---
title: "How to screenshot just one window"
url: "https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/alt-print-screen/"
platform: "Windows"
section: "Windows laptops"
updated: "2026-09-15"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
attribution: "screenshot-laptop.com"
shortcuts:
  - "Alt + PrtSc"
  - "Fn + Alt + PrtSc"
  - "Win + Alt + PrtSc"
---

# How to screenshot just one window

*Alt + Print Screen crops to the window's exact edges — a pixel-perfect result you can't match by dragging a box by hand.*

URL: https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/alt-print-screen/

## The short answer

- `Alt` + `PrtSc` — Active window to clipboard
- `Fn` + `Alt` + `PrtSc` — Same, if your function row needs Fn
- `Win` + `Alt` + `PrtSc` — Active window saved as a file

## What it does

Click the window you want so it's in front, hold `Alt`, tap `PrtSc`. That window and nothing else is copied to your clipboard, cropped exactly to its borders.

No file is created. Paste with `Ctrl`+`V`.

## Why bother, when you could drag a box

Three reasons it beats `Win`+`Shift`+`S` for this particular job:

- **Precision.** The crop is exact. Dragging by hand leaves a line of desktop along one edge or shaves a pixel off the title bar, and you won't notice until you look at the result.
- **Speed.** No dragging, no aiming. Two keys.
- **Privacy.** Your other windows, your taskbar, your wallpaper and whatever notification just arrived are all excluded automatically. When the capture is destined for a support ticket, that's the difference between showing the bug and showing your whole desktop. It is also the right tool for [capturing a video call](https://screenshot-laptop.com/how-to/screenshot-video-call/) without showing the rest of your screen.

## What counts as "active"

The window with keyboard focus — usually the one whose title bar is brighter. This causes two predictable failures:

**Dialog boxes.** Click a dialog to make it active and `Alt`+`PrtSc` captures only the dialog, not the window behind it. Sometimes exactly right, sometimes not. If you need both, use `Win`+`Shift`+`S` in window mode and click the parent window instead.

**Clicking the desktop first.** With no window focused, you get the whole desktop. Click inside the window you want before pressing.

## Snapped windows change the result

On Windows 11, two apps snapped side by side each count as a separate window occupying half the screen. `Alt`+`PrtSc` gives you one half. If you meant to show how the two sit together, use `Win`+`PrtSc` for the full screen instead. [Windows 11 specifics](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/windows-11/).

## Saving straight to a file instead

`Win`+`Alt`+`PrtSc` captures the active window through Game Bar and writes a PNG to **Videos › Captures** — not Pictures, which trips people up. It needs Game Bar enabled and won't work on File Explorer or the desktop, since Game Bar treats those as system surfaces rather than apps.

## On a laptop, watch the Fn key

Three-key combinations are where the function row's dual purpose becomes annoying. If `Alt`+`PrtSc` does nothing, try `Fn`+`Alt`+`PrtSc`, which means holding two modifiers and tapping a third key with one hand. Enabling Fn Lock removes the need permanently — [how to do that](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/print-screen-key/).

For the other Windows capture options, including the ones that write a file straight to disk, see [the Windows methods in full](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/).

## Questions

**Can I capture a window that's partly behind another one?**

Not with this shortcut — it captures what's on screen, so anything overlapping gets included. Bring the window fully to the front first, or use the Snipping Tool's window mode, which also captures only what's visible.

**Why does my capture include a border of desktop around the window?**

Some apps draw an invisible margin outside their visible border for drop shadows and resize handles, and the capture includes it. Crop those few pixels off, or use the Snipping Tool's window mode, which handles the margin more cleanly.

**Does Alt + Print Screen work on a Mac keyboard?**

The equivalent is `Cmd`+`Shift`+`4` followed by `Space`, then clicking the window. macOS adds a drop shadow by default, which you can suppress by holding `Option` as you click. [Mac window captures](https://screenshot-laptop.com/macbook/command-shift-4/).