FAQ Screenshots

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How to take a screenshot
How to crop and resize your screenshot
How to post your screenshot on the Forum
How to host your screenshot online​

 

How to take a screenshot
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A screen dump, screen capture (or screen-cap), screenshot (or screen shot), screengrab (or screen grab), or print screen is an image taken by the computer user to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device. Usually this is a digital image using the (host) operating system or software running on the computer, but it can also be a capture made by a camera or a device intercepting the video output of the display (such as a DVR). That latent image converted and saved to an image file such as to .JPG, .PNG, or .GIF format is also called a screenshot.
Screenshots can be used to demonstrate a program, a particular problem a user might be having, or generally when display output needs to be shown to others or archived.​

The method and examples shown below concern a computer
setup with Windows as Operating System.
Other Operating Systems will be slightly/very different!​

Method N°1
Print Screen (PrtSc) keyboard button + Microsoft Paint​

Desktop computer:
Once you have the screen that you want to 'copy' visible, hold down Alt key (bottom left on your keyboard) and press the Print Screen (Prt Sc) button which should be located on the top-right of your keyboard. (This will 'copy' your whole screen)​

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Laptop computer:
Your laptop probably has an Fn button (function) (bottom left on your keyboard). Press and hold this and press the print screen button which is also an insert button.​

then, follow the steps (below) to paste your screenshot into 'Paint':​

Method N°2
Using the Snipping Tool (or other similar program)​

The Snipping Tool method works with Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate, and with Windows Vista editions except Starter and Home Basic.​

This method has the advantage of selecting immediately "only" the part of your screen that you wish to copy.

Open the Snipping Tool. The Snipping Tool is found in Start/All Programs/Accessories/Snipping Tool.​

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Choose the kind of screenshot (snip) you would like to take. "Rectangular Snip" is chosen by default​

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• "Free-form Snip" lets you draw an area of any shape. Only the area you drew will be snipped.
• "Rectangular Snip" lets you select a rectangular area, which will be snipped.
• "Window Snip" lets you choose a window to snip.
• "Full-screen Snip" snips the whole screen, with all windows (except the Snipping Tool window) included.

If you've chosen "Rectangular Snip" use your cursor to define a rectangular shape around your Farm, for example, click at the top-left of your farm screen, and drag your cursor to the bottom-right to form a rectangle matching the size of your Farm Frame.
As soon as you let go, the Snipping Tool will show you your screenshot.

- If you're not satisfied with this, click "New" and start again.
- If you're satisfied with this, you can go ahead and save the picture, give it a name and a location that you can find easily. Click on "File" and "Save as..."​

Now you're ready to paste your screenshot into Paint
(or other picture editing program)​

1. Click on the Start button (bottom left) -> All programs -> Accessories and choose Paint.

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2. Press Ctrl + V (to paste the picture), or use the inbuilt methold as shown below (depends on your version of Windows).

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3. There you have it!
Now save your picture with a name and in a folder that you'll know where to find it.

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Your picture might need some re-sizing and/or cropping.

Screenshots might be much too big to post, so it will need to be "re-sized" or "cropped" to remove the non-necessary 'background'
These 2 steps can be done either in a free software (like Paint or PhotoFiltre or Gimp) or other programs like photoshop, or directly on the online WebHosting / Photo Sharing website (like photobucket, picasa, imageshack, etc).​

 

How to crop and resize your screenshot​

It is possible to use online cropping / re-sizing tools, such as the one you can find here.
Once you've selected your file (saved on the steps above), this tool allows you to upload it (takes a while if the file is large) then you can:

• crop (by dragging the 4 arrows, and moving the new frame around) or
• zoom in (with the + button)
• re-size (automatically the image will not be larger than 600 pixels wide
• Once you've chosen the modifications you want, then right-click on the picture to save the edited image.

The instructions are explained step-by-step on this tool.​

Cropping

Cropping refers to the removal of the outer parts of an image to improve framing, accentuate subject matter or change aspect ratio.​

You can use Paint (or other programs) to crop the un-necessary background.
Once you have your picture open in Paint:

1. Click the Select Tool (dotted line square shape)
2. With your cursor, form a rectangle: click at the top left of the part you want to keep, and drag your cursor to the bottom right of the part to keep, when you let go, you'll see a dotted line around the part you want to keep.
3. Click Image, then Crop. This will remove all the unwanted background, and leave just your selected picture.
4. You can then save this newly cropped picture (File -> Save [to keep the same name] or File -> Save as... [to give it a new name])

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Resizing​

If your picture is larger than 640 pixels wide, you must use Paint (or other programs) to re-size the picture before hosting it and posting it on the forum.

1. Click the Image Menu at the top and select Stretch/Skew Image.
2. Choose a percentage figure to resize the image. To avoid distortion, choose the same percentage for the horizontal and vertical stretch.
3. Click on OK
4. You can then save this newly cropped picture (File -> Save [to keep the same name] or File -> Save as... [to give it a new name])

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How to post your picture on the forum​

To include an image that is hosted on an image sharing tool / website, you will need to use the Image button:
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When you click on this button, a pop up will appear, where you can paste the link (URL) of the image you wish to post, then click on "OK".

You should now see your picture in the message box (or, depending on the browser you are using, you'll see just the coding).
You can see what your post looks like by clicking "Preview...", then once you're satisfied, you can post your message.​

 

How to host your screenshot online
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It is preferable to have already resized your picture (as explained above)

There are several Web Hosting services online (some are free, some require membership)
Here are a few examples:​

• Imageshack

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1. Click on "Browse" to find your image file
2. Select the size 640 large
3. Click on "Upload" (this can take a certain time depending on the size of your picture)
4. On the next screen: select the "Direct Link" (as highlighted below)

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• This is the link that you will enter into the forum (see step 4: How to post your picture on the forum)

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• Photobucket

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1. Click on "Upload"
2. click on "Browse" to find your already re-sized image file (see above)

• The upload will begin (can take a while)
• Click on the uploaded picture
• on the right of the next screen, you should see a box like this:

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• If you select "Direct Link" (just click on it, it 'copies' the link automatically), proceed to step 4: How to post your picture on the forum
• If you select "IMG code": (just click on it, it 'copies' the link automatically) you can copy this link straight into your forum message.

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