# Screencaps
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 30, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810 "2003-07-30T02:20:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/1 "2003-07-30T02:20:00Z")
If I were to want to take a picture of something on my computer, such as my browser window, how would I do so?(I mean internally, not taking a polaroid pf the computer screen ;))
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/2 "2003-07-30T04:13:30Z")
Just hit Print Screen. Yep, it’s that simple 🙂
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### Author:  [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/3 "2003-07-30T04:15:39Z")
Assuming you’re using Bill’s OS on standard PC hardware (and aren’t using a Mac, \*nix, or an HP B1000 with PA8500 processor)… hit that there “Print Scrn/SysRq” key, open MSPaint, and paste.
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### Author:  [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/4 "2003-07-30T04:44:10Z")
ALT-Print screen will copy the currently active window to the clipboard, for pasting into whichever program you want (Word, Paint, etc.)
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### Author:  [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/5 "2003-07-30T04:44:13Z")
The Print Screen key will copy the entire image that’s on the screen to the clipboard. Alt+Print Screen will copy the current window to the clipboard. Then just paste it into your favorite paint program.
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### Author:  [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/6 "2003-07-30T04:46:16Z")
…and **DarrenS** got his post in just before mine…
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### Author:  [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/7 "2003-07-30T16:37:40Z")
I’d like to add one small caveat: PrintScreen doesn’t always work the way one might expect it to work. For example, if you try to capture a frame from a DVD all it will copy is a black window. Someone once explained why PS doesn’t capture from a DVD but I don’t remember what the reason for it was. It may have had something to do with the video card’s memory not being used for the DVD image or something like that.
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### Author:  [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/8 "2003-07-30T16:45:54Z")
My understanding is print screen copies whatever is currently in RAM, maybe the DVD video is stored on the card?
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### Author:  [@DoubleJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoubleJ)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/9 "2003-07-30T19:15:53Z")
I’d heard something similar, but a little different – Print Screen has to ask the window manager what to copy, but since DVD/WMP/Quicktime/etc send info out through DirectX the window manager “doesn’t know” about that information.
Of course, I could be completely wrong, too.
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/10 "2003-07-30T23:39:13Z")
And if you’re using a Mac, it’s Command-Shift-3. You’ll hear a camera shutter sound. The resulting image file should appear somewhere on your hard drive or desktop and be called Picture 1.
BTW, this method also does not capture DVD frames.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/11 "2003-07-31T01:46:25Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by AudreyK \*
> **And if you’re using a Mac …the resulting image file should appear somewhere on your hard drive or desktop and be called Picture 1.**
Or “Picture 2” or “Picture 3”…
Before OS X, it appeared on the top level of your startup drive, as a Teach/SimpleText PICT. In OS X, it shows up on the desktop- as a PDF for some damn reason.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screencaps/191810/12 "2003-07-31T01:56:51Z")
If you want a DVD frame, your DVD player may have something built-in to do the job. I use InterWin Video DVD, and “P” does a frame capture. Your help file should say.