Capture

	Click on the Options Menu, then click Capture. A dialog opens to allow you to capture portions of your screen. Use the option buttons to capture from your desktop, a window, or a client area (a smaller area inside a window.) The box below the option buttons lets you choose which visible window from which to make the capture. Click one of the windows displayed to select it. Click Start, at the bottom of the dialog, to copy the window to IrfanView. From there you can save it, just like any other image. IrfanView lets you set a delay for capturing screens. This is useful if you want to capture something that isn't yet on the screen, like the result of running a program. If you're making screen prints of program menus (as I did for IrfanView,) this tool is essential. Click the Use automatic capture box to perform this operation. There are some other necessary settings. Enter a value in the box marked: Capture all. The value will be the number of seconds apart the viewer will take "snapshots" of the screen. The default is set at 600, which is ten minutes, to prevent automatically piling up dozens of screen shots until you are ready! Set it for some lower figure; 5 or 10 seconds is fine for most captures. The Save as box lets you choose which image format will be used to store the screens on you disk drive. Click the arrow and select one of the formats to change from the default jpg. To the right of Save as is a button marked Options. Clicking this brings up another dialog box with special options for certain file types. These options are fully explained here. The final setting is Destination directory for images. Type in a directory path, or use the Browse button to find the directory you wish to use. (I always use one that doesn't have anything else in it, so the screen prints are separated from everything else.) Click the Start button. IrfanView will be minimized to the task bar, and the chosen area of the screen will be captured as often as your time setting, say, every five seconds. Perform whatever actions you need to capture, pausing after each, allowing the screen to be captured. When you have all the screens you need, click the IrfanView button on the task bar to bring the viewer back up. Click Options, then Capture, and uncheck the Use Automatic option. This will turn the capture tool off. Click the Cancel button to close the dialog. Another way to close the dialog is to click the X in the upper right corner.
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