XnView Software

<Moderator's note: This topic has been split from another topic>

anyway guys how do you save a screenshot of your desktop

JohnL

Press "Print Scrn" key for whole desktop or press "Alt + Print Scrn" to remove the taskbar from the screenshot.

@JohnL:

ckit wrote:Press "Print Scrn" key for whole desktop or press "Alt + Print Scrn" to remove the taskbar from the screenshot.

... then you have it in your clipboard and can paste it into a graphics application of your choice.
For a small upload size you have to save it as JPEG or PNG file.

hi guys, thanks for the reply but nothing happens when I do that procedure, the screen doesnt blink, move, give me a message - nothing
very

What is supposed to happen and I have never used a clipboard so wouldnt know where to find it anyway

so sad JohnL

Anonymous wrote:hi guys, thanks for the reply but nothing happens when I do that procedure, the screen doesnt blink, move, give me a message - nothing
very

What is supposed to happen and I have never used a clipboard so wouldnt know where to find it anyway

The clipboard is a small program which is part of MS Windows. Whenever you use copy/paste, things will be copied to and pasted from the clipboard. This works with text (e.g., in MS Word), but also with other contents (e.g. image data). Copying and pasting works within one program, but also inbetween programs, but it depends on whether a specific program supports it or not.

For creating a screenshot of your desktop:

1. Press "PrtScreen" key. The desktop's content will be copied to the clipboard. (There is no confirmation or any other feedback).
2. Start XnView
3. Select menu item "Edit > Import clipboard" (or press Ctrl+Shift+V)
4. You will see your desktop as image in XnView. You can save the image in any format you like (PNG or JPG is recommended) using menu item "File > Save as....".

If the steps above do not work for you, you should take a book or the web and get more familiar with your computer and MS Windows. Or ask a friend.

Note: Once this has been clarified, I'll split all the posts regarding "How to take a screenshot" into a separate topic or FAQ.

helmut, thanks I will try that

mmm, I suppose their must be a use for that little trick

thanks folks

JohnL

The Print Screen button is somewhat leftover (not really, but still) from era when operating systems where text-based, back then the Print Screen button actually printed the text on the screen with printer. Today there are no much use for Print Screen button, but it comes handy when you get an unknown error message and want to store it so you can show it to someone later on... or posting your Desktops in forums.

ckv wrote:... or posting your Desktops in forums.

Or Online help, manuals, ...

There used to be a comp at school that was fairly new (I'm guessing around a 386) it was fully graphic and looked/ran like a modern comp, but much lower specs. I think it ran windows 3x. When you pressed the print screen button, it would print out exactly what was on the screen through the printer. If you hit alt+printscreen (or ctrl+print screen, I forget which), it would print the entire screen (ie, if the page was several screens long, it would print all of them as one long document). I was a bit confused the first time I used the print screen key on a newer comp and it didn't start printing.


When you copy something to the clipboard, there is no indication that anything has happened, you just have to try pasting it to see if it worked.
You might find it easier to use the screencap tool built into xnview. It's really more for taking several shots, but you might find it more user-friendly. I believe it's located under the tools menu.


A note about saving it: If you have a solid color background on your desktop, or are taking a shot of a browser window or some such, it's best to save it as a PNG. If you have a photographic type wallpaper, DO NOT save it as a PNG! You will wind up with a huge file. You can improve the filesize by decreasing the colors before saving, but that will usually look bad with a photographic image (works great on images with lots of solid colors and crisp edges though). If you have a photographic wallpaper, save the image as a JPG.

OK, so I have started another qeery in another thread but this is not an XnView based question its general