Clean Mac screenshots: hide desktop icons

Take a Mac screenshot with desktop icons hidden, or with the desktop replaced by a wallpaper or a solid color.

Desktop icons and a busy wallpaper show up in full-screen shots and in any rectangle that includes the desktop. This control hides that clutter. It does not delay the shot, and it does not capture a single window by itself.

Hide the clutter

Before the capture, turn on hide desktop icons in Shoverlay.
If the wallpaper itself is the problem, replace the desktop with a wallpaper you choose or with a solid color.
Take the fullscreen shot, or an area that includes the desktop.

A clean window background applies when you are shooting a window and want that window’s surroundings simplified. Turn it on for a window shot, not as a substitute for hiding icons on the desktop.

If icons are still in the picture

The hide-icons option has to be on before the capture, not after. A window-only shot never included the desktop icons. Check which mode you ran.

Install Shoverlay on the Mac App Store.