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Last Updated:
Jan 20th, 2007 - 12:55:03 |
A screen shot capture records anything that you can see on your monitor screen. Most computers have a Print Screen function which is accessible from the keyboard. By pressing this key the computer records the whole of what you see on the screen as a graphic image. Having an image of the entire screen is not always desirable however and it is time consuming to then import the screen shot into your editing program and crop for just the area of specific need.
ScreenHunter 4.0 Free is a simple screen capture program that lets you select a specific area of the screen. This ability is ideal for creating screenshots for tutorials, to quickly share low resolution images of works in progress with others via instant messaging or email or to copy online images such as color swatches or other inspiration pieces.
ScreenHunter Free is downloaded as a 382kb .zip file. Once downloaded you can unzip and install to your hard drive to the default location or other as desired. You can choose to add the program to your system tray for automatic start up during booting or you can choose to activate it from the programs list only when you need it. You can then launch the program and a separate screen launches.
The first tab reads From. Your first task is to choose a Hotkey that allows you to activate the screen shot program when the program is on standby. You can leave this as the default F6 key or change it to another.
The Capture Now button can be used to take an image of what you have on screen at that moment.
Capture what gives you three choices. You can choose to capture a rectangular area which you draw out yourself, the full screen of the active window only or the full screen of what is showing on your monitor.
For specific area selection choose Rectangle area as the default. You can draw out the rectangle to include the entire screen if necessary or change the setting at any time. You can also select to include the mouse pointer in your capture. This is convenient for tutorial screen captures. You can also select to use timed captures which means there will be a delay between when you select an area and when the screen shot is taken.
Select the To tab to decide whether the image will be copied to the clipboard so it can be pasted in the document or saved to file on your hard drive. Select a file type to save the screen capture as. You can choose bmp, jpg or gif depending on the quality and size of the shots you need.
If you select to save your screenshots to a file you can select where the shots are saved to and determine the filename structure. You can change this information at any time.
The last tab Advanced, lets you select any or all of three options. You can elect to see help tips, you can select to have the program notify you when the screen capture is finished taking a shot and you can select to hide the icon when capturing.
You can change any of the options the program gives you at any time.
Once you have established the set up you are ready to use the program.
If you do not have it set to automatically launch when your computer is started, you can simply activate the program by choosing it from your Start>Programs list. The screen will open and by selecting Stand By it minimizes to your system tray ready for use.
To actually make a capture is simple, on the monitor have the object you wish to select a screen shot of. Here is a screenshot I have taken of a color scheme at www.behr.com. With the color scheme shown on my screen I press the F6 key on my keyboard. Then I move my cursor which has turned into a cross to the top left corner of the area that I wish to copy and left click. Holding down the mouse button drag the mouse to the right to draw out a rectangle to include my chosen objects. The blue line seen in the second image below shows the area of choice for my screen shot.
Release the mouse button to make the capture.
I have set this capture to save to file so I can then import it into my imaging program and use it to select the colors with my color tool. You could also set the program to paste and paste the screen shot directly into your active program.
Screen Hunter 4.0 Free is a free program that is easy and simple to use. You can download the program directly from the creators website at http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm
There are commercial versions of Screen Hunter available for purchase which provide more sophisticated options. For more information visit the website. http://www.wisdom-soft.com/
© Copyright 2003-2005 by Scrapbook-Bytes; & original creator/s of tutorials/articles
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