1. [Clacky](https://clacky.app/) 2. › 3. [A–Z](https://clacky.app/features/#a-z) 4. › 5. [Answers](https://clacky.app/answers/) 6. › 7. Screenshot a window without the shadow Answer # How do I take a screenshot of a window without the shadow on a Mac? Press **Shift-Command-4**, then press **Space** (the pointer turns into a camera), and hold **Option** while you click the window: the screenshot is just the window, with no shadow around it. Without Option, macOS adds a soft shadow and a see-through margin around every window shot. If you always want it off, one Terminal command changes the default. [Try free for 3 days](https://clacky.app/try/)[Pricing](https://clacky.app/#pricing) ![A Clacky polished shot: an app window with a soft shadow on a blue gradient background](https://clacky.app/features27/shot-polish-light.webp) ## One shot without the shadow 1. Open the window you want and bring it to the front. 2. Press **Shift-Command-4**, then press **Space**. The pointer becomes a camera and windows light up as you move over them. 3. Hold **Option** and click the window. 4. The shot is saved to your desktop as a PNG, or to the place you chose under Shift-Command-5 → Options → Save to. ## Turn the shadow off for every window shot Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities) and run: - `defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true && killall SystemUIServer` - To bring the shadow back: `defaults delete com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow && killall SystemUIServer` ## Why the shadow is there A window shot keeps the window’s real shape, rounded corners and all, plus its shadow on a transparent margin. On a white page that looks nice. On a dark page, in a document or in a chat it can look like a grey smudge, and the extra margin makes the picture bigger than the window. If you want a shadow, but your own, add it later in an editor that draws one around the window on a background. ## With Clacky (macOS 14 or later) Clacky’s window shot, **⌥⇧⌘5** (Option-Shift-Command-5), keeps the macOS shadow like the built-in one. Its polished shot, **⌥⇧⌘6**, captures the window without the macOS shadow and draws its own, using your last look, then copies it. In the editor’s **Polish** look, set **Shadow** to **Off**, **Soft** or **Deep**, and pick a background, including **Transparent**. Polish also adds padding and picks a background colour from the shot. For a polished frame in your browser, try the free [Screenshot Frame](https://clacky.app/tools/screenshot-frame/) tool. ## Where these facts come from Checked on 5 November 2026. - [Apple: How to take a screenshot on your Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102646) (Shift-Command-4, Space, hold Option to exclude the shadow) - [Apple: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/take-a-screenshot-or-screen-recording-mh26782/mac) (PNG, Save to) ## Questions ### Does the Option trick work with the Shift-Command-5 toolbar? The documented way is Shift-Command-4 then Space. The Terminal setting turns the shadow off for every window shot, whichever way you take it. ### Why does my window screenshot have a transparent border? That border is where the shadow fades out. Take the shot with Option held, or turn the shadow off with the Terminal setting. ### How do I screenshot a menu? Open the menu, press Shift-Command-4 and drag over it, or press Space and click the menu. Facts checked on 5 November 2026. ## Related - [Put a screenshot in a MacBook or iPhone framemacOS can’t add device frames. Use Apple’s free product bezels in a design app, or a screenshot tool with frames, like Clacky’s Showcase up to 8K.](https://clacky.app/answers/screenshot-device-frame-mac/) - [Change where screenshots are saved on a MacPress Shift-Command-5, click Options and pick a place under Save to: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview or Other Location.](https://clacky.app/answers/change-screenshot-location-mac/) - [PolishA background picked from the shot (or your own colour, picture or brand), padding and a soft shadow. ⌥⇧⌘6 takes a polished shot straight away.](https://clacky.app/features/polish/) - [Screenshot framePut a screenshot in a Mac window, a MacBook or an iPhone frame on a soft background. Sizes for X, Instagram and stories. Free, in your browser.](https://clacky.app/tools/screenshot-frame/) - [Is the built-in Mac screenshot tool enough?For everyday shots, yes. It has no blur or redact bar, numbered steps, backgrounds or scrolling capture. Here is what it does and when you need more.](https://clacky.app/answers/mac-screenshot-tool-enough/) [A–Z](https://clacky.app/features/#a-z)[Pricing](https://clacky.app/#pricing)[Every feature](https://clacky.app/features/) ## Make something on your Mac today. 3 days free, every feature. Then $4.99 once. [Try free for 3 days](https://clacky.app/try/)