What to do when you don't
know what to do:
Call Accent on Computers! 203-625-7575.
May 4, 2007
Capture the Flag—err, Screen
Dear Larry,
There’s an error message in a window on my screen that I’d
like to save. Is there a way for me to save it somehow on my computer?
F. S.
Dear Larry,
I’d like to send an image of what’s on my computer screen
to a colleague on the west coast. How would I do that?
N. P.
Dear F. S. and N. P.,
Capturing all or a portion of your screen is accomplished by
relying on an old Windows trick that’s been around, well, since Windows made its
first appearance twenty-some years ago. That trick involves the use of the
PrtScr—Print Screen—key, a somewhat vestigial key on your keyboard that also
houses the ne’er-do-well, good-for-nothing SysRq function.
Back in the old days of mainframe computers (and the early
days of DOS-based microcomputers), the PrtScr key actually did direct whatever
was on your computer screen to your printer. And, believe it or not, the SysRq—System
Request—function had a purpose in life back then as well. The original designers
of Windows subsequently assigned the PrtScr key to capturing all or part of your
screen image to the Windows clipboard. (What you may ask is the Windows
clipboard? It’s where the stuff that you cut or copy goes in preparation for
pasting later on.)
So how can we make use of all this to capture all or a portion
of your computer screen to a file? Simple. Start by pressing the PrtScr key
anytime you want to capture the stuff on your screen to the clipboard.
Alternatively, if you only want to capture the contents of one window (which is
more often the case), click once anywhere on the window, then hold down the Alt
key while you tap the PrtScr key. (Keep in mind that when you press PrtScr or
Alt+PrtScr, nothing will seem to happen.)
Next, if you simply want to save the screen image in a picture
file, click Start, Run, then type PBRUSH, and press Enter (this runs the Windows
Paint program). Then click Edit, Paste (or press CTRL+V) to paste the screen
image onto the Windows Paint canvas. Finally, click File, Save to save the image
to a file (I recommend you first set the Save as Type to JPEG format).
Of course, you can paste the screen image into other programs
as well. Click Edit, Paste in Word to insert the screen image in the document
you’re typing. Or click Edit, Paste in Outlook or Outlook Express, for example,
to insert the screen image in the e-mail you’re writing.
Incidentally, if you’re running Windows Vista, you can forget
about all this PrtScr business and use the new Windows Snipping Tool. Click
Start, All Programs, Accessories, Snipping Tool, then click the window you want
to capture. The contents of this window will immediately appear in the Snipping
Tool window where you can modify or annotate it with a pen, then save it or send
it to someone via e-mail!
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
