How to Take Screenshots of Semi-Transparent Windows

If you need to quickly capture a screenshot of any program window inside Windows, just bring that window to the foreground, press Alt+Print Screen and paste the image from the clipboard into MS Paint.

That’s it. You don’t require a screen capture utility for basic screenshots but there’s one little problem with the screen that you just captured.

Screen Capture in Aero Windows

Print-Screen Limitations

Since XP, program windows have had rounded corners and, if you have enabled Aero in Windows 7 or Vista, the window will also have transparent glass-like borders as shown the screenshot above.

If you are using the regular print screen key or any of other screen capture tools, they may not be able to capture these “rounded corners” and second, the background wallpaper will also become visible since the captured window is translucent.

Regular vs. Enhanced Screen Capture

Normal Screen Capture Semi-Transparent Screen Capture

7capture is a free screen capture software for Windows 7, Vista and XP that can easily fix both these problems. The software can not only capture rounded corners of windows but it will also hide the desktop background* from the screenshots.

You can then export your screen captures as a semi-transparent PNG or any of the other popular image formats. 7capture is a free for both personal and commercial use.

The software is available for XP, Vista and Windows 7 but the downside is that 7Capture won’t capture the drop-shadows (see workaround) and there’s no option to capture a portion of any window.

PS:You can create a fake white background by placing an empty notepad window in maximized state just below the screen that you are capturing.

Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

0

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

Email Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter to stay up to date.

We will never send any spam emails. Promise.