Copyright 2006
Minutes Matter
All Rights Reserved
A software that can capture selected images and text is invaluable. Wouldn't it be great to copy a paragraph, an article or segment of a website and be able to store it on your computer in an organized fashion? Many websites are built on a flash platform which do not allow you to use the copy and paste feature. You could use your Print Screen button on your keyboard, however, using this technique captures the entire screen. Most of the time only a segment of the screen is needed. The solution is to use a screen capturing software. I have two recommendations; one is free and the other is not.
Snippy is free software, all you have to do is click on the link to download the program. There are a few things you need to do after you download to be able to access Snippy fast. First, as you are downloading the program, save it to your DESKTOP. Then, after the Scissor icon is placed on your Desktop, press your CTRL key and drag the icon to the Taskbar. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are examples of Snippy captures. Anytime you want to capture an image or text, click the scissor icon and a pop-up window will appear telling you to click the scissor icon in the Startup bar (Fig. 3.) Click the scissor icon and your cursor will change to a marker, then just draw around the section with the marker (Fig.1) or press the CTRL key and select a section for a more controlled capture (Fig. 2). Figure 3 shows the Startup menu bar with the Snippy icon. After a capture, the image is stored on your Windows clipboard. To access your capture, open Microsoft Word or Microsoft Paint and press CTRL V (paste) or right click and choose Paste and the capture is placed on the page. (Note: Snippy only works with a few Microsoft programs.)
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Fig. 1 - Free Hand Capture |
Fig. 2 - Rectangle Capture |
Fig. 3 - Startup Menu |
SnagIt is another screen capturing software, available for purchase on their website. SnagIt offers more features like the ability to crop, annotate, add borders and other special effects. Another benefit with SnagIt is that you do not need to open another program to paste the capture. The capture is contained within the program. A free trial for SnagIt is available.
Example of a Capture from SnagIt
In our office, we use Microsoft OneNote to file/store captures and copied text. OneNote is organized by tabs, you simply create as many different tabs as you need. It works like an electronic filing cabinet. OneNote has a free 60-day trial. My OneNote includes tabs such as Marketing, Computers, Organization, Software Notes, Health, Recipes, etc.
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