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Use a capture mode that targets one display or a rectangle on it. For a one-off Windows screenshot, press Windows + Shift + S and draw a rectangular snip over the monitor you need. For a short clip, press Windows + Shift + R and select a rectangular video area. For longer recording, choose the intended monitor in OBS Display Capture; choose Window Capture instead when you need only one application. On macOS, use Screenshot controls or OBS’s macOS Screen Capture source, which supports display, window, and application modes on macOS 13 and later.
Choose the capture type first
Multi-monitor desktops are normally presented as one large coordinate space. A full-screen command may therefore include both displays. The reliable fix is to decide whether you need a region, an entire monitor, or one application window, then select the matching source.
| Need | Best starting point | What is captured |
|---|---|---|
| One still image | Windows Snipping Tool, rectangular mode | The rectangle you draw, even if it is only part of one display |
| Short Windows clip | Snipping Tool video snip | A selected rectangular region |
| Long recording of one monitor | OBS Display Capture | The selected full display |
| One application | OBS Window Capture, or macOS Screen Capture window/application mode | The chosen window or application content |
| Mac built-in recording | macOS Screenshot controls | Screen recording options exposed by your Mac and the application |
Display capture and window capture are not interchangeable. Display capture follows a monitor; window capture follows the selected app window, even when another window moves in front of it.
Windows: capture one monitor as a still image
Use a rectangular Snipping Tool snip
- Put the monitor you want to capture in a recognizable state. Close or hide anything that should not appear.
- Press Windows + Shift + S. Windows opens the Snipping Tool overlay.
- Choose the Rectangular snip mode.
- Move the pointer to one corner of the target monitor and drag to the opposite corner. You can draw anywhere across the virtual desktop, including a display positioned above, below, or beside the primary display.
- Before releasing, check that the rectangle does not extend into the adjoining monitor. If it does, move the edge or restart the selection.
- Release the mouse. The result is copied and opened in Snipping Tool, where you can annotate, save, or share it.
This method is usually safer than a full-screen shortcut because the rectangle defines the output boundaries. If the monitors have different scaling or resolutions, use the visible screen edges as your guide rather than assuming both displays have the same pixel dimensions.
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Capture a window instead
If the real requirement is an app rather than an entire display, choose Window in Snipping Tool and select the app. This avoids recording other windows on the same monitor, but the available result depends on what Windows can identify as a window.
Why full-screen capture is the wrong mode
A full-screen snip is intended to capture the whole screen. In a multi-monitor arrangement that can mean every connected display, so it does not meet a one-monitor requirement. Use rectangular or window mode instead.
Windows: record one screen for a short clip
Snipping Tool video snip
Microsoft Support documents this exact path: open Snipping Tool, select the Record button, then select New, or press Windows + Shift + R.
- Press Windows + Shift + R, or open Snipping Tool and select Record.
- Select New.
- Drag a rectangle over the monitor, or over the portion of it that should be in the video.
- Start the recording, perform the actions, and stop when finished.
- Review the clip and save it from Snipping Tool.
Video snips are useful for a quick demonstration without creating an OBS scene. They are rectangular selections, not an automatic “monitor 2” lock, so verify the rectangle before recording.
OBS: record a complete monitor for as long as needed
Set up Display Capture
- Open OBS Studio and select or create the scene that will contain the recording.
- In Sources, select +, then Display Capture.
- Give the source a descriptive name such as “Left monitor” or “Dell-4K,” then confirm.
- In the source properties, open the Display selector and choose the intended monitor. Do not rely only on a remembered number; monitor numbering can change after reconnecting displays or changing graphics settings.
- Confirm the preview shows only that display. Resize or reposition the source only if you intentionally want a crop.
- Select Start Recording or Start Streaming.
OBS documents Display Capture as capturing an entire monitor and notes that only one Display Capture source can be added per display. If you need two monitors in separate scenes, add the appropriate display source to each scene rather than assuming one source will switch automatically.
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Use Window Capture for one app
Add Window Capture instead of Display Capture, then choose the application window in its properties. OBS keeps the selected window’s contents visible even when another window is in front of it. This is the better choice for a browser demo, editor, or game when desktop notifications and other monitor content must stay out of the recording.
Window Capture can behave differently with hardware-accelerated apps, games, minimized windows, or applications that use protected surfaces. If the preview is black or missing content, test Display Capture for the whole monitor or use the application’s own recording support.
macOS: target one display, window, or application
Use the built-in Screenshot controls
Open the macOS Screenshot controls with Shift + Command + 5. Choose a recording option offered by your Mac, then select the displayed area or screen before starting. The exact controls vary by macOS release and the application being recorded. Stop from the menu bar when finished and save the resulting file.
Some applications can block window recording. Apple identifies the Apple TV app as one example of an app that may restrict recording. A failure in that situation is an application protection rule, not proof that the wrong monitor was selected.
