Make Screen Shots

Chapter 2: Capturing A Specific Window

1. Make sure your screen is set to the same color depth as you want the screen shot. For example, if you want a 256 color screen shot, set your screen to 256 color mode.
   
   You can do this, by right clicking on the Microsoft Windows desktop, picking Properties... on the pop-up menu that appears, and then going to the Settings tab.
   
   Please Note: If you plan to put the screen shot on your web site, or in an eBook, then you should save the screenshot as GIF or PNG. If you plan to save the screenshot as GIF, you'll need to set your screen to 256 colors or less, as GIF only allows a maximum of 256 colors.
   
   
2. Bring the window that you want to capture to the front by clicking on it's title bar.
   
   
3. When you're ready to capture the window, hold down the Alt key and press the Print Screen key (in other words press Alt+PrintScreen). This copies the current window to the Windows clipboard.
   
   
4. You're now ready to paste from the clipboard into your painting software.
   
   Start the paint program.
   
   More sophisticated paint programs usually have an option to create a brand new image from the content of the clipboard. Look for an option called something like New from Clipboard (on the File menu), or Paste as New Image (on the Edit menu). Select the option, then Save the image, and you're done. (Don't forget to save as GIF or PNG if you want to use your screenshot on your web site or in an eBook).
   
   If you only have the Paint accessory program that comes with Windows, then do this:
   
   
   • Start Paint.
     
     
   • Click Attributes... on the Edit menu, and change both the Width and Height of the image to 1 pixel, then click OK.
     
     
     
     Paint will now look a little odd, with a very tiny (1 by 1 pixel image).
     
     
   • Click Paste on the Edit menu.
     
     A message box will appear saying "The image in the clipboard is larger than the bitmap. Would you like the bitmap enlarged?". Click Yes in response to this message.
     
     
   • Paint will now contain an image that is the exact same size as your capture. Save your work, and you're done. (Don't forget to save as GIF if you want to use your screenshot on your web site or in an eBook).