Problem with screen shot in Win XP SP2

[ghoti]

I admit this is a very elementary matter, and I'm embarrassed to have to ask, BUT

I don't seem able to get a screen shot. I looked at Help for MS Windows, and tried hitting <Print Screen>. Also tried <Alt> + <Print Screen>. Nothing happens. When I right-click within the message I'm composing for this forum, the 'paste' option is greyed out, so I guess there is nothing on my clipboard? Can someone help me with this?

Thanks.

 

[SKORPI0]

Use Ctrl - PrtScr to capture the current screen. Then, switch to the
built-in Paint and Paste (Ctrl-V). Then, just save the newly created
content; preferably in PNG format.

 

[ghoti]

Thanks SKORPIO.

That works, though it's not as convenient as I hoped. The image is too big for the screen and not terribly sharp. I had thought I could get a 1:1 size match: the same exact size image as I was looking at when I captured the screen shot. Also, I thought I would get the same sharpness as the original image on the screen at the moment I took the shot.

What is the downside of saving in .BMP (or some other format) as opposed to .PNG?

Is this the only way to take a screen shot: by opening and using 'Paint?' 'Clipboard' is of no use for this?

Thanks again.

 

[bendixG15]

You can also save to MS Word......Other Progs.....Just play with it.

 

[CTho9305]

Also, I thought I would get the same sharpness as the original image on the screen at the moment I took the shot.

Paint uses low-quality JPG compression if you save as JPG.

What is the downside of saving in .BMP (or some other format) as opposed to .PNG?

GIF, PNG, and BMP are lossless, so there is no decrease in quality. PNG and GIF will both be smaller than BMP (which is usually uncompressed - so a screenshot in BMP might be 3 megabytes). PNG handles >256 colors better than GIF.

 

[ghoti]

Thanks all. I appreciate the help.

:thumbsup: