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Basic PC Screenshot Guide
This guide focuses on how to take and upload a screenshot on a PC.
Note: This is based on the assumption that the majority of the userbase is running Windows.
There are thousands of screenshot walkthroughs floating on the internet, but people tend to get lazy when it comes to search engines. So here, have a guide that is just two clicks away.
You now have a screenshot.
* Requires login - registering is free.
And you're done! More info on BBCodes in this Guide. Bonus point to those who recognize my laptop wallpaper in the last screenshot. :3
Lightshot
Lightshot is a fast and easy-to-use screenshot program for both Windows and Mac users. It allows you to select a part of your screen, and the resulting image can be customized before it's to be uploaded/printed/saved/etc.
Go ahead and download it here!
A) Taking and posting a screenshot
- Open the page you want to take a screenshot of.
- Look for the PrtSc key on your keyboard and press it. If Lightshot is running in the background, the screen will darken a bit. You're now in selection mode.
- Click and hold down the left mouse button while dragging your mouse pointer to create a rectangle selection. The selected area will become visibly lighter. Not the selection you wanted? You can click and drag the sides of the selected area to adjust it. Or, just hit Esc and repeat step 2 and 3.
- Once you're satisfied, take note of the toolbars on the side:
- The vertical bar contains buttons which you can use to spice up your screenshot.
- The horizontal bar contains buttons to share your screenshot with the world. The first button on the left uploads the image. For now, let's click it.
- Once the image is uploaded, Lightshot will return a direct link. Click Copy to, well, copy the URL.
- Use the [url][/url] tags to link to the screenshot.
The traditional way
A) Taking a screenshot
- Open the page you want to take a screenshot of.
- Find the PrtSc key on your keyboard and press it. It'll look like nothing happened, but an image of your screen will have been stored on your clipboard. If you only want a screenshot of the selected (AKA active) window, press Alt+PrtSc. Some PCs require holding down the Fn key in addition to the keys above. Mac: Command+Shift+3 (whole screen) / Command+Shift+4 (portion of the screen) - saved directly to desktop.
- Open up Paint and press Ctrl+V to paste the image onto the current canvas.
- Save the image somewhere on your computer.
B) Uploading a screenshot
- Go to an image hosting website. (Eg. TinyPic, Photobucket*) In this guide we'll use TinyPic.
- Look for an upload button or section, and choose a file from your computer. On TinyPic, it looks like this. Note that my native language isn't English, therefore it might look a bit different.
- Hit the upload button. TinyPic has a captcha every now and then, which you'll have to complete to continue. Afterwards, pat yourself on the back - you just uploaded an image.
C) Posting a screenshot
Picking up where we left on B~- Look for the given codes to the uploaded image. TinyPic, like most image hosts, provides several. As shown here, the BBCode (1) and the direct link (2) are the most interesting ones for us.
- Think about how you want your image displayed. Would you like to display the image directly on your post, or would you rather link to it?
- Display:
- Copy the BBCode and paste it in your post. Alternatively, you can copy the direct link and place it between the [img][/img] tags, but why go around when the code is already available?
- [url=[i]URLhere[/i]]Screenshot[/url] Copy the code above and place it in your post. Then copy the direct link from the image host and put it in the code (where it says "URLhere"). Optionally, if you'd like to change the link text, go ahead and replace "Screenshot".
And you're done! More info on BBCodes in this Guide. Bonus point to those who recognize my laptop wallpaper in the last screenshot. :3
Quick thanks to...
Niet - For hijacking me at mentioning Lightshot. xD
Methos - For remembering Alt+PrtSc.
kittens - For mentioning Fn(+Alt)+PrtSc.
Starlit Lion - For mentioning how to take a screenshot on a Mac.
boberry2009 - For notifying me that ImageShack is no longer free.
Avatar by me for my personal use only.
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