How to Record Part of the Screen on Mac (Selected Area)

To record part of the screen on a Mac, press ⇧⌘5 (Shift-Command-5), click Record Selected Portion in the toolbar, drag the box over the area you want, and click Record. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press ⌃⌘⎋ (Control-Command-Escape). The video is saved as a .mov file, on your Desktop by default.

That works for quick clips. If the recording has to fit a specific shape (16:9 for YouTube, 1:1 or 4:5 for feeds, 9:16 for Reels), decide the shape before you record and draw the area to match. The sizing table below gives point sizes for each ratio.

Record part of the screen with Shift-Command-5

The Screenshot toolbar is built into macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia and 26 Tahoe. It's free and needs no setup.

1. Press ⇧⌘5.
2. In the toolbar, click Record Selected Portion.
3. Drag the edges or corners of the box to resize it. Drag from inside the box to move it.
4. Click Options if you want to change the save location, set a 5- or 10-second timer, pick a microphone, or turn on Show Mouse Clicks.
5. Click Record.
6. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar, or press ⌃⌘⎋. QuickTime Player uses the same tool. Choose File > New Screen Recording and the same toolbar appears. Afterwards, open the file in QuickTime and use Edit > Trim (⌘T) to cut the start and end.

What the built-in tool can't do:

• Record sound from apps. It records a microphone, not the audio playing on your Mac. See how to record internal audio on Mac for the options.
• Show or set an exact size. You drag the box by hand, so hitting a precise aspect ratio is guesswork.
• Polish the result. QuickTime offers basic edits such as trimming. There are no zooms, backgrounds or aspect ratio changes.

Turn on Remember Last Selection in the Options menu to reuse the same box for your next take. If you can't find a finished recording, see where screen recordings go on Mac.

Record a selected area in Screen Bolt

Screen Bolt, our screen recorder, has an Area mode in its recording bar. It shows the size of your selection while you drag, can record system audio, and opens the result in an editor where you set the export aspect ratio.

1. If you have more than one display, click Display in the recording bar and pick the screen you want. The area is drawn on the display of your current selection.
2. Click Area. A full-screen overlay appears with "Drag to select recording area".
3. Drag a rectangle over the part of the screen you want. The overlay shows its dimensions and corner handles. Click Redraw to start over, or press Esc to cancel.
4. Click Record Area, or press Return, to confirm the area.
5. Optional: turn on Camera, Mic or Audio (system audio) in the bar.
6. Click the red record button.
7. To finish, click Stop in the bar. With After recording set to Open editor (the default), the editor opens with your recording. A faster route: with Screen Bolt as the active app, press ⌥⌘5 (Option-Command-5) or choose Record > Record area. You draw the area and recording starts as soon as you confirm. This shortcut only works while Screen Bolt is in front. It isn't a global hotkey.

Details that affect your recording:

• The area must be larger than 20×20 points.
• The recording bar, camera preview bubble and teleprompter are hidden from the recording, so they can sit inside the area without showing up.
• The system cursor isn't baked into the video. The editor redraws it, so you can change its size and smoothing later.
• Frame rate comes from Settings > Quick export > Frame rate (30 or 60 FPS, default 60).

More on every capture mode is in the recording help page.

Choose a size that fits your export aspect ratio

If the area you record has a different shape from the export, the recording sits inside extra background on two sides. Pick the shape first, then draw the area to match.

How Screen Bolt sizes the recording

Screen Bolt captures at twice the selected size in points, which matches a Retina display. A 960×540-point area produces a 1920×1080-pixel recording. The table assumes a Retina display.

You don't have to hit these numbers exactly. Getting the ratio close matters more than the exact size. For other sizes, the free aspect ratio calculator gives matching width and height pairs.

Set the aspect ratio in the editor

1. In the editor, open the Screen panel (⌘1).
2. Under Canvas, set Aspect Ratio to Original, 16:9, 4:3, 21:9, 1:1, 9:16, 3:4 or 4:5. The default is Original.
3. Adjust Padding (0–20%, default 5%) to control how much background shows around the recording.

To have the recorded area fill the frame edge to edge, leave Aspect Ratio on Original and set Padding to 0%. At 0%, no background is rendered in the export.

Check the export size

In the Export sheet, each Quality tile (Original, 4K, 1080p, 720p) shows the output size in pixels. Presets larger than your recording are disabled, with a note that the preset "would not scale down." If the size you need is disabled, record a larger area. The free version exports at 720p only. The export help page lists every option.

For vertical video specifically, see how to make a vertical screen recording.

Keep your content inside the area

An area recording is a fixed rectangle on the screen. It doesn't follow a window you move or content you scroll past, so set up before you press record:

• Place the app window first. Resize and position it, then draw the area around it. Moving the window mid-take pushes content out of frame.
• Silence notifications. Anything that pops up inside the area is recorded. Turn on Do Not Disturb or a Focus from Control Center first.
• Keep scrolling inside the box. On a long page, make sure the part you're talking about stays within the area.
• Leave a small margin. A little space around the content stops a menu or tooltip from being cut off at the edge.
• Re-record with the same box. In the built-in tool, turn on Remember Last Selection so every take matches.

In Screen Bolt, auto zoom helps with larger areas. When Create zooms automatically is on (the default), your clicks become zoom regions after recording, so small UI details still show up close. How to zoom in on a screen recording covers adjusting them.

Area vs window capture

Pick Area if:

• You want only part of a window, such as one panel, a form or a sidebar.
• You need two windows side by side in the same shot.
• You need an aspect ratio the window's own shape doesn't give you.
• You want Screen Bolt's live Blur zones. They cover whatever is under them on screen, but they don't blur Window-mode recordings, because Window mode captures the window itself. Zones are drawn on the main display only, and you can't click through them.

Pick Window if:

• You're showing one app and might move or resize it. Screen Bolt's Window mode records the window on its own, even if other windows cover it.
• You don't want other windows or your desktop in the shot.

The built-in ⇧⌘5 toolbar records the entire screen or a selected portion, but has no option to record a single window. For that, see how to record a single window on Mac. For a full monitor on a multi-display setup, see how to screen record one monitor.

Compare the methods

For a quick clip with your voice and nothing else, the built-in toolbar is enough. Screen Bolt's free version records and edits with no time limit; exports are capped at 3 minutes and 720p, carry a watermark, and can't be GIFs. You can download it free.

If it doesn't work

Screen Bolt shows "Failed to get screen sources" or "Failed to start recording." It doesn't have Screen Recording permission. Open System Settings, search for "Screen Recording", and turn it on for Screen Bolt. On macOS 14, quit Screen Bolt fully and reopen it after granting. macOS 15 and later may ask you to confirm the permission again from time to time. See why your Mac keeps asking for screen recording access and, for blank videos, screen recording shows a black screen.

There's no sound from apps. The built-in toolbar and QuickTime can't record system audio. In Screen Bolt, click Audio in the recording bar and choose Record system audio from all apps before you record.

⌥⌘5 does nothing. Screen Bolt's Record menu shortcuts only work while Screen Bolt is the active app. Click its recording bar first, or use the Area button.

The area overlay opens on the wrong monitor. Screen Bolt draws the area on the display of your current selection. Click Display, pick the right screen, then click Area again.

1080p or 4K is greyed out in the Export sheet. The recording is smaller than that preset. Record a larger area (see the table above). The free version offers only 720p regardless of size.

The free export is refused as too long. Free exports are limited to 3 minutes, and the check uses the full recording length, so trimming a longer take below 3 minutes doesn't help. Keep free recordings under 3 minutes.

A notification or another window shows up in the video. Area mode records everything inside the rectangle. Turn on Do Not Disturb before recording, or use Window mode for a single app.

FAQ

Can I set an exact size for the selected area on a Mac? Not with the built-in ⇧⌘5 toolbar; you drag the box by hand. Screen Bolt shows the dimensions as you drag, so you can stop at the size you want.

Does the Mac remember the area I selected last time? The built-in toolbar does if Remember Last Selection is turned on in its Options menu.

How do I record part of the screen for a GIF? Record a small area, then export as GIF. In Screen Bolt, GIF export is a Pro feature with Standard (640 pixels wide) and HD (960 pixels wide) sizes; clips over 60 seconds are refused. If you already have a video, the free video to GIF converter works in the browser.