New one!

[Icey]

Well gentlemen, I didn't understand half of what you guys were discussing on the "Windows 10 .. again" thread, but something of interest caught my eye, which Yogi posted. Although my query involves taking screen shots again, I thought I'd leave you to discuss the matters which you were, and start a new one, so that I don't butt in on your posts.

Yogi, the PrtSc key ..... it just shows you how dense I am. I never knew this was even on my keyboard! If I'd seen it, I certainly had no idea what it was used for. Now I see it it, of course!

So, if I clicked onto that to take a screen shot, without going through all the processes that you told me about (although I think I have it all in my mind now), what happens/what do I do after clicking? I don't like to try it in case something goes wrong!! Would this be even more simple for me?

[yogi]

My my my. You are becoming daring with the technical questions. LOL I love it. Please don't stop.

I chose the method of using the Snipping Tool as a tutorial because I thought it might be less demanding for the task. It's as simple as drawing a rectangle and saving the image from that. The Snipping Tool is something new by Windows standards in that the PrtSc key method has been in places since the beginning of time - or the beginning of keyboards that had such keys.

Using the PrtSc method might be easier in some circumstances, but it requires some knowledge ahead of time to derive the full benefits. The first bit of knowledge you need to have is the existence of the key. Pressing the PrtSc key will do one thing that is not visible to the person pressing the key. Pressing said key will store the entire contents of your monitor screen into a temporary memory location commonly known as the "clipboard." So now you have a copy of the entire screen, but you can't see it.

In order to see what you saved you need a program that can handle images. Micorsoft Paint is one such program, and it comes free with every version of Windows. Thus you need to locate Paint, start the program, and paste the contents of your clipboard into Paint - pressing the combination of keys Ctrl+V will do it. Once you can see the image you can save it as you would any other image or photograph. Of course this option requires that you know how to use the Paint program to save things.

It is often desirable to capture only one part of the entire monitor screen. That would usually be a single window selected from the many you may have open simultaneously. To copy a single window a nearly identical process to the above should be followed. It is necessary to first make the window of interest active. That means just click on it so that it gets the focus for the moment. Then press the combination of Alt and PrtSc keys, both at once: Alt+PrtSc. Pressing this combination of keys will place the contents of the active Window into the clipboard. Pasting and saving it all into a graphics program is the same as saving an entire screen.

The above two thing are very common and all most people want to do. The Snipping Tool eliminates the need for using a separate program to store your screen image. It has the added advantage of letting you pick and choose exactly what you want instead of forcing you to save the whole screen or the whole Window. Furthermore, some limited editing of the image can be done right from the Snipping Tool. The right way to go about all this is whatever is comfortable and easy for you. The end justifies the means in this case.

NOTE: There is a tutorial in our archives: http://neo.brainformation.com/viewtopic ... 10&t=10907 If you have an interest in the PrtSc method of capturing screens/windows, I will copy (and update) that tutorial to this forum.

[Icey]

Oh ... my ....

I don't think I could tackle it - well not yet, at least! The way you showed me seems much easier in comparison!

I'm doing my best to learn a few things. No idea why, since it's not as if I'm going to be doing many screen shots, and I feel embarrassed about asking for help when everyone but me seems to understand these feeble things, but I know I'm not the only one to hesitate coming onto this forum, and just doing so makes me feel a little more confident about asking. I know I'm slow to grasp stuff, but I AM gradually learning bits here and there, so thank you for helping. I can remember the days when I couldn't even copy and paste, and now it's so easy that I don't even have to think about it. It's like driving isn't it? Once you can do it, it just comes automatically.

When I'm in the mood to delve further, I'll come on again and might even try to follow further instructions. Don't hold your breath, and be prepared for the most simple of questions, but I DO appreciate the time you've spent on trying to teach me.

[yogi]

Icey~
Please do not feel that you need to apologize for your lack of experience. It is totally unnecessary and in some ways defeats the purpose of this forum. We are here to answer questions and do not want to make people uncomfortable telling them what we know. You should have discovered by now that we know a lot, but there is much left to be learned by all of us. Perhaps our "cups runneth over" with trivia, but don't be intimidated by it. We are all learning in some ways.

From a personal perspective computers and helping people use them gives me great pleasure; meaning, purpose, and direction if you will. One of the ironies of being a geek is that there are few, if any, people who have an interest in what we are geeky about. Thus, what is the point of having a specialty if it cannot be shared with someone? As they say, the only stupid question is the one not asked. Come back any time. Bring your friends too. You are always welcome.

