How to Screenshot Only the Active Window on Windows

Sometimes it’s necessary to take a screenshot on your Windows PC, but taking a picture of just a window is more complicated than it seems. You want to capture what you’re working on, but not your important, confidential, or sensitive information, especially if you share it with the world. Luckily there is an easy fix.

Here’s how to take a screenshot of just the open window you’re working on.

How the PrintScreen function works

When you press the PrtScr button on your computer, your entire screen as you see it, minus a few things (e.g. the mouse pointer), is copied to the clipboard. You then need to paste this clipboard data into an image editing program—Microsoft Paint, Adobe Photoshop, and the like—before saving it as an image file.

You could shorten this process and let Windows create an image file for you. To do this, hold down the Windows key while pressing the PrtScr key on your keyboard. This image is saved in PNG format and by default is located at the following address:

C:\Users\[Current_User]\Pictures\Screenshots

Here, [Current_User] is a placeholder for the name of your Windows user profile.

If you just want a screenshot of the active window, you’ll need to edit that image and cut out the parts you don’t want. However, you can simplify the process even further.

How to take a screenshot of only the active window on Windows

Taking a screenshot of just the open window is actually quite simple: just hold down the Old key on your keyboard when you press PrtScr. This will add a screenshot of the active window to the clipboard for you to paste elsewhere.

Windows itself has no way of saving active window screenshots when you take them. However, you can do this through the Xbox Game Bar instead. It should be on your Windows PC by default, but if it isn’t, you can download it from the Microsoft Apps Store.

Once it’s on your PC, press Win+Alt+PrtScr to instantly save a screenshot of the active window to your computer. Because we’re using the Xbox Game Bar instead of the standard Windows tools, your screenshot will appear in a different place than normal:

C:\Users\[Current_User]\Videos\Captures

Do not be fooled; Although we take screenshots, Xbox Game Bar puts the images in the Videos folder instead.

If you don’t want to use hotkeys to take your screenshot, you can use the Windows Snipping Tool instead. You have to manually select the window you want to capture, but it gives you a lot more control over the end result.

And if that’s not enough, the best screenshot apps for Windows give you even more control over your screenshots and how you take them. This includes taking screenshots of active windows quickly and easily.

A simple way to improve your productivity

Windows 10 has many lesser-known features that can make your life easier. Now you know how to take a screenshot of the active window without having to crop it in an image editor.