To hide the Dock, press Option-Command-D. To hide the menu bar, set “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” to Always (the pane depends on your macOS version, below). To hide desktop icons, turn off On Desktop under Show Items in Desktop & Dock settings. To silence notifications, turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center.
Every macOS setting below comes from Apple’s own Mac User Guide and support pages, checked 14 October 2026 for macOS Ventura 13 through macOS 27. Where a setting has moved between versions, each version gets its own line. At the end there’s a short checklist for clearing your screen before you record or share it.
How to hide the Dock on Mac
Keyboard shortcut: Option-Command-D
Press Option-Command-D to hide the Dock. Press it again to bring it back. Apple lists it in its Mac keyboard shortcuts as “Show or hide the Dock” (Apple Support 102650, published 14 September 2026). The hidden Dock slides back into view when you move the pointer to its edge of the screen.
The setting in Desktop & Dock
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
- Turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock.
The Dock now stays out of sight while you work. The same pane has the other Dock options worth knowing: Size to make it smaller, Magnification, and Dock position on screen to move it to the left or right edge instead of the bottom. The setting has the same name in every version from Ventura 13 to macOS 27 (Change Desktop & Dock settings on Mac, checked 14 October 2026).
Get the Dock back
Move the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock sits (the bottom, unless you moved it) and it slides into view. To keep it on screen for good, press Option-Command-D again or turn the setting off.
How to hide the menu bar on Mac
The menu bar is the strip across the top of the screen, which is why many people search for how to hide the “top bar”. The setting is called Automatically hide and show the menu bar in every recent version, but it has lived in three different panes. This is why answers on forums disagree.
macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS 27
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Menu Bar in the sidebar.
- Set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Always.
The choices are:
- Always: hide the menu bar all the time.
- On Desktop Only: hide it when you aren’t using an app in full screen.
- In Full Screen Only: hide it only when an app is in full screen.
- Never: keep the menu bar on screen.
The same pane has Show menu bar background, which decides whether your wallpaper shows behind the menu bar (Apple, “Change Menu Bar settings on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
macOS Sequoia 15 and macOS Sonoma 14
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Control Center, then scroll to the bottom of the pane (Apple’s guide puts it under Menu Bar Only on Sonoma and under Other options on Sequoia) and set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Always. The four choices are the same as above (Apple, “Change Control Center settings on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
macOS Ventura 13
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, and find the Menu Bar section. Set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Always (Apple’s Desktop & Dock page for Ventura, checked 14 October 2026).
Getting it back
On any version, move the pointer to the top of the screen and the hidden menu bar appears. Set the option to Never to keep it visible.
How to hide desktop icons on Mac
macOS Sonoma 14 and later: Show Items
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Desktop & Dock.
- Next to Show Items, turn off On Desktop. If you use Stage Manager, turn off In Stage Manager as well.
Your files don’t move or get deleted. Apple says they are only hidden, and you click the desktop to show them when you want to get at them (checked 14 October 2026 for macOS 14, 15, 26 and 27).
Just below sits the setting that makes windows seem to disappear on their own. On Sonoma and Sequoia it’s called Click wallpaper to reveal desktop; on Tahoe 26 and macOS 27 it’s Show Desktop. Set to always, clicking the wallpaper moves every window out of the way to show your desktop. Choose the Stage Manager-only option if that keeps catching you out.
Any version: stacks or a folder
Apple’s Desktop & Dock page for Ventura 13 has no Show Items option, so on Ventura use one of these:
- Desktop stacks. Click the desktop, then choose View > Use Stacks, or press Control-Command-0. Your files collapse into a few neat piles grouped by kind (Apple, “Use desktop stacks on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
- A folder. Select everything on the desktop, Control-click one of the selected items and choose New Folder with Selection (Apple, “Organize files in folders on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026). Then drag the folder somewhere else, such as Documents.
Disks and servers on the desktop are a separate switch: open Finder, choose Finder > Settings, click General, and clear the boxes under Show these items on the desktop (Apple, “Change Finder settings on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
How to turn off notifications on Mac
Turn on Do Not Disturb from Control Center
- Click Control Center in the menu bar, then click anywhere in the Focus section.
- Click Do Not Disturb. Its icon is highlighted and appears in the menu bar.
- To set a time limit, choose a duration such as For 1 hour.
Apple also gives a shortcut: hold Option and click the date and time in the menu bar to turn Do Not Disturb on or off (Turn a Focus on or off on Mac, checked 14 October 2026 for macOS 13, 14 and 27).
Turn off one app’s notifications
- Open System Settings and click Notifications in the sidebar.
- Under Application Notifications, click the app or website.
- Turn off Allow notifications.
That app stays quiet until you turn the switch back on (Apple, “Turn off notifications for an app or website on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
Pause notifications while you share your screen
In the same Notifications settings, Show Notifications: when mirroring or sharing the display can be set to Notifications Off (macOS 26 and later; on Sequoia 15, turn off Allow notifications when mirroring or sharing the display). Apple describes it as pausing notifications when you mirror or share the display, for example while you give a presentation (Apple, “Notifications settings on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026). Apple doesn’t say it covers screen recordings, so turn on Do Not Disturb before you record as well.
Before you record: a 2-minute clean-screen checklist
Everything here uses settings that come with macOS. Run through it before a screen recording, a demo or a screen share.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center, for a set time so it switches itself off afterwards.
