Taking a picture of your computer screen

this post goes out to my friend Lonnie, who wanted to know how you take a "screenshot".

The Quick of it:
> hit the print screen key
> "paste" it into a graphics program
> save your image
- you're done.

Explained:
1. if you're using a windows-based computer, hit the Prt Scr/Sys Rq key, and you've just taken a picture of whatever is on your screen.

the what key you ask?

this one . . .



you've probably never used it before, the only thing i use it for is screen captures. go ahead, hit it.

now, you have picture of your screen stored on your clipboard.


2. you can't see the clipboard, it's just a spot in your computer's memory. you have to get it out of there and onto something else to actually save the image for the future.

so, paste it into a graphics program. there's one on your computer called "Paint".
(click the start button, then go All Programs/Accessories/Paint).

once you have the Paint program open, you can paste your image into it by either right-clicking your mouse and choosing "paste" from the list that appears, or clicking edit from the menu at the top of the Paint screen, then choosing paste.

what i do for pasting all the time is hold down the Ctrl key (lower left of the keyboard), and push the letter V. it's a shortcut. i love it.

3. SAVE. you'll have to give your picture a name, and then select what type of file to save it as.




i recommend you save it as a .jpg, or a .gif - those are the two most common types of images and the internet is littered with them.

Some Tips:
> you can paste your screenshots right into Microsoft Word or Wordpad if you'd like.

> if you hold down the "Alt" key when you take the screenshot, it will just capture the "active window", not the whole screen. that's super-handy because a lot of the time you really only want what's in the window, and now you can get just that part of the screen.

The Opening Post . . .

i've been telling my wife and friends i was going to set this blog up for weeks now. tonight, is apparently the night. i finally went through all of the virtual paperwork to get this in place!

what i'll be doing here is basically sharing tips (and perhaps getting a few) on how to capture files, convert files, save files. all geeky stuff, except that by "files" i mean stuff like youTube videos, photos and images from the net, and practical stuff.

it's mostly a clearing house so i can do one walk-through and share it with whichever friend asked "how can i . . .?", and anyone else that wanders onto the page.

but, being real-world stuff, i have to say that it'll be from the perspective of a fellow that:
> uses a windows-based computer
> has his own Zune
> has a wife who has her own iPod (with the video capability)
> has a daughter that uses iTunes
> has band mates who burn DVD's, watch too much youTube, and haunt myspace

so, if you have an iPod, or a Zune, or a DVD player, or watch youTube, or . . . you get the idea, there can easily be something that can help you catch/convert/store/transport something you want to watch/listen to etc.