Want to capture a particular window for screen recording? Here is how to use OBS Studio to record a specific window in Windows OS.
For screen recording and streaming, OBS Studio is one of the most popular software out there. A couple of the main reasons are its features, open-source nature, and a huge community that can help with each step of setup and recording. Most of all, OBS Studio is entirely free while providing the best-in-class features compared to any other paid software.
Recently, I’ve shown you how to record full screen using OBS Studio. In most cases, full-screen recording is sufficient. In fact, that is all that we need. However, there might be situations where you only want to capture a specific window for screen recording. For example, maybe you want to demonstrate a particular software, or you might want to record what is only necessary.
No matter the reason, if you want to screen record a specific window, OBS can do that. All you have to do is configure the Scene and Source for that particular purpose. Once configured properly, OBS will only record that window and ignores everything else. The good thing is, it is easy to do. After all, OBS natively supports recording a single window.
Without further ado, let me show you how to record a specific window using OBS Studio software.
Capture and record a specific window with OBS
To record a specific window with OBS Studio, we will use the “Window Capture” feature. It is straightforward to configure. Here is how.
Step 1: First, open the window you want to record and keep it maximized. For example, I want to record VS Code. So, I opened VS Code and kept it maximized in the background.
Step 2: Search for “OBS Studio” in the Start menu and open it. You can also double-click on the desktop icon, if available, to open the OBS Studio.
Step 3: After opening the OBS Studio, find the “Scene” section. Here, click the “+” icon to create a new scene.
Step 4: Give an appropriate name to the new scene we create and click the “Ok” button. A small yet descriptive name will be helpful, especially when you have multiple scenes.
Step 5: Select the newly selected scene and click the “+” icon under the “Sources” section. This action will let you create a new source to record from.
Step 6: Choose the “Window Capture” option from the new options menu.
Step 7: Select the “Create new” option. Type a new name for the Source in the “Create new” field. Click the “Ok” button to continue.
Step 8: Here, select the window you want to capture from the “Window” dropdown menu. Set the Capture Method option to “Automatic.” Set the “Window Match Priority” to “Match title, otherwise find window of same type.” Press the “Ok” button to continue.
Step 9: As soon as you select the above option, OSB will preview the window on the main screen. Click the “Start Recording” button to start the screen recording.
Step 10: After recording, click the “Stop Recording” button to stop the screen recording. To temporarily pause the recording, click the “Pause” button next to the Stop Recording button.
Step 11: OBS Studio will automatically save the recorded file to the Videos folder once the recording is stopped. Go to the “C:\Users\Username\Videos” folder to find the recorded video. Don’t forget to replace “Username” with the actual username.
That is it. It is that simple to record a specific window using the OBS Studio screen recorder.
I hope that helps.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
