Taking screenshots in Windows Media Center · 22. September 2006, 16:52 by Stuart Mudie
Over the last few days, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time taking screenshots of various aspects of Windows Media Center for inclusion in our book.
I say “a considerable amount of time” not because I’ve included hundreds of screenshots, but because it took me a very long time to get the handful I did include to work. The “Print Screen” button didn’t work. Even SnagIt didn’t work. All I could ever get was a black screen where my content should be.
Research on the web (including this tip on taking screenshots in Windows Media Player) led me to conclude that it probably had something to do with “overlays”, which basically means taking one image (the video output) and sticking another one on top (the on-screen controls).
But even if I’d identified the problem, I still couldn’t find a way to fix it.
And then my esteemed co-author Mr Torres hit upon an idea. Why not reduce the size of the Windows Media Center window and take a screenshot of the entire desktop?
It worked! Don’t ask me why (surely the overlays were still there), but it worked.
In any case, thanks Derek.
I had similar concerns when wanting to take shots of the login page – the Snag-it timer took a break when I used the Switch User feature.
— Derek 28 September 2006, 22:57 #