Regarding screenshots, it's all a matter of familiarity. Climbing the learning curve may be laborious, but after that it's simple and intuitive. You proved to yourself that you can do it if you put your mind to it.

[Icey]

Thank you Yogi. You certainly DO know your stuff, and it's great that you enjoy using your knowledge to help others. I just feel so lame when I ask questions that even a 10 year old might take for granted. My kids laugh at me - justifiably! - and simply ignore any reqests for help because they don't understand why I can't take things like this in. I'm not sure I understand why, either, but the fact remains that I'm a dunce when it comes to computers. My "geeky" friend has a 7 year old son who's already devised a simple programme to show off at school, and he did this unaided, but he was sat on his daddy's knee since he could sit up, and watched what he was shown - every single day. I thought it was way too much for the poor child, but by the time he leaves school, he'll be a whizz with technology. Even his teachers're astounded that he knows so much for a child of his age.

The friends who'd perhaps LIKE to ask questions, are already members of BFC, so no names mentioned, but I DO encourage them to ask you if they get stuck. I think that we, on this side of the pond, are way behind when it comes to understanding computers. An awful lot of folk still aren't even online over here, and I have 2 very good friends who say they NEVER want to be. They're not older people either, so I don't know what their reasons are, but even in households where there's just one machine, the females often don't bother with them. The same goes for smart phones and all the rest of the gadgets. They sell, but not like over there, where I imagine it's difficult for any of you to understand how folk can live without them.

I think my own hesitance in first asking you for help, was because I'd read posts on the old site and couldn't understand the jargon - much in the same way that I don't comprehend what you and Gary might discuss on here. I'm sure that I don't need to know, particularly with regard to old systems which I've scarcely heard of, but you were right about one thing - Windows 10's going to be the future, with, I'm sure, many more apps available to those who want them and with competition from other companies who'll devise similar OSs.

You know full well how dense I am with stuff like this. I admit to my failings - I'm useless with computers - but it still makes me ashamed that I know/understand so little. You and my techie friend'd make a great pair. He simply loves concocting ways of securing systems and writing programmes. It's not just his job, but his hobby as well. He's not interested in FB or any sites in that vein. He'd rather be chasing hackers and tracing them - as a side line. LOL - I can't understand a word he's on about, but on the few occasions that he's found one trying to get further into my computer than they might have, his face's a picture of excitement, and he takes pleasure in blocking/tracing them. That's not even the right description, but you get the gist. : (

Anyway, thank you, and I mean that. I'm sure I'll find something that I need help with, and I feel a bit better about asking now.

[Kellemora]

Icey, turn your head the other way. I want to ask Yogi something and don't want it to confuse you even further.

Doesn't Windows also place a copy in the Pictures Folder when you press Print Screen?
I'm almost certain my WinXP did, and I think my wife's new Win10 machine does.
Of course there is a copy on the clipboard as well.

The few times I need to do screenshots, it is usually not just one, but several in a row, and they all save under the date and time in the Pictures Folder. I can also give it a file name to use if I choose to keep topics separate. I did change my location to save screenshots by adding the desktop as where to put a copy, besides the one in the picture folder.

As an aside, rather than doing a screenshot, I'm trying to teach the frau how to open an image in a new window so she gets a higher resolution version than the one displayed on places like Farcebook. That is if it has a higher resolution version, many do, some don't.

OK, taking my nose out of the doors hinge side...

[yogi]

Icey ~
To be honest I don't know how Windows 10, or Microsoft for that matter, will fit into the future picture of computer technology. The word on the street is that people are going after Microsoft again for being a monopoly. I think they escaped with their lives in Europe purely because Bill Gates was at the helm. He's gone now and it remains to be seen how big a player Microsoft will be 5-10 years from now.

As far as computers go, they are here to stay and will only get better. The Internet is no longer a hobbyist phenomena. It's considered to be an essential service right up there with electric, water, and telephones. That means computers will also be essential if they are not already. It's hard to imagine a population such as that in Europe lagging in adoption of computer technology because business over there is moving along at the same pace as it is here. If Europe wants to keep pace with the rest of the world, the only way to do it is with computers. I have no explanation for why the common man or woman over there would avoid personal computing devices. I'm wondering if it's not just a phenomena local to your area because Europeans, Brits in particular, are all over the Internet just like the rest of us. It might be more appealing to the younger generation than to us oldsters, but from what I see there is no lack of interest. Just look at our own forums; only two of us are American born.

