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Improve screenshot function

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Gamer01

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Mar 15, 2021
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Hey guys.
Can you make a better screenshot function? The currently look like a kid pushed the print screen button and pasted in to paint and cut out.
I mean you see the backgound at right and left sideways and bottom. And why saved in GIF ? Should save in jpg form. This is the most common type.

Sorry for my bad english.
 
JPG has bad compression artifacts, PNG is too big.

The size of the screenshot is the actual window bounds, Windows 10 just hacks them to give you a nice look.

1apgjk9lvk.jpg

This is what seems to be needed to get the actual bounds
 
Suggestion -- be able to specify screenshots file/image type, choosing between GIF and PNG. :) (Any why not -- TIFF and BMP options too?)
JPG not useful as you noted, too blurred/mangled fonts it often creates.
IF there is no space in current Settings, General tab for this new choice, then move things around a bit - add 1-2 more tabs to Settings screen. :)
 
W1zzard said:
JPG has bad compression artifacts, PNG is too big.

The size of the screenshot is the actual window bounds, Windows 10 just hacks them to give you a nice look.

1apgjk9lvk.jpg

This is what seems to be needed to get the actual bounds
Click to expand...
8-bit PNG should be good enough and is higher quality than GIF, while being smaller.

As for the screenshots, is there a way to emulate Alt+Prt Scr, as that would give you just the active window and not backgrounds etc.
Like so.

1615895950506.png
 
TheLostSwede said:
8-bit PNG should be good enough and is higher quality than GIF.
Click to expand...
Both are lossless, both are 8-bit, they are the same, unless you use a different color quantizing algorithm
 
W1zzard said:
Both are lossless, both are 8-bit, they are the same, unless you use a different color quantizing algorithm
Click to expand...
Seems like the PNG is smaller too me, although I guess it could have something to do with it not having the desktop frame.
I would also say it looks better, it has no distortion behind the Nvidia logo for example.
Your call boss, you're the developer, just throwing out some ideas. I know how to take screenshots manually, so I have never used the built in feature.
 

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Question -- how about HEIC format? Does it blur/mangle fonts same way JPG does, or is it (slightly?) better? :)
 
Naki said:
Question -- how about HEIC format? Does it blur/mangle fonts same way JPG does, or is it (slightly?) better? :)
Click to expand...
We want people to be able to look at their screenshots? Nothing supports HEIC. Windows XP support?

TheLostSwede said:
I would also say it looks better, it has no distortion behind the Nvidia logo for example.
Click to expand...
Pick a better color quantizer for the GIF, I attached an example GIF based on your PNG. But yeah, looks like there's some small space savings from going PNG-8
 

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  • aldf3oct.gif
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    34.9 KB · Views: 105
* It works on Windows 10 with a small plugin available in Windows Store (for free). Thus it should likely work on Windows 8/8.1 too as they have the Windows Store too, but I did not check.
The free Irfanview image viewer will easily show HEIC images, I assume on WinXP too (and Windows Vista and 7):

IrfanView - Official Homepage - One of the Most Popular Viewers Worldwide

IrfanView ... one of the most popular viewers worldwide.
www.irfanview.com www.irfanview.com

* IF you add a choice to choose between GIF, PNG and HEIC for screenshots to Settings, then those that cannot use that will simply choose one of the other options. :)
 
Last edited:
I am fine with what we have. HEIC needs plugins and a microsoft account to get the free extension, basically, a bit of a hassle. But whatever :)
 
No, Windows Store works even without logging into any account, at least for free downloads:
www.digitalcitizen.life

How to use the Microsoft Store in Windows without a Microsoft account

Back when Windows 10 was released, Microsoft used to force users to sign into their Microsoft accounts before they could download and install apps and games from the Microsoft Store. Luckily, that is a thing of the past. Do you want to download apps from Microsoft Store without an account? Read...
www.digitalcitizen.life www.digitalcitizen.life

Also, Irfanview works without needing the Store. :)
 
Naki said:
No, Windows Store works even without logging into any account, at least for free downloads:
www.digitalcitizen.life

How to use the Microsoft Store in Windows without a Microsoft account

Back when Windows 10 was released, Microsoft used to force users to sign into their Microsoft accounts before they could download and install apps and games from the Microsoft Store. Luckily, that is a thing of the past. Do you want to download apps from Microsoft Store without an account? Read...
www.digitalcitizen.life www.digitalcitizen.life

Also, Irfanview works without needing the Store. :)
Click to expand...
No one with a sane mind uses the microsoft store. No one will use that file type so adding it as an option will be a waste of resources.
 
I use Windows Store all the time to get easy & seamless app updates in one place, without having to update those app versions separately from inside each app.
Not many of my apps there, but some vital ones I use a lot for work & personal use are -- iTunes, Slack, Evernote, MS OneDrive, Spotify, Facebook Messenger, Telegram Desktop, for example.
(Some great free & paid PC games are only there too, as well as apps I use rarely -- Cinebench, CrystalDiskInfo... )

Okay, just add PNG, BMP, TIFF/etc lossless file types options then. :)
 
Last edited:
The JPG format is the best i think. The quality is not the most important this is not a nature picture. If a bit blurry peoples don't care.
And you can change the compression of the JPG format, if you get a 100kb jpg file, who cares? Daily computers have lot of space, so this doesn't matter.
 
Gamer01 said:
The JPG format is the best i think. The quality is not the most important this is not a nature picture. If a bit blurry peoples don't care.
And you can change the compression of the JPG format, if you get a 100kb jpg file, who cares? Daily computers have lot of space, so this doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Some people just don't like the low quality of jpegs. Just because you have your opinion doesn't mean you can speak for everyone. It would be preferred to have the option for different file types, but that is the choice of the one having to code it all.
 
Gamer01 said:
The JPG format is the best i think. The quality is not the most important this is not a nature picture. If a bit blurry peoples don't care.
And you can change the compression of the JPG format, if you get a 100kb jpg file, who cares? Daily computers have lot of space, so this doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
JPG is lossy where GIF and PNG are lossless. The only reason it looks bad at all is the 8bit side of it.

I'd prefer lossless for computer graphics. Plus it'll likely compress better anyways. JPG is meant for gradients, which computers don't use in GUIs.
 
+1 for built-in file type selection.
Edit: It seems the screenshot isn't captured precisely, at least for me.
 

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  • test.gif
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    27.9 KB · Views: 105
Who said anything about floppies?

He's hosting all these images, so file size is a valid concern for w1zzard
 
just use snipping tool, that's what i do but yeah the inbuilt ss feature is mediocre at best as it shows weird edges and only supports gif, i mean it's not in motion and just a normal photo so that format doesn't make any sense
 
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