Screenshot
Definition
The term screenshot usually describes an image taken of a user's graphical environment, or desktop. A screenshot can be either of the entire desktop with everything on it, or it can be of just a single open window. It is also possible to get "screenshots" of non-graphical output, such things as a computer's power on self test messages and/or BIOS interface can be grabbed.
Quick How To
One Screenshot
Gnome: hit the Print Screen key on the keyboard.
A dialog will pop up asking you where to save and which file format you'd like it in.
KDE: hit the Print Screen key on the keyboard.
A dialog will pop up asking you where to save and which file format you'd like it in.
Multiple Screenshots or Video
Xvidcap: Run gvidcap (which comes with xvidcap) because it's better maintained.
Import Tools
If there are no pre-established mechanisms, use
xwd > out.xwd
- the 'import' utility that is part of the ImageMagick collection that ships on most or all distros:
A simple command:
import -window root picname.ext
will suffice -- where you substitute ext by the filename extension. The choice of extension determines which format the image is saved in. png is a good choice.
To just grab a single client window, something like
import -frame picname.ext
will do.
To use the mouse to choose which window to capture, use the command:
import picname.ext
The cursor will change to a '+'. You can then click on the window which has the image you want to capture.
There are many options -- see the import manual for full details. One particularly helpful one is "-pause n". For something a little more convenient, you can write a little script.