Capturing your desktop

DarkFlameWolf · Post by **DarkFlameWolf** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:23 pm

Well print screen does a fine job of capturing the icons on the desktop but not the image being displayed.
So how can I take a picture of my desktop like so many of you have already done?

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:36 pm

Link to the actual bitmap/jpg image.

DarkFlameWolf · Post by **DarkFlameWolf** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:07 pm

I do not believe I understand your advice.

Aus-RED-5 · Post by **Aus-RED-5** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:14 pm

He's saying, if you downloaded the image from a website.

Link it.

DarkFlameWolf · Post by **DarkFlameWolf** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:16 am

no, I'm trying to take an image of my OWN desktop on my OWN computer. Why would I try to download an image from somewhere else for that?

Floyd · Post by **Floyd** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:37 am

either delete all your icons (hahahahaha) and then take a snapshot, or just post the image you've set as background.
that was too easy huh?

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:35 am

go get ifranview. (google it)

then got to yout desktop, do a printscreen (press the button on your keyboard of the same name)

Open Ifranview and \"PASTE\". Instant picture of your desktop. you can reduce the size if you wish. (don't forget to sharpen the image after doing so)

Save in the format of your choice. Ifranview is capable of using most every format. Of course use Jpg or gif if you paln on posting it on the net.

Ifranview is free.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:09 am

why would you download a program to do what is already in the O/S since Windows 95 ????????????????

Press Printscreen - open paint and select paste (CTRL-V)... couldn't be any easier..........!

If you want to capture only a currently selected window then press ALT-Printscreen instead

If you are having an issue capturing everything onscreen then you need to disable screen overlay settings in your video card properties

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:39 am

because its free and you can do some things that MS paint won't. Like fiddling with TGA transparencies.

Richard Cranium · Post by **Richard Cranium** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:06 am

Duper wrote:Save in the format of your choice. Ifranview is capable of using most every format. Of course use Jpg or gif if you paln on posting it on the net.

PNG is very acceptable too and it preserves transparencies where JPG doesn't.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:13 am

DFW, where did you get your background picture from? Normally what I do is I right click the picture from the web, save it to my hard drive, then make it my background. This way, if I want to post it here, I can upload only the picture and not my icons.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:37 am

Richard Cranium wrote:
Duper wrote:Save in the format of your choice. Ifranview is capable of using most every format. Of course use Jpg or gif if you paln on posting it on the net.
PNG is very acceptable too and it preserves transparencies where JPG doesn't.

Ahh. I didn't know that. Thanks RC!

heftig · Post by **heftig** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 11:13 am

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) almost totally superseded GIF (Graphics Interchange Format). It allows for more than 256 colors (up to 48bit color + 16bit alpha) and provides better compression. The only thing GIF is better for is animation, which PNG doesn't support. MNG (Multiple-image Network Graphics) supports animation, but is not widely supported.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:01 pm

Hello- um screen capture - Hello -default in Windows- Hello - DUH -um Hello - Default DUH@

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:49 pm

BUBBALOU wrote:Hello- um screen capture - Hello -default in Windows- Hello - DUH -um Hello - Default DUH@

its not the question of screen capture, its the question of saving that capture as a useful file.

irfanview, for the cost, does a much, much better job that paint does.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:53 pm

BUBBALOU wrote:Hello- um screen capture - Hello -default in Windows- Hello - DUH -um Hello - Default DUH@

Um default screen capture + paint = bloated BMP.

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:38 pm

Didn't Windows XP Paint actually do stuff like png?

TechPro · Post by **TechPro** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:15 pm

IrfanView for da Win!

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:26 pm

Jeff250 wrote:Didn't Windows XP Paint actually do stuff like png?

wow, it does, gif, jpg, png also. Shows you how much I use it.

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:30 pm

mspaint does jpg, gif, and png nowadays (Didn't know it did gif!)

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:43 pm

fliptw wrote:its not the question of screen capture

OH....................................SKIMMER!

TOPIC STARTER DarkFlameWolf wrote:Well print screen does a fine job of capturing the icons on the desktop but not the image being displayed.
So how can I take a picture of my desktop like so many of you have already done?

Well then - there goes your theory... and your unsuccessful thread derailment. Back on topic

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:12 pm

The Gimp is better than Irfanview - hands down.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:37 pm

true.

but for a quick screen capture, IV is nice. It loads instantly.

I use both.

pATCheS · Post by **pATCheS** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:45 pm

LOL this thread is hilarious. Almost all of you are WAY off topic. All of you are trying to find ways to printscreen the desktop, when really what he wants is his wallpaper. And none of you considered such problems as recompression, or the fact that a desktop wallpaper totally lacks any transparency/alpha information (and if it does not, it isn't used anyway!). With that, let's GET BACK ON TOPIC, B!TCHES!!!

DFW, did you ever consider searching for the file that is your desktop and posting that somewhere?

The name shown in your Display properties on the Desktop tab is the same as the picture's filename but without the file extension. Just searching your hard drive for that should be sufficient. It'll point you straight to the actual file, and you won't have to dilly with any special tools or what have you to capture it, because really, you already have it. Just gotta find it.

However, if the file is a .BMP or if its size is greater than 1MB or so, I do absolutely recommend using a program to convert your wallpaper into a smaller file unless such a size does not suit the wallpaper and results in too great a quality loss. Normally, wallpaper is already in JPEG format and does not need recompression to stay under 1MB. (I chose this size only because it's decently quick to download, there's not any science behind it.)

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:12 pm

ahhh we have another skimmer!

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:47 am

pATCheS wrote:However, if the file is a .BMP or if its size is greater than 1MB or so, I do absolutely recommend using a program to convert your wallpaper into a smaller file unless such a size does not suit the wallpaper and results in too great a quality loss. Normally, wallpaper is already in JPEG format and does not need recompression to stay under 1MB. (I chose this size only because it's decently quick to download, there's not any science behind it.)

What does that have to do with anything? It isn't stored in memory compressed.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:53 am

whoot, skimming baby

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:36 am

Duper wrote:ahhh we have another skimmer!

Yeppers, we have a winner. Tell the skimmer what he's won.

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