FAQ: How to Post a Screenshot

[Andreas Raht]

PC (Win XP)
1. With the error or screen you wish to capture displayed on your screen, press one of the following:
-Alt + Print Screen to capture only the active window
-Print Screen to capture your full computer screen

2. Select Start > Programs > Accessories > Paint. The Paint application opens.

3. Press Ctrl + V to paste the screenshot into Paint. If you receive a message that says: "The image in the clipboard is larger than the bitmap. Would you like the bitmap enlarged?" click Yes.

4. Select Image > Attributes.

4. Select File > Save As. The Save As dialog opens.

5. In the Save in field, select a location to save the file, such as your Desktop.

6. In the File name field, type in a name for the image.

7. In the Save as type field, select .jpg.

8. Click Save.

9. Create a new post on the forums. At the bottom of your post, click the Manage Attachments button.

10. Browse to find your newly-created jpg, then click Upload, and then close.

11. Repeat, if necessary, and Submit your thread. It should have your new picture!

It's possible the JPG will still be too large. JPG images must be less than 200 KB in size to upload to the forums. If it's still too big, contact a moderator or other forum member with a web server who you can e-mail the file to, so that they can post it!

Win 2000
Just FYI, those PC instructions are not quite correct for at least Windows 2000. The Paint on 2000 doesn't support saving as any image but .bmp, which is too large for the forums.

In 2000, you must save it as a .bmp, then open up Imaging (same start folder as Paint), load the .bmp file and save it as a .jpg.

Also, if the screenshot is too large, Paint allows you to crop the shot to get it down to size... use the selector tool (top right button) to crop the image, copy it, and paste it as a new image.

(Thanks to battists for this text!)