Quick Tip: How To Take A Simple Screen Shot

I am posting this because one of my coworkers keeps saying that I need to post this. Before I do, let me give you a little background. I had a user that was getting a strange error when trying to launch a program in Citrix.

Naturally, one of the best ways for diagnosing someone's computer problem is to have them take a screen shot and send it to you. Well, this user couldn't figure out how to take the requested screen shot per se, so she did the next best thing... She whipped out her digital camera and took a picture of her computer screen! Don't believe me? Check it out:



There are third part tools that can take screen shots and pretty them up for you for presentations and what not, but if your systems administrator needs you to take a screen shot, you don't have to get all fancy. For the simple screen shot in windows there are two basic ways of doing it. One is for full screen, and one is for the active windows only. To take a screen shot of the full screen, all you have to do is press CTRL + Print Screen, then open up mspaint, word, email or whatever and paste! Bam! You will have a picture of your entire screen! If you only want to take a screen shot of a single window, click on the windows to make it active, then press ALT + Print Screen.

It is pretty simple people. No need to purchase a digital camera to get the support you need from your systems administrator.

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Take A Screenshot Remotely

Have you ever had a user call you with a computer problem when they have some strange error on their screen? They have no idea what it means, and usually have no idea how to explain it either. That is when a screen shot comes in handy.

The problem with the screen shot is that often times users don't know how to take a screen shot. In my own experience, it can be painful explaining to someone over the phone how to press CTRL (or ALT) + Print Screen, then have them paste it in MSPAINT or MS Word. The biggest issue when I try to tell them how to take a screen shot is when they press CTRL + Print Screen they say, "Nothing happened!"

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just take a screen shot remotely for them? I found a free utility that does just that! It is called Screen Grabber.

Here are a few remarks from their website:

• You must have administrative permissions on the target computer
• Someone must be logged on to the target computer
• Works on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, XP
• Do not use this tool to invade the privacy of others

I prefer to use remote control software to remote in and look at stuff, but sometimes I get busy and a quick screen shot can certainly speed things up.

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