Show Me A Screen Shot

Ever wanted to email or show someone on a forum some portion of your computer screen? There are many ways to take the screen capture and we probably all know them. The most basic is using PrtSc, pasting into Paint, croping and uploading and linking. This can be cumbersome. The easiest way I know is to use TPUCapture. This freeware is so simple and quick and does the shot/upload/link all in a couple of easy steps. It can be run portable but I just install it. I don’t let it start with Windows but simply fire it up if I want to post a screen shot.

Hit the Windows key, type “tp” and fire it up (in Vista or Win7). Hit the hot keys, draw the desired capture rectangle, click “OK” and copy the url to clipboard. Now use the link to paste the image in a forum or blog.

If you wish to display the image in Gmail you will need to open the url in a browser window and <cntl -a> <cntl - c> then <cntl - v> in the Gmail message.

Yes you have the “techpowerup.com” watermark. A cheap price for convenience. If you can’t stand the mark then use ImageShack or one of the several other storage and linking sites. These sites take more time and steps but are sometimes preferred if you want a more professional look. Often who cares?

If you wish to mark up the capture, combine FSCapture first with TPUCapture second like this":

Dinosaur alert: Could you loose the uploads if TechPowerUp is hit by an asteroid? Yes.

Live Writer alert: Win7 version dropped the ability for Live Writer to grab an image from a url. Download this and place the dll into the Live Writer plug in directory. Access the command from the tool bar >Insert>Insert Web Image...

Maybe it is time for a screen shot?

Live Writer is a great way to post by the way. The Firefox extension makes posting simple.

Win7 Alert: FSCapture is acting screwball for me in Win7 and is basically not usable at ATM.