On a Mac, ⌘⇧3 already saves a separate file for each display, so keep the one you want; or press ⌘⇧5, choose the entire-screen option and click the display you want. On Windows, Win+PrtScn (and PrtScn with Snipping Tool’s Print screen option off) puts every monitor into one wide image, so the built-in way to get one monitor is Win+Shift+S in Rectangle mode, dragging from corner to corner of that monitor. A screenshot app like hypershot makes it one keypress on both: ⌘⇧1 on Mac, or Ctrl+Shift+1 on Windows, captures only the monitor your pointer is on.

The built-in way on Mac

macOS is good at this already.

⌘⇧3 captures every display, but as one file per display, not a stitched panorama. With two screens you get two screenshots on your desktop; delete the one you didn’t want.

⌘⇧5 opens the Screenshot toolbar. Choose the entire-screen button, move the pointer to the display you want and click it, and only that display is captured.

The small friction: ⌘⇧3 leaves files to clean up, and ⌘⇧5 is a few clicks every time.

The built-in way on Windows

Windows treats your monitors as one big desktop, which is the root of the problem.

  • Win+PrtScn saves all monitors as a single image in Pictures\Screenshots.
  • PrtScn on recent versions of Windows 11 opens Snipping Tool’s capture bar; with that option turned off (Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard), or on Windows 10, it copies all monitors to the clipboard.
  • Win+Shift+S gives you the capture bar’s modes. Full screen doesn’t offer a choice of monitor in the versions we’ve seen, and reports differ on exactly what it grabs on a multi-monitor setup, so don’t rely on it for one display.

What works reliably:

  1. Press Win+Shift+S and pick Rectangle.
  2. Drag from one corner of the monitor you want to the opposite corner. Go slowly at the bezel, or a sliver of the next screen comes along.

Or, if what you want is mostly one app: maximise it on that monitor and press Alt+PrtScn, which copies the active window. You get the app without the taskbar.

With hypershot

hypershot’s screen capture captures the screen where your mouse pointer is. No menu, no choice to make, no extra files.

  1. Move the pointer onto the monitor you want.
  2. Press ⌘⇧1 on Mac, or Ctrl+Shift+1 on Windows.

That’s the whole thing. The rest of hypershot follows the same rule:

  • Region capture (⌘⇧2 / Ctrl+Shift+3) works on whichever screen you’re on; move the mouse to switch screens.
  • Delayed screen capture (⌘⇧8 / Ctrl+Shift+8) counts down before it fires, for when you need a moment to set the screen up. The countdown is 5 seconds by default, adjustable from 1 to 30 in Settings → Captures.
  • The preview folder shows up on the screen the capture came from, and follows your pointer across monitors when idle.

Want only one window rather than a whole monitor? ⌘⇧W (Ctrl+Shift+W on Windows) captures the window you click and nothing around it. See How to capture a single window.

Which to use

  • Mac, now and then: ⌘⇧5 and click the display. It’s built in and it’s accurate.
  • Windows, now and then: a Win+Shift+S rectangle over the monitor.
  • Often, on either: one hypershot shortcut, with the pointer on the right screen.

Why is my Windows screenshot so wide?

Because PrtScn and Win+PrtScn capture the whole desktop, and with two or three monitors the desktop is two or three screens wide. Crop it, or use one of the single-monitor methods above.

Does the screenshot include the cursor?

macOS leaves the pointer out unless you turn on Show Mouse Pointer in ⌘⇧5 Options. hypershot leaves it out by default too; turn on Capture cursor in Settings → Captures to include it in full-screen and delayed captures.