Handy Windows Feature

[red750]

Here's a feature of versions of Windows with task bars and Start buttons, which I have only just become aware of. It's called the Snipping Tool and is a screen capture tool. It allows you to take a capture of the entire screen, a window, or any rectangular strip. There is a Pen tool, a Highlighter tool and an erase to delete any drawing or highlighting you may have done. You can then save your screen capture.

 

To locate the tool, Click on the Start button.

 

In the search box below All Programs, enter "sn"

 

A menu will open with Snipping Tool at the top of it.

 

Right-click on the item and select Pin to Taskbar.

 

This icon will appear on your taskbar.

 

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Whenever you have something on the screen you wish to copy, click on this icon.

 

A translucent veil will cover the screen and a dialog box will allow you to select whole screen, window or rectangular strip. If the latter, you then click and drag the rectangle as required.

 

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A couple of samples:

 

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Moorabbin Airport Control Tower

 

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Rectangular area showing Desktop and two windows.

 

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[Guest aviatrix27]

great tip Peter, thanks!

 

 

[siznaudin]

Depends on which Windows Operating System you're using: I'm still on Windows XP, which has been described by a less-than-kind friend as "the Ford T of Operating Systems".

 

It doesn't have the snipping tool feature.

 

That said, he had the decency to tell me how to achieve the same result as the snipping tool described above... so he's still a friend;)

 

If you too are still on XP, you can do the same thing by the following, and yes, it is more complicated!

 

 

*Press Alt+Print Screen by holding down the Alt key and then pressing the Print Screen key.

 

*Click Start, click Accessories, and then click Paint

 

*In the Paint window, click Edit, and then click Paste

 

*When the image appears in the Paint window, click File, and then click Save As

 

*In the Save As dialog box in the File name box, type a name for the screen shot, and then click Save

 

*Open with a photo editing program (I use Photo Editor...) and crop to suit, then Save.

 

 

[red750]

I agree with you, Geoff, I still use the method you describe, and it has a few benefits over Snipping Tool. I'm not sure which versions of Windows has the tool. I know Windows 7 does (that is what is on my laptop), and I believe Vista does, too. When I get my desktop back from HP (warranty repair), I will be able to check out Windows 8. However, for simple screen grabs, or part screen, Snipping Tool has its value.

 

As for the other benefits? In Paint you can add lines, boxes, arrows, etc, but most importantly, text. See examples:

 

 

 

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[sixtiesrelic]

I have never used ALT with print screen Geoff. Just print screen works for me on my favourite computer ... XP with no connection to the internet, so I don't have automatic changes buggeryng things up.

 

 

[siznaudin]

Thanks Dennis - I'm hoping our "Ford T" system will hang on long enough for the post-Windows 8 OS to be available... it seems that W. 8 and Vista are up there together in the popularity stakes...:rolleyes:

 

 

[red750]

Denis,

 

Print screen copies the whole screen. Alt+print screen copies the active window only. The attached image shows a full screen copy. Using Alt+PrtSc would only have copied the area in the red box.

 

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[red750]

If you want to include a pop-up menu, such as the right-click menu, or drop box menu, you have to hold the CTRL button down. So CTRL+PrtSc gives you the menu over the underlying screen (see example). CTRL+Alt+PrtSc copies the menu only.

 

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This only works with Geoff's method, it does not work with the Snipping Tool. When you click on the Snipping Tool icon, the menu disappears.

 

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[willedoo]

Thanks Dennis - I'm hoping our "Ford T" system will hang on long enough for the post-Windows 8 OS to be available... it seems that W. 8 and Vista are up there together in the popularity stakes...:rolleyes:

I've stuck with XP until they make a better system (from my point of view, anyway). Haven't been real impressed with the last three, so am still waiting.

 

Once you trim XP down and get rid of all the garbage and eye candy, it's a very functional, stable, and easy system to use.

 

I use a small freeware programme called MW Snap. Once minimised in the bottom toolbar, a right click on the icon opens a menu with a lot of options - fixed size rectangle, any selected area, full screen, window etc. It can then be saved in a choice file types and resolution. It also has some other editing tools I've never used. I think there's others around, but this one is easy.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[siznaudin]

At the time we purchased our current laptop it was loaded with Vista, which was so much "on the nose" that we actually paid extra to have it changed for XP.

 

And now the Microsoft gurus seem to have done it all over again with Windows 8.

 

All this, of course, is grist for the mill from the Apple die-hards' viewpoint.:p

 

 

[red750]

The difficulty is that Microsoft stops supporting the older versions. Over the years, on various machines at work and at home, I've used XP, Vista, Windows 7, and now on my desktop, Windows 8. I've never really had any problems with them. There is a learning curve till you get used to them, probably the biggest with Windows 8, because it is moving towards tablets and touch screens. The biggest difficulty is that a lot of things are hidden, just like Snipping Tool, and another I have discovered called Problem Step Recorder or PSR. This records a screen grab every time you click the mouse while the recorder is running. Again, not available in XP as far as I know.

 

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[siznaudin]

Thanks Peter ... our laptop is currently experiencing the digital equivalent of severe ateriosclerosis so I may be forced to bite the bullet & "up"grade to Windows 8 on a new PC.

 

The ultimate has to be an add-on which turns the Windows 8 screen into something that appears to look like Windows 7. Where does it stop, I wonder...?

 

 

[red750]

A few months since the last post.

 

The computer I got last Christmas (the one with Windows 8) packed it in a while back. I got a replacement under warranty, and have recently set it up and started using it. I have discovered a few hidden things on Win8 and I have created a small PowerPoint slideshow to explain them. It's not a comprehensive Win8 tutorial, merely a peek at some of the different things that will confront a new user. I'm not uploading it to a server, so if anyone would like to have a look at it, PM me with your email address and I will email it to you.

 

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[siznaudin]

Still chugging along on XP and waiting in hope for the next MS OS: if forced to use Windows 8 I'll certainly be in touch Peter ... thanks.