Bonus Lesson: The Snipping Tool

[HuskyNan]

The Snipping Tool is a useful way to take a screen shot, a sort of photograph, of all or part of your screen. One caveat - it is part of Microsoft Windows, so if you're using a Mac, a tablet, or a cell phone, it's not available to you. However, iPhone and iPad users do have the ability to make a screen shot; scroll down this thread. Sorry, I'm not familiar with Samsung or other phones but I'd be shocked if they didn't have this ability. Root around in your phone or do a Google search.

I've been using the Snipping Tool to take the photos I used in the lessons. Sometimes I pasted them here directly, some were pasted to Microsoft Word, where I added the text boxes and arrows. I use the Snipping Tool at work frequently.

So, where do you find the Snipping Tool? Some versions of Windows have the Search tool right on the main screen. At the bottom, left of my screen I have the following icons:

The first icon is Windows Start and the second icon, the magnifying glass, is the Search function. Either can help you find the Snipping Tool.

 

[eebmg]

To add, it is useful to pin the snipping tool to the task bar. When you find the application using the search tool, just right click the selection and it will generate a pull down menu with option to pin to the task bar.

Edit: Here is the link where I snipped the above figure. It may provide some more information.

Adding the Windows10 "Snipping Tool" to your Taskbar

 

[HuskyNan]

Now, if you're somewhat familiar with computers and find the Microsoft help site helpful, here is the "official" help page for the Snipping Tool. If not, keep reading and I'll try to walk you through it. You can always bookmark the help page as a reference.

I click on either the Windows Start or the Search icon and start typing snipping tool. A list comes up that includes the Snipping Tool. Click on that. A pop up box that looks like the below will come up. (Please note that you may not see all options, depending on which version of Windows you have)

 

[Sonny44]

Very useful, thanks guys.

 

[wbbfjlf]

Taking a screen shot on a mac is easy. Full screen shot press command, shift, 3 simultaneously, to take a partial press command, shift 4 then put your cursor in the corner of what you wish to copy and drag the icon over that part of the screen. I would believe an ipad is exactly the same.

To take a screen shot of your iphone press your power button and the round button at the bottom of the phone screen (whatever you call this this button) simultaneously. It will show up in your pics.

 

[HuskyNan]

To take a simple "photo" of what you want, go to the screen from which you'd like to make a snip, then click on New. Please note that once you click on New, you won't be able to go to another website, open a photograph, etc so be sure the thing you want to capture is already on the screen in front of you. THEN click on New. The background on your screen should go greyish and your cursor should turn into a cross shape.

Click on the upper left hand side of whatever it is you're making a snip of and drag the cursor to the bottom right.

 

[HuskyNan]

You have made a snip. You can paste it in a post (use right click, then Paste from the menu), save it (use the icon that looks like a floppy disk), or email it (the letter icon). Please note that our software considers a snip a picture and you can have only one per post.

 

[BRS24]

Not sure if all Macs, but there's an app Grab, that works like this MS tool.

 

[Zorro]

Muchas gracias, Nan; very useful to a duffer!

 

[BigBird]

On an Ipad, once you have taken your screenshot as described above, you can do some nice editing with this app, which is available in the app store. It isn’t as powerful as Photoshop or even Gimp, but it does have the most often needed capabilities, and its interface is rather intuitive. All the pics and graphics I post here have been edited with this app. The image shown below is taken from the app store.