Capturing graphics

Problems and advice 

This article takes you through the process of capturing a displayed graphic from the screen and copying it to the Windows clipboard, so that you can paste it into a Cardbox format.

The instructions depend on what drawing or painting program you are using:

Windows Paint	Comes with all versions of Windows except 3.1.	Instructions
Windows Paintbrush	Comes with Windows 3.1.	Instructions
Adobe Photoshop	http://www.adobe.com	Instructions
Paint Shop Pro	http://www.jasc.com - evaluation versions frequently appear on magazine cover discs.	Instructions

Step 1: Capturing an area      (not necessary with Paint Shop Pro)

If the graphic you want is visible as part of a window, copy the window to the Clipboard by pressing Alt + PrtSc. If the graphic you want is on the desktop, copy the whole desktop to the Clipboard by pressing PrtSc.

The Clipboard now contains the graphic you want, but it contains a lot of other stuff as well. The next step is to extract the area you need and copy it to the Clipboard.

Using Windows Paint

1. First, capture an area that contains the graphic you want.
2. When you start Windows Paint, it will display a blank image (if you are already using the program, use File, New to get a blank image).
3. Using Image, Attributes, make sure that the image is big enough for convenient work. We recommend 600 x 400 pixels ("pels"). The colour mode should be "Colors".
4. Use Edit, Paste (or press Ctrl+V) to paste in the area that you captured. It will appear with a moving dotted line round it.
5. In the toolbar on the left, press to remove the dotted line.
6. Click on the top left-hand corner of the area you want to copy to Cardbox, and drag the mouse to the bottom right-hand corner. Release the mouse button.
7. Use Edit, Copy (or press Ctrl+C) to copy the graphic to the Clipboard.

Using Windows 3.1 Paintbrush

1. First, capture an area that contains the graphic you want.
2. When you start Paintbrush, it will display a blank image (if you are already using the program, use File, New to get a blank image).
3. Using Image, Attributes, make sure that the image is big enough for convenient work. We recommend 600 x 400 pixels ("pels"). The colour mode should be "Colors".
4. Enlarge the Paintbrush window so that there are no scroll bars visible around the edge of the blank image. If you have no room to do this, use View, Zoom Out to zoom out until the scroll bars disappear.
5. Use Edit, Paste (or press Ctrl+V) to paste in the area that you captured. It will appear with a moving dotted line round it. (If you had to zoom out, the pasted area will appear cross-hatched).
6. In the toolbar on the left, press to remove the dotted line.
7. If you had to zoom out, use View, Zoom In to get back to the full-scale view, and scroll so that the area you want to copy is fully visible on the screen.
8. Click on the top left-hand corner of the area you want to copy to Cardbox, and drag the mouse to the bottom right-hand corner. Release the mouse button.
9. Use Edit, Copy (or press Ctrl+C) to copy the graphic to the Clipboard.

Using Adobe Photoshop

1. First, capture an area that contains the graphic you want.
2. In Photoshop, use File, New... to create a new image. Photoshop will ask you for the size of the image you want to create. You do not need to alter the settings that Photoshop suggests, because they are based on the size of the area that you captured.
3. Using the Selection tool, select the area that you want to copy to Cardbox.
4. Use Edit, Copy (or press Ctrl+C) to copy the graphic to the Clipboard.

Using Paint Shop Pro

1. You do not need to capture an area before you start. Paint Shop Pro will do it for you.
2. In Paint Shop Pro, use the Capture menu to set up the capture method you want. The on-line help gives full details of all the options available.
3. Capture the image (again, check the on-line help for instructions). The captured area will appear as a new image in the Paint Shop Pro window.
4. Select the area that you want to copy to Cardbox. If the area is small, you may find it easier to zoom in while you are doing this.
5. Use Edit, Copy (or press Ctrl+C) to copy the graphic to the Clipboard.

Problems and advice ·