Taking Screenshots
Contents
The following guide outlines items to keep in mind when taking new screenshots for publication on this wiki. As many people make changes and contribute to the wiki, it is important that a consistent style is employed, so that articles and topics do not feel out of place.
Allowed Window Styles
For screenshots taken on Window systems, two formats acceptable:
- "Aero Glass" look under Windows Vista (preferred);
- "Classic Windows 2000" look under Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server and Windows Vista.
In both cases, the default settings must be used, no changes to fonts or colours are permissible (that includes colouring of the Aero Glass surfaces), default font/dpi size must be set and Clear Type must be turned on, with default settings.
A single document (article, product announcement, etc) must use dialogs shot in the same style. If at all possible, Aero Glass style should be used for all new documents, and Classic style should only be considered for expanding/correcting existing documents that already contain screenshots in that format.
Arranging dialogs
- Where possible, resize dialogs to show as little blank or wasted space as possible, while still looking good. Watch out for reduced menus/toolbars, etc.
- Make sure focus or carets are placed properly on areas where they make sense. If possible try to avoid focus rectangles or carets from showing at all; for example, try to time the screenshots to capture when the blinking cursor is "off", and to not put focus on controls that show a "focus rectangle".
- Where applicable, make sure movable elements (such as for example listboxes, treeviews etc) are scrolled and expanded to a state that makes sense for the screenshot's context.
Taking screenshots (Windows)
Screenshots should be taken using the free Windows Clippings tool available at Windows Clippings, which automatically captures single windows and preserves Aero Glass and transparency. Windows Clippings should be set to save as PNG and preserve the alpha channel.
Taking screenshots of multiple overlapping windows under Aero Glass should follow the steps outlined below:
- Create an empty back-drop using #ffffff (pure white) background color (for example by adjusting your desktop background, or opening an empty browser or notepad in the background).
- Arrange the dialogs as needed, making sure all glass and shadow areas show clean background or the other windows.
- Capture the entire screen using Print Screen.
- In Photoshop, crop the image to just windows & shadow, using a wide-range Crop, followed by a Image|Trim.
Screenshot size
- Where possible, keep the width to an absolute maximum of 600 pixels. When not possible, the images will be displayed compressed in articles.
- For wide images, provide a compressed image 600 pixels wide as well as the original (subject to the next point).
- If the original image is just over 600, compress to 300 (provides a better image). If the compressed image is perfectly legible, then the large version might not be needed to be published.
- Use bicubic resampling to resize, preserve transparency. (apply a light sharpening to small version if needed).
- Save as PNG-24.
- Always preserve the original unresized copy of the image, too - we might need it later.
Downloading Window Clippings
Starting with 2.1, Window Clippings is no longer freeware. You can use the latest free version 2.0.28, available at:
- http://www.windowclippings.com/download/2.0.28/x86/WindowClippings.exe (x86)
- http://www.windowclippings.com/download/2.0.28/x64/WindowClippings.exe (x64)
Settings for Windowclippings.exe
- General: "save to disk" (else transparency gets lost)
- Image tab: make sure "Clear window background" and "Include window shadow on Vista" are ticked
- Image tab: background color: #ffffff / white
- Storage: PNG type
Taking screenshots (Mac OS X)
- Use the Cmd-Shift-4 keyboard shortcut followed by Space, to grab single windows. this automatically preserves shadows and transparency.
- For multiple overlapping windows, create a white (#ffffff) background, and then use either Cmd-Shift-3 to capture the full screen, or Cmd-Shift-4 to select a region too capture. Trim the result in Photoshop as explained above.
Naming Files
Image files should be given names that help putting them into context. Remember that many people will be uploading content to the wiki, so calling your images "Screenhot1.png" though "Screenshot5.png" is sure to lead to confusion. Use descriptive names that indicate where your screenshot will be used, such as for example "Debugging HowTo - Configuring Breakpoint Options.png". Be descriptive and use long names.
!!! *** PIXELS MATTER *** !!!
Make sure to take screenshots precisely and accurately, a "pixel off" does matter, and screenshots will need to be retaken if they aren't done properly, have cut off pixels or spare garbage/background pixels at the edges.