Saturday, December 8, 2007

I just learned something new!

I've had computers since 1998.  Thanks to a message board I sometimes peek in on, I've realized for some time it was somehow possible to take a screenshot... a picture of whatever you're looking at on your computer monitor.  I never saw a need for it, so I hadn't tried to figure it out.
In the previous entry, I wanted to use a picture of the weather forecast on a local station.  I turned the flash off on my digital camera, took a picture of the screen, and used that for the entry.  Then I cropped so that only the 7-day forecast showed and put it on Flickr.  First attempt was too big and stretched my journal out so much it had to be scrolled across.  So I re-sized it and tried again. 

Then I recalled reading about screenshots and did some googling.

Did you know, over on the upper right-hand section of your keyboard, that there's a key that says "print screen"?  Yeah!  That copies whatever you are seeing on the screen.  My next problem was where to put what I had copied so I could edit the picture to size.  Back to my google information:  Did you know there's a program on your computer called "paint"?  I didn't.  Well, after you take your screen shot, you go to Start, then accessories, and click on paint.  Click on "edit" on the top of that window, and choose "paste".  And there it is, the picture you took of what's on your screen!  I was so excited.  To see the information I googled, click HERE.  That probably explains it better than I've done.

And here is the screenshot I took:


Then I cropped it with my photo-editing program to show only the weather:


Now isn't that a better picture than the one in the previous entry?

I'll bet a lot of my readers are thinking, "I've known that forever; what's the big deal?"

Well, I'm confined to the house by my recovering knee and the weather, so this little episode might be the highlight of my day.  Humor me.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad that you found something to do to help pass the time. I have taken a print screen and put it into an email and I knew there was a paint program but I never thought about putting the print screen there. It is much clearer to read than the email screen. Thanks for the info. Hope your leg is doing well. Helen

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!!!  I didn't know that....I just tried it by exactly how you said & guess what ........IT WORKED!!!!!!  Thanks for sharing...there's those of us that aren't computer savy, so please continue to share any new info you have.  Thanks!!!!!!!

Hollie

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the lesson teacher LOL....and so far...we have only rain....but oh so cold....prayers for continued healing of your leg....hugs...Ora

Anonymous said...

I laughed my butt off, reading this.  Now my coworkers think I'm crazier than before. I'm glad you found something to brighten this icky day.

Anonymous said...

wow thanks !
i love to learn new things, and this helps a lot  I'm going to experiment right now!
loopymama

Anonymous said...

When I do a print screen shot, I just open a Write Mail and paste it into the mail.  Then I right click Edit Picture and crop it, and then send it to myself..... ('cause I'm too lazy to open another program?  Eh.  LOL)

~Amy

Anonymous said...

I love it when I discover something new too. I remember how excited I was when I found "find in top window" under edit.  Saved me weeks of time with research I do for eBay.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that!!  That was so interesting!  I wrote down the directions on how to do that, just in case I wanted to do it sometime!
Thanks, Donna!

Jackie

Anonymous said...

Well, I did know that, but then I've had to use "print screen" in more than one job I've had.  And my kids have taught all I need to know about the paint program.  And even though this wasn't new news to me, I really, really did appreciate your entry!  I'm glad your enforced leisure is giving you learning opportunities! lol
Lori

Anonymous said...

Good job!