the desktop, taskbar or menu bar, and anything else visible inside that display. A window capture includes only the focused application. Use the first row when the display context matters.

Windows 10 and Windows 11: capture one whole monitor

1. Move the pointer to the monitor you want to capture so you can identify its corners.
2. Press Windows+Shift+S. Windows opens the Snipping Tool overlay.
3. Select Rectangular snip if it is not already selected.
4. Drag from the target monitor’s top-left corner to its bottom-right corner. Start and finish inside the same display; do not cross the gap or bezel.
5. Release the pointer. The snip is copied to the clipboard and appears in Snipping Tool, where you can edit and save it.

Microsoft documents rectangular, freeform, window, and full-screen modes in Snipping Tool. The rectangular mode is the direct built-in method for a monitor-sized image. See Microsoft’s Snipping Tool guide.

Capture only an app on the chosen monitor

1. Click the application window on the monitor you want. This gives it focus.
2. Press Alt+Print Screen.
3. Paste the clipboard image into an editor or open the Snipping Tool notification to edit and save it.

Alt+Print Screen captures the active window, not the entire monitor. If the desktop around the app must appear, use the rectangular snip instead. Microsoft’s Windows shortcut guidance describes this active-window behavior.

Why ordinary Print Screen is usually wrong here

A whole-screen Print Screen capture can include the combined desktop across both monitors. It does not express the requirement “only this display.” If your keyboard has no Print Screen key, Microsoft lists Fn+Windows+Space as an alternative screenshot shortcut, but that shortcut does not establish a single-monitor boundary; use Snipping Tool for that.

macOS: capture one whole monitor

1. Press Shift+Command+4. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
2. Move to one corner of the monitor you want and drag to the opposite corner.
3. Release to capture. Press Escape before releasing if you need to cancel.

Hold the Space bar while dragging to move the selection without changing its size. The selected-portion workflow is useful when displays have different resolutions or scaling because you define the exact pixel bounds yourself.

Use Screenshot controls instead

Press Shift+Command+5 to open macOS Screenshot controls. Choose a selected portion for a monitor-sized rectangle, or choose a window when you only need one application. Shift+Command+3 captures the entire screen and is generally unsuitable when two displays are connected. Apple’s shortcut reference is at Apple Support: Take a screenshot on Mac.

Some applications can prevent screenshots of their windows. A selected-region capture may work when appropriate, but it does not bypass an application’s restrictions.

Selection checklist for mixed displays

• Confirm which display is primary and which is secondary before starting.
• Include the full outer edge of the target display, but stop before the second display begins.
• Do not drag across the gap between displays; the desktop coordinate space can make the gap easy to miss.
• For different resolutions or scaling factors, use the visible corners rather than estimating dimensions.
• Use window capture when you need a repeatable app-only image and monitor capture when desktop context matters.
• Check the result at 100% zoom for a one-pixel strip from the neighboring display.

Troubleshooting

The screenshot contains both monitors

You used a full-screen shortcut or dragged across the display boundary. Repeat with Windows+Shift+S rectangular mode or Shift-Command-4 and stop at the target monitor’s opposite corner.

Only the app appears, not the whole monitor

Alt+Print Screen or macOS Window mode captures an application window. Switch to a rectangular or selected-portion capture.

The wrong window was captured on Windows

Alt+Print Screen follows focus. Click the desired window first, then press the shortcut again.

The snip is copied but not saved

Windows Snipping Tool copies the result and opens an editor notification; paste it into an image editor or open the notification and use Save. macOS follows the Screenshot settings shown by Shift-Command-5.

The selection is offset on a high-DPI or scaled display

Drag using the monitor’s visible corners and verify the saved image dimensions. Scaling can make estimated pixel coordinates unreliable.

A Mac app refuses to appear in the capture

Some apps restrict window screenshots. Try a selected-region capture when suitable, and respect the application’s restriction.

The shortcut does nothing

Check that the keyboard layout and operating-system shortcut settings have not been changed. Open Snipping Tool on Windows or Screenshot controls on macOS and choose the mode with the pointer instead.

Performance, reliability, and file quality

• Speed: Built-in shortcuts are immediate because they capture the already-rendered desktop; no page load or network step is involved.
• Reliability: A manual rectangle works across mixed monitor sizes, arrangements, and scaling settings, but it depends on placing the selection accurately.
• Repeatability: Window capture is easier to repeat for the same application. For exact monitor dimensions, keep the display arrangement and scaling unchanged.
• Privacy: Inspect the result for notifications, chat previews, or other content visible on the selected display before sharing.
• Output: Clipboard and editor workflows let you crop or annotate; the final save location depends on your operating-system settings.

Or skip the browser setup

If the thing you need is a screenshot of a web page rather than the physical desktop, ScreenshotNeo can return a clean image or PDF from one request. It accepts consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing result in headers.

Read the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for the complete option list, including full-page capture, element selectors, device presets, dark mode, custom CSS and JavaScript, waits, blocked resources, cookies, headers, geolocation, caching, signed links, asynchronous jobs, bulk capture, and PDF output.

cURL

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js

const q = new URLSearchParams({
  access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
  url: 'https://stripe.com'
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
require('fs').writeFileSync('shot.webp', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer()));

An MCP server is also available for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients, with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots each month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.

FAQ

Can I capture one monitor with Print Screen alone?

Use the monitor-bounded Snipping Tool or selected-region method instead. A plain full-screen Print Screen capture can include both displays.

Does Alt+Print Screen capture one monitor?

No. It captures the focused application window. Focus a window on the desired monitor first if that is the result you want.

Can I capture a monitor with a different resolution?

Yes. Draw the rectangle around that monitor’s visible boundaries; do not rely on the other display’s dimensions.

What if I need a web page without browser chrome?

Use a website screenshot API such as ScreenshotNeo, which captures the page itself and can remove consent banners, popups, and chat widgets before the image is returned.