How to record a specific window on Windows
Record one app window on Windows 10 or 11 and nothing else: no taskbar, no other apps, no notifications from behind it.
Updated · 2 minute read · By the Sceed team
To record one window on Windows, use a recorder with a window mode. Xbox Game Bar records the app in focus when you press Win + Alt + R, but not File Explorer or the desktop. In Sceed, choose Window and pick the app from live thumbnails; only that window is captured, even if another window passes in front of it.
Why record a window instead of the screen
Nothing else gets in. Other apps, the taskbar and your desktop icons are not in the picture.
Private things stay private. A chat window opening on the same screen is not recorded.
The video is the right shape. Size the window, and the recording matches it.
With Xbox Game Bar
Click the app, then press Win + Alt + R. Game Bar records that app’s window until you press the shortcut again. It will not record File Explorer or the desktop, and menus or dialogs that open as separate windows may be missing.
With a window picker
A recorder with a window picker shows you what it is about to capture. In Sceed the picker is a grid of live thumbnails, so you choose by sight rather than from a list of titles. If you move the window during the take, the cursor still lands in the right place, because the window’s position is tracked along with the pointer.
Getting the window ready
Set the browser zoom so text is readable at the size people will watch. 110% or 125% is common for tutorials.
Hide the bookmarks bar and close extra tabs.
Use a clean profile or sign out of anything that shows personal details.
Do not resize the window during the take.
With Sceed, step by step
- 1
Choose Window
In the Sceed recorder, pick Window. Every open window appears as a live thumbnail.
- 2
Pick the app
Click the window you want. It does not need to be on top.
- 3
Size the window first
Resize the app to the shape you want the video to be before you start.
- 4
Record
Press Record. Only that window is captured.
New to Sceed? Install to export in five steps.
Questions
How do I record just one window on Windows 11?
Press Win + Alt + R with the app in focus to use Game Bar, or use a recorder with a window mode. In Sceed, choose Window and click the app’s thumbnail.
Will other windows show up if they overlap?
Not in a window recording made with Sceed. It captures the chosen window itself, not the area of the screen it sits in.
Can I record a window that is on a second monitor?
Yes. Pick it from the thumbnails; it does not matter which monitor it is on.
Keep reading
More guides on recording
- How to record your screen on Windows 11Three ways to record the screen on Windows 11: the Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar, and a dedicated recorder. What each one can and cannot do, with the shortcuts.
- How to record your screen on Windows 10How to record the screen on Windows 10 with Xbox Game Bar, what it cannot capture, and what to use when you need the desktop, an area or an edited video.
- How to record your screen with audio on WindowsRecord the screen with your voice, the computer’s own sound, or both, on Windows 10 and 11. How to check the microphone first and fix a silent recording.