PGari Glowee: Mac brightness with window spotlight

How to screen record on a Mac, with a spotlight on the window you are explaining

Short answer: To screen record on a Mac, press Shift-Command-5, choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, and click Record. macOS does this by itself, with its own Screenshot app. A recording of the entire screen shows everything that is on it: your notes, your chat and every other open window, next to the one you are talking about. PGari Glowee is for that part. Its Spotlight dims everything except the window you are in, on any Mac display, and because the dimming is drawn on the screen, it is captured in screen recordings and in a shared screen. Glowee does not record anything itself.

Illustration of what viewers see when you screen record on a Mac with Glowee's Spotlight on: one window at normal brightness, the rest of the screen dimmed, and a Recording label

A note on the word: Apple also uses the name Spotlight for the feature that finds apps, files and more on your Mac, opened with Command-Space bar. This page is about something else, a lighting effect for presenters.

How to record the screen on a Mac

These are Apple's own steps for the Screenshot app.

Press Shift-Command-5. An onscreen toolbar appears.
Choose what to record. Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion; drag the borders of the portion to adjust it. macOS Tahoe 26 and later also has Record Selected Window.
Click Options before you start. Choose a microphone to record your voice with the recording. Show Mouse Clicks draws a black circle around the pointer each time you click. You can also set a timer and change where the file is saved; by default, recordings are saved to the desktop.
Click Record.
Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc.

The recording is saved as a .mov file whose name begins with "Screen Recording." Click the thumbnail that appears in the corner of the screen if you want to trim it right away.

You can start from QuickTime Player instead: choose File > New Screen Recording, or press Control-Command-N. According to Apple's QuickTime Player guide, this opens the same Screenshot tools.

Two limits worth knowing. Apple notes that some apps, such as the Apple TV app, might not let you record their windows. And Apple lists recording the Mac's own system audio as an option in macOS 27 Golden Gate or later.

Add a spotlight on the window you are explaining

A tutorial or a recorded lesson is usually about one window: the spreadsheet, the code editor, the browser tab. The rest of the desktop is still in the picture.

Glowee's Spotlight dims everything except the window you are in.

Turn it on from the sun in the menu bar, or press ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ S from any app. The same chord turns it off, so you can switch it mid-recording without touching the menu.
Choose the strength: Off, Soft or Strong, depending on how busy the screen is. Spotlight comes back at the level you last used.
Click another window and the light follows. You do not have to re-aim anything when you move from the slides to the browser and back.
Pin the window with Pinned, so a stray click does not move the light while you record.
It works on any Mac display, XDR or not, built in or external. A MacBook Air is fine.

Because Spotlight is an on-screen layer, screenshots and screen recordings capture it like any window. There is nothing to mask in the edit afterward.

Record the whole screen or a portion, not a single window

Spotlight works on what is around your window, so it can only show in a recording that includes those surroundings. Record the entire screen, or a selected portion large enough to take in the dimmed area around the window.

The brightness boost is not in the recording

Glowee has a second feature, Extra Brightness, which lifts an XDR display past the macOS slider. That boost is left out of captures, so a recording made on a boosted screen looks normal to the people who watch it. It is for your own eyes and does nothing for your viewers. It also needs an XDR or other EDR display, such as a MacBook Pro 14″ or 16″ from 2021 or later. The MacBook Pro brightness guide covers that side. Spotlight is the part your audience sees.

In a meeting, a class or on a projector

The same applies when you share your screen live. Keep your slides in an ordinary window instead of full screen, share the screen, and turn Spotlight on. It dims the notes, the chat and the desktop behind the window, so the room follows the slide instead of your notifications. Teaching on a video call with a shared screen full of windows, Spotlight keeps the document or whiteboard lit and pushes the rest back, so nobody has to ask which window you mean. As with recording, the dimming is in what surrounds the window, so it can only show when what you share includes that area: share the screen rather than a single window.

On a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sonoma 14 or later, Apple's Presenter Overlay can also place you on top of the screen you are sharing during a video call. That is a macOS feature and separate from Glowee.

A spotlight on a window, or a spotlight on the pointer

Several Mac apps for presenters use the word spotlight, and they mean different things. This is what each one says about itself on its own site.

Tool	What it does, according to its own site
macOS Screenshot	Show Mouse Clicks shows a black circle around the pointer when you click
Mouseposé (Boinx)	Dims the screen and shines a spotlight on the area around the mouse pointer; makes keystrokes visible; highlights mouse clicks
Presentify	Annotate the screen, draw on a whiteboard, highlight the cursor, spotlight or zoom in on key areas
Scribbble	Draw over any app; its Spotlight dims everything except a circle around the cursor; magnify
Screen Studio	A macOS screen recorder that automatically zooms in on the cursor and smooths its movement; records webcam, microphone and system audio
PGari Glowee	Dims everything except the window you are in; the light follows when you click another window

Glowee lifts out a window. It does not highlight the pointer, draw on the screen, zoom or record. If you need viewers to follow a single button or a line of code, a pointer tool or an annotation tool is the right choice. If you need them to stay with one window while you work inside it, a window spotlight is. They answer different questions, and a tutorial maker may well want one of each. For more on the window side, see highlighting the active window and dimming inactive windows.

Questions people ask

What is the shortcut to screen record on a Mac?

Shift-Command-5 opens the Screenshot tools, where you choose what to record and click Record. Command-Control-Esc stops the recording. In QuickTime Player, Control-Command-N starts a new screen recording.

Can I record my voice with the screen recording?

Yes. Click Options in the Screenshot toolbar and choose a microphone before you click Record.

Will Spotlight show in my screen recording or shared screen?

Yes. Spotlight is an on-screen layer, so screenshots and screen recordings capture it like any window. The plain brightness boost is left out of captures.

What does Spotlight do on a Mac?

Two different things share the name. Apple's Spotlight is the search you open with Command-Space bar. Glowee's Spotlight is a dimming effect: everything except the window you are in steps back.

How do I turn the spotlight effect off?

Press ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ S, or choose Off under Spotlight in Glowee's menu. Quit Glowee and the display returns to normal.

Does it need a MacBook Pro?

No. Spotlight is plain dimming and works on any display. Only Extra Brightness needs an XDR or other EDR display.

Is there a free way to try it?

Glowee is free for 7 days with every feature unlocked and no account. After that it is a one-time purchase — one Mac, or three Macs on one key, with a 30-day refund.

Try it on your next recording

PGari Glowee is one menu bar app, under 2 MB, for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon and Intel. It installs no kernel extensions and no background helpers.

Download the 7-day trial See how Glowee works