How to Screenshot Only One Monitor?

A dual monitor or multi-monitor is quite a common occurrence today and many professionals use it all over the world. However, a simple task like taking screenshots is quite cumbersome in a dual monitor set-up!

So how to screenshot only one monitor?

1. Place your cursor on the screen you want to screenshot.
2. Press the Windows key + Prt Scr together
3. Check the Pictures folder where the screenshot would be saved automatically.

How to take a screenshot of only one monitor?

In this article, you will learn how you can take a screenshot of one of the active monitors in a multi-display setup like most musicians have (you can check our recommendations for music monitors).

Take Screenshot With Snipping tool in Windows

The Windows operating system has an in-built snipping tool that can be used to generate screenshots. However, before you start using the tool for screenshots you will have to set the primary display to the one you want to screenshot.

Here is what you will need to do.

1. On your Desktop, right-click and then select the Display option
2. In the next window, you should see your monitors numbered in blue boxes
3. From this list, select the monitor that needs to become the default one
4. Click on the box for ‘Make this my main display’
5. Click on Apply once you are done

On your Windows system, there will be software called Snip and Sketch. This is what you can use to generate your screenshots. Here is how you can do that on your gaming monitor (check out our recommendations).

1. Go to the Start menu and look for Snip & Sketch application
2. Alternatively, you can launch Search and type Snip & Sketch
3. Once you launch the application, on the top left-hand side you will see a menu
4. Click on New or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N
5. You should see a rectangle tool there. Click on it
6. Now on your monitor, you need to select the area that needs to appear in your screenshot. You can click and drag the rectangle and resize it according to your selection
7. Once your selection is finalized, release the mouse button (unclick) and the selected screenshot will show up in the Snip & Sketch application
8. If you do not like the output, you can delete it and follow steps 4 to 7 to generate your screenshot
9. When you are satisfied with the image, click on the File menu and save the image
10. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S to save your file

The saved file should get stored in your Download folder or the one you chose while saving in. Do note that this process works best only for the monitor that has been selected as the default monitor.

If you want to take a screenshot of the secondary monitor, then you will have to first make it the primary monitor and then use the snipping tool.

Screenshot using the Print Screen option in Windows OS

This is probably what most of us are familiar with and use it often in our day-to-day lives! If you want to use this option, you will need to follow the steps below.

1. Open any application in the monitor you want to screenshot
2. Now you need to move your mouse cursor to the place you want to screenshot
3. Use the keyboard shortcut Windows + Prt Sc to take the screenshot
4. Open the Paint application and on your keyboard press Ctrl+V. However, the image is automatically saved in the Pictures Folder
5. The screenshot gets pasted in Paint and now all you need to do is save the image file

In case you want to screenshot both the monitors, then here is what you need to do.

1. Press Ctrl+Print Screen and the screenshot is generated
2. Open the Paint application and do a Ctrl+V or use the Paste option from the menu in Paint
3. Save the file

Taking a screenshot in macOS

If you are an Apple user, then you must be aware of the keyboard shortcuts and the app to generate screenshots. However, in case you are not aware here is how you can do it.

1. If you would like to use keyboard shortcuts, then press Shift+Command+4
2. This command will activate a Selection Tool and you can see your cursor change into a crosshair
3. To generate a screenshot, all you have to do is select the area you want to capture and then the screenshot is generated automatically
4. The file will be saved to Desktop and you can access it from there

For those who would not like to use keyboard shortcuts, macOS also has a screenshot app. You can find this in the Utilities folder in the Launch Pad.

1. Launch the Screenshot app and you will see it in the bottom portion of your screen
2. On the screenshot toolbar, click on the 3rd option from the left. This will perform the same function as the steps we discussed above
3. If you click on the 2nd option, it will take a screenshot of any window that you have selected
4. Once you generate the screenshot, the image will appear on the bottom right-hand corner of your screen as a floating window
5. Click on it and see how the output is. If you like it, you can save it
6. Otherwise, you can delete it and then generate more screenshots

Conclusion

Taking screenshots can be a very easy thing to do but can get a little complicated as well if you work on multiple monitors. And a lot of us struggle with screenshot issues every single day!

But, if you follow the guidelines mentioned above for Windows and Mac then you should be able to navigate through this screenshot problem. You can use these solutions or can download screenshot tools that will help you generate screenshots from a multi-monitor setup!