Use OBS on macOS 13 and later
OBS marks its older macOS Display Capture source as deprecated on macOS 13 and later. Add macOS Screen Capture instead. Its documented modes include an entire display, one window, or visible windows for an application. Audio capabilities depend on the macOS version, so check the source properties and run a short test before an important recording.
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- In OBS, create or select a scene.
- Select + under Sources and choose macOS Screen Capture.
- In the source properties, select Display for one complete monitor, Window for one window, or the application mode when you need the app’s visible windows.
- Choose the target display or window and confirm the preview.
- Start recording or streaming.
Earlier macOS versions have more limited support for this source, so the available options can differ. If the source is unavailable, use the Screenshot controls or the capture source OBS exposes for your installed version.
Prevent accidental capture of the other monitor
- Check the preview: OBS should show only the chosen display before you press Record.
- Check virtual-desktop geometry: displays can be arranged side by side, stacked, or offset. A rectangle that starts on one screen and ends on another captures both.
- Hide sensitive notifications: enable Do Not Disturb or Focus and close unrelated windows.
- Use window capture for app-only work: it avoids desktop content outside the selected window.
- Make a short test: record a few seconds, move a window on the other monitor, and inspect the file before the real session.
- Confirm permissions: macOS may require Screen Recording permission in System Settings before an app can capture a display.
Troubleshooting
The screenshot contains both monitors
You used a full-screen mode or dragged a rectangle across the boundary. Repeat with rectangular Snipping Tool mode, keeping both selection edges inside the target display, or switch OBS to Display Capture and select the display explicitly.
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OBS shows the wrong monitor
Open the Display Capture source properties and choose the display again. Disconnecting, reconnecting, docking, changing GPU settings, or rearranging displays can alter the numbering. Use the preview to verify the result.
The OBS preview is black
Try another capture method: Window Capture for a normal app, Display Capture for the whole monitor, or macOS Screen Capture on supported macOS versions. Protected or hardware-accelerated applications may intentionally prevent capture. Also check operating-system screen-capture permissions and whether OBS and the target app are running with compatible privileges.
The recording includes notifications or a second app
Switch from Display Capture to Window Capture if only one application is required. Otherwise enable Focus or Do Not Disturb, close overlays, and remove unwanted sources from the OBS scene.
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Mac recording is unavailable for one app
The application may block recording; Apple lists Apple TV as an example. Test another app to separate an app restriction from a macOS permission problem, then review Screen Recording permissions in System Settings.
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Audio support for OBS’s macOS Screen Capture source depends on the macOS version. Inspect the source’s audio options and test a short recording; do not assume that a display-selection problem caused the missing audio.
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If your goal is a clean image of a web page rather than a recording of your desktop, ScreenshotNeo captures a URL through one request. It accepts the cookie or consent banner like a visitor, then removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before the shot; each cleanup step can be turned off. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and response headers identify the page verdict and whether it was billed. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.
See the complete parameter reference in the ScreenshotNeo documentation. This cURL request returns a WebP image:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpPython:
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
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}`);ScreenshotNeo includes full-page lazy-image loading, CSS-selector element capture, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDF controls, custom CSS and JavaScript, clicks, waits, request blocking, headers, cookies, user agents, authorization, timezone and geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, chosen cache TTLs, signed links, asynchronous webhooks, bulk capture of up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. Existing parameter names used by other screenshot APIs also work.
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Cost, reliability, and workflow choices
When local capture is best
Snipping Tool and OBS are appropriate when the content is already on your computer, you need live interaction, or privacy rules prevent sending a page URL to a service. They also let you capture software that is not a web page.
When a URL screenshot API is best
Use an API when you need repeatable page images for documentation, monitoring, previews, reports, or automation. ScreenshotNeo’s verdict and billing headers make failed-load handling explicit, while caching can avoid repeated work when you choose a suitable TTL. Remember that an API captures a rendered web page, not your physical monitor arrangement or a desktop application.
Plan for scale
For OBS, resolution, frame rate, encoder choice, and storage determine resource use; test the target workload before a long stream. For API jobs, use timeouts appropriate to page complexity, async jobs and signed webhooks for slower batches, and the bulk endpoint when processing many URLs. Keep credentials out of source control and use signed links when a public image tag needs controlled access.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I capture monitor 2 without capturing monitor 1?
Yes. In OBS, add Display Capture and select the intended display in its properties. For a one-off Windows image or clip, draw a rectangle entirely over that monitor in Snipping Tool.
What is the difference between display capture and window capture?
Display Capture records an entire selected monitor. Window Capture records one selected application window, even when another window overlaps it.
Why does my Mac recording show a black window?
The application may block recording, or the app may lack Screen Recording permission. Apple identifies Apple TV as an example of an app that can restrict window recording.
Quick Recap
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