- Hide the Dock with Option-Command-D.
- Hide the menu bar by setting “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” to Always (the pane for your version is above).
- Hide desktop icons by turning off On Desktop under Show Items, or with stacks on Ventura.
- Use a plain wallpaper. In System Settings > Wallpaper, the Colors set gives a solid color background (Apple, “Customize the wallpaper on your Mac”, checked 14 October 2026).
- Hide other windows. Command-H hides the front app; Option-Command-H hides every app except the one in front (Apple Support 102650).
- Tidy the browser. Turn off the bookmarks or favorites bar from the browser’s View menu, close tabs you don’t need, and consider a private window so your history and autofill don’t show.
- Quit apps that pop up badges or sounds, such as chat and mail, if you don’t need them during the recording.
- Undo it afterwards. Press Option-Command-D again, set the menu bar back to Never, and turn On Desktop back on. Then find your finished recording.
For more on preparing a recording, see how to make tutorial videos on Mac. If viewers will struggle to spot the pointer, make the cursor bigger before you start.
Record one window instead of the whole screen
The checklist matters most when you record the entire screen, because everything on it ends up in the video. Recording a single window skips most of it.
With macOS. On macOS Tahoe 26 or later, the Screenshot app (Shift-Command-5) offers Record Selected Window next to Record Entire Screen and Record Selected Portion. On earlier versions it records the entire screen or a selected portion. QuickTime Player’s File > New Screen Recording may open the same Screenshot toolbar (Apple Support 102618, published 14 September 2026, checked 14 October 2026).
With CursorClip. CursorClip is a native Mac screen recorder for tutorials and demos, on macOS 13.5 or later. Choose a window to record and CursorClip captures that window rather than the screen, so the Dock, the menu bar, your desktop icons and other apps’ windows stay out of the recording. In the editor you can set the window on a background (a wallpaper, a gradient, a solid color or your own image) and crop the recording afterwards. It also records a whole display or an area you draw.
Where the built-in steps still matter. If you record a full display, CursorClip records whatever is on that display, so the checklist above still applies. And on macOS 26 or later, you can record a single window with the Screenshot app at no cost.
Recording and editing in CursorClip are free; a license unlocks export. It’s $70 once, $29 a year or $9 a month, and one license covers up to 3 Macs. Try it free.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hide the Dock on a Mac?
Press Option-Command-D to hide or show the Dock. To keep the setting, open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock. The Dock then stays out of sight until you move the pointer to the edge of the screen where it sits (Apple Mac User Guide, checked 14 October 2026).
How do I hide the top bar on a Mac?
The bar across the top is the menu bar. Find Automatically hide and show the menu bar and set it to Always. On macOS Tahoe 26 and later it is in System Settings > Menu Bar; on macOS Sonoma 14 and Sequoia 15 it is in System Settings > Control Center; on macOS Ventura 13 it is in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. Move the pointer to the top of the screen to bring the menu bar back.
How do I hide desktop icons on a Mac without Terminal?
On macOS Sonoma 14 and later, open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and turn off On Desktop next to Show Items. The files stay on your desktop; they are only hidden, and clicking the desktop shows them. On older versions, turn on desktop stacks (click the desktop, then View > Use Stacks) or move the files into a folder.
How do I turn on Do Not Disturb on a Mac?
Click Control Center in the menu bar, click the Focus section, then click Do Not Disturb. You can choose how long it stays on, such as For 1 hour. Apple also lists a shortcut: hold Option and click the date and time in the menu bar (checked 14 October 2026).
Why did my desktop icons disappear on my Mac?
The most common reasons are that On Desktop is turned off under Show Items in System Settings > Desktop & Dock, or that desktop stacks are on and the files are grouped into piles. If your windows vanish when you click the wallpaper, that is a different setting: Click wallpaper to reveal desktop (Sonoma and Sequoia) or Show Desktop (Tahoe and later), in the same pane.
Is CursorClip free?
Free to record and edit. A license to export. CursorClip is a native Mac app for macOS 13.5 or later, and a license covers up to 3 Macs. See cursorclip.com/pricing for the lifetime, yearly and monthly prices.
Sources and dates
All Apple steps on this page are what Apple’s own pages stated on 14 October 2026: “Change Desktop & Dock settings on Mac” (Mac User Guide, versions 13, 14, 15, 26 and 27), “Change Menu Bar settings on Mac” (versions 26 and 27), “Change Control Center settings on Mac” (versions 14 and 15), “Use desktop stacks on Mac”, “Change Finder settings on Mac”, “Turn a Focus on or off on Mac”, “Turn off notifications for an app or website on Mac”, “Notifications settings on Mac”, “Customize the wallpaper on your Mac”, “Organize files in folders on Mac”, “Mac keyboard shortcuts” (Apple Support 102650, published 14 September 2026) and “How to record the screen on Mac” (Apple Support 102618, published 14 September 2026). Apple’s pages change with each macOS release, so if a step doesn’t match your screen, use the version selector at the top of Apple’s page. CursorClip behavior is from CursorClip 2.0.4.
Related reading
- Plan the recording: how to make tutorial videos on Mac.
- Every built-in way to record: how to screen record videos on Mac, the complete guide.
- Put your face in it: how to record yourself on a Mac.