What is Screen Catcher?

Screen Catcher is an application that allows you to capture an image from all or part of your Macintosh screen.  Images can be saved as PICT, GIF, or JPEG files.  Because Screen Catcher is an application, you only use memory to run it when you need to.  The optional Screen Catcher Extension can automatically launch Screen Catcher when you use a hotkey, so it's still right at your fingertips.

Screen Catcher's automatic file naming, color remapping, and adjustable selection capabilities make it ideal for many applications, including:

Producing software documentation.  Screen Catcher can automatically convert each screen snapshot to grayscale, then save it to a folder of your choosing in your preferred file format.

Capturing images for a website.  Use screen catcher to capture an image, convert it to the standard 216 color palette used by Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, and save it to a GIF or JPEG file.  Screen Catcher can even copy the URL of the image, including size information, to the clipboard for pasting into your HTML editor.

Generating frame-by-frame animations.  There are a number of utilities that compile images into GIF animations or QuickTime movies, and each has its own requirements for naming files in a particular way.  Screen Catcher's flexible automatic file naming takes the headache out of this process by allowing you to specify a prefix and suffix, and generating numbers that sort correctly.


Features

Screen Catcher allows you to:

 • Precisely select an area before capturing an image
 • Capture pulled down menus (with the Screen Catcher Extension)
 • Capture the cursor on most Macintoshes
 • Convert images to the standard 216-color web browser palette,
   Microsoft Windows (R) palette, Macintosh color or grayscale
   palettes, or an optimally chosen color palette
 • Read and write progressive JPEG files
 • Read and write GIF files with interlacing and transparency
 • Reduce or change color palettes automatically
 • Automatically name and save image files to any folder
 • Copy and paste, drag and drop, and undo operations
 • Generate URLs for images, including WIDTH and HEIGHT tags


Requirements

Screen Catcher requires System 7 or later and a color-capable Macintosh.  It runs natively on both 68K and PowerPC Macintoshes, and requires a minimum of 450K of memory.

The Screen Catcher Extension is optional, and uses 18K of memory when loaded.  It enables Screen Catcher to capture images of pulled down menus, and will automatically launch Screen Catcher when one of its hotkeys is pressed.