Again I will thank you for the compliment, but I am not as smart as it appears. Maybe I am smart enough to know how dumb I am, but in any case I will make an honest effort to answer your queries in a manner which you are accustomed to learning. When you come to this forum don't try to talk the talk nor feel embarrassed that you don't even know the lingo. You are coming here for assistance and not a lesson in computer science. Just say it any way you understand it and I will run it past the FBI if it needs to be decoded.

Gary~
I just tried to use PrtSc on both Windows 10 and Windows 7. Neither machine put a copy in the /Pictures folder, nor any other folder that I can find. If you changed the parameters, then you must know how to set it up. I would appreciate if you can explain it to me because it sounds like a very handy way of handling screenshots. This might be one of those cases where you are doing something nobody else knows about and swears can't be done. If it is, please share what you know.

I'm not sure what you are trying to teach your wife, but every time I try to view a picture outside the browser it's at the same resolution as the original - WYSIWYG in other words. Images can always be enlarged using the Photo Viewer, but doing that is not increasing the resolution. So again, if you are keeping secrets from us about Windows, it's time to 'fess up.

[Kellemora]

Hi Yogi - It is very easy to take a screenshot and have it save to a folder named "Screenshots" which is located inside the "Pictures" folder, after you make your first screenshot.
I asked the frau how she does it, and she said it is simple, just hold down the "Windows" button on your keyboard while you press the "PrtScr" button.

On browser images, not all of them are reduced to fit the image holding area, it depends a lot on which website you are viewing. Some only show a thumbnail and you have to click the thumbnail to see a slightly larger image, and on several you can also right click to view image, then select view full-size image.

Search for anything you want on Google, then select IMAGES. At this point all you see are thumbnails.
You can click on a thumbnail and it will open to a larger picture. Look to the right and you will see boxes marked, Go To Site, or View Image. If you click view image you get the highest resolution image offered.

I judge book covers, so even after opening a book covers larger image from a thumbnail, I still have another step I must do to see the original full-size cover image. Of course, not everyone puts up the full-size image, but most do because they don't have a reduced size one to use.

Even on Farcebook, images are made to fit their standard size display window, right click and open image in a new window and you'll see, they are often larger, but not always.

I know images shown on this website must be reduced to only 800px wide. But many website where you can upload images, they use a conversion program to reduce the image to their frame size for you. If you right click on the image on these websites and open Image in browser, they are often the size uploaded by the user. Again, if the website allows you to see the original image and not only the one they reduced for display.

[yogi]

Gary~
Give your wife a big hug for me. She unwittingly taught me something I did not know about Windows 10. The SuperKey+PrtSc key combination does indeed place a copy of the screen in the \Pictures\Screenshot folder - in my case it even created the missing Screenshot folder. I'll have to investigate that one a little further to see if there are options for copying less than the full screen. I can't get this combination of keys to work in Windows 7 however.

I now understand what you are talking about with full resolution images. I have experienced all the examples you provided. Thank you for the details. As far as I can tell it's just SOP and something your wife was not aware of being possible. I use the technique often when I post images in our forums that originate on other websites (hotlink). Most browsers will give you the "view image" option when you right click, and yes, Google has taken it to an extreme.

[Kellemora]

I think she said SuperKey+PrtScn saves the whole desktop.
SuperKey+Alt+PrtScn saves what is in the active window.
SuperKey+Ctrl+PrtScn doesn't always give you what you think it might, so she doesn't use that combination.
And yes, if the Screenshots folder does not exist, it creates it. This is handy because you can rename the folder after doing a series of screenshots on a certain topic, and it will create a new screenshots folder the next time you use PrtScn.

We never had a Win7 machine other than my netbook, and I installed GADWIN on it as one of the first things after I got the netbook so PrtScn did save to file. On Win7 I have to remember CTRL does the whole desktop and ALT does only the active window. Pressing PrtScn by itself only saves to Clipboard.

Snicker; In Linux, you just press PrtScn and it saves to Clipboard and places the screenshot in your File of choice.

You probably already know this for security reasons, before you place an image from your phone or camera on Farcebook or elsewhere, the easiest way to strip it of all data is to save a copy of the image as a Windows BMP, then save it back to JPG or whatever format you want to use to post online.

We got images at work all the time that we were told they used a stripper to remove personal data. It may have removed personal data if it was ever included, but it did not remove any of the data concerning the camera's setting, and many still had the GPS coordinates in the file as well. Not all home computer image viewers show all the data hidden in the image files. Wish I had access to a program like we had at work which let you open a non-openable image file because the file header was corrupt. We could run through about 30 different generic headers until we felt the image was displayed correctly and then resave the image to a new file. What we couldn't fix were things like vector graphics or GIFs who's run data was corrupt.

Have a great evening Yogi!