How can I do a screen-snip of a screen with a drop-down list?

[Latchfordian]

Most reference books contain screen-snips of screens with drop-down lists. How do they do that? Whenever I bring up a drop-down list and click on the Windows Snipping Tool, the list disappears! Try clicking on the File menu in your browser and then the Snipping Tool and you'll see what I mean. I need to do this sort of thing for a user guide I am writing so does anyone know a way around the problem?

[Jomot]

Someone may have a better suggestion, but I use Print Screen and then drop it into another program such as word or paint, and then snip from there.

[Berlin-Bob]

I usually have several open windows on my dektop so I click in the window I want to save and then press Alt-PrintScreen.  This puts the screen-shot of this window in tempory storage (like Ctrl.-C for texts)

I can then open Paint, or IrfanView or any other graphics program and 'drop' the screen-shot into it with Ctrl-V.

However this doesnt work if I have a drop-down menu. Then I have to press "PrintScreen" (without 'Alt') and the whole monitor screen is captured, including the drop-down menu, or any tool-tips, shown on mouse-hover.

Drop it into your favourite graphics program and trim out the bits you don't need.
(IrfanView is good for this, see first entry in this topic:
Topic: Adding images to Posting & Profiles
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,130922.0.html
1) Resizing and cropping your image file: )

Bob

[Erato]

Use the Windows Snipper Tool  which can be found in the Accessories folder. 

[bob1066]

I don't know the capabilities of the software you are using to take a screenshot, but if it's similar to the Linux Screenshot accessory I do it like this:

(1) Have the window I want to take the shot of open and ready.

(2) Open the Screenshot program.

(3) I get to select "Grab the whole screen", "Grab the current window" or "Select area to grab". Normally the last option is what I want.

(4) I also get the option "Grab after a delay of ... seconds", so I can select say 10 seconds.

(5) Click on "take screenshot".

If I chose "select area to grab", nothing happens until I have used the cursor to select the area. It then waits however many seconds I have specified before taking the shot; this will give you time to prepare the area for the shot, for example by opening drop-down menus.

Hope this helps.

[Latchfordian]

Thanks Jomot and Berlin-Bob as your PrtScreen tip certainly works. Thanks also to bob1066 for mentioning the Linux delay option because I now see that the Windows 10 Snipping Tool also has a delay option and having tried it it does do the trick, once you work out how to use it. Surprisingly the Snipping Tool help doesn't mention the delay option but having looked at that help file I see that it does in fact tell you how to "Capture a snip of a menu" using Ctrl+PrtScreen. Problem solved!

Thanks everyone for your help. I knew I could rely on RootsChat!

[LizzieW]

I always use the Snipping Tool.  It's so easy, click on the icon, click on new and then highlight what you want to screen snip.  I then usually post to a Word Document, although you can just click on the screen snip and save it as a jpg. See below.  By the way I've never used the Delay, I have no idea what it's for.

[bob1066]

By the way I've never used the Delay, I have no idea what it's for.

I think the purpose of the Delay feature is for situations such as what the OP was asking about. How do you take a shot of a screen with drop down menus? As soon as you move the cursor away to invoke your screenshot program, the menus disappear. Answer: a delay function, so you can bring the menus back again before the shot actually gets taken, in much the same way as you might use a delayed shutter button on a camera so that you, the photographer, can position yourself as part of the family snapshot.

[LizzieW]

I can't seem to get that to work, but then I've never needed that option.