How to change Print Screen button to capture as JPG instead of BMP?

[tinacart]

I've noticed that when I hit my Print Screen button and then paste
what's in my clipboard into an Outlook message, the screenshot ends up
being more than a 1mb in file size.

Seems to me there should be a way to optimize the screenshot image by
default so that when I hit the Print Screen button, it copies it to the
clipboard optimized as a JPG instead.

Is there any way to do this or do I have to rely on a third party
application? Perhaps a registry setting?

Thanks,
Tina

 

[Mike Williams]

I've noticed that when I hit my Print Screen button and then paste
what's in my clipboard into an Outlook message, the screenshot ends up
being more than a 1mb in file size.

Seems to me there should be a way to optimize the screenshot image by
default so that when I hit the Print Screen button, it copies it to the
clipboard optimized as a JPG instead.

Is there any way to do this or do I have to rely on a third party
application? Perhaps a registry setting?

Programs take the format off the clipboard that loses the least amount
of information, or the most that they can utilise.

Paste it into graphic program e.g. Paint, and save it as a JPG.

 

[Anando [MS-MVP]]

Hello,

After hitting print-screen, paste the image in Microsoft Paint and save it as a JPEG. Once it is
saved as a JPEG, you can paste it into whichever application you wish to. By default you cannot
paste a print screen as a JPEG. The screenshot is taken as a bitmap by windows, which is
uncompressed until you save it using JPEG compression.

--

Anando
Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
http://www.mvps.org


Folder customizations
http://newdelhi.sancharnet.in/minku

Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[tinacart]

Right. I understand I can paste the clipboard into a third party
application. What I want to do, however, is set up Windows so that
when I hit the print screen button, the image saved to the clipboard is
already in the proper format (JPG or GIF, for example). Right now, it
appears to store it at the highest possible resolution.

I'm basically trying to avoid pasting the clipboard into another app
like Paint and saving the image as a JPG. Instead, I'd like the pasted
image to already be optimized as a JPG.

 

[tinacart]

Sorry, submitted this message too soon.

I forgot to add that someone I know is able to hit her Print Screen
button and when she pastes it directly into Outlook, it's already
optimized as a JPG. It's pretty obvious because when she sent the file
to me, it was about 200k vs. the 1MB size it would be had I used my
print screen.

I walked over to her desk and did the exact same steps. Somehow, her
machine (which runs Windows 2000, just like mine), is optimized to copy
to the clipboard at a smaller filesize. That's why I feel this must be
some sort of registry setting.

She has no idea if she'd had installed any software that may be doing
this but it didn't appear so. As far as I can tell, we have the same
basic workstations.

 

[Mike Williams]

Right. I understand I can paste the clipboard into a third party
application. What I want to do, however, is set up Windows so that
when I hit the print screen button, the image saved to the clipboard is
already in the proper format (JPG or GIF, for example). Right now, it
appears to store it at the highest possible resolution.

I'm basically trying to avoid pasting the clipboard into another app
like Paint and saving the image as a JPG. Instead, I'd like the pasted
image to already be optimized as a JPG.

You'd have to find a third-party utility to monitor and edit the
clipboard for you.

While JPG is optimized for size, it's lossy and so therefore not a
desirable default format.

The clipboard is actually quite a complex beast. There may be some hope
of what you want coming in Vista, which has a "Snipping Tool", but I
don't know of any way to make Windows do what you want unaided.

 

[- Bobb -]

The answer = Printkey.exe Use google to find it - freeware
I use it at least 5 times a day since Win98 (using XP Pro these days)

When you run it you can define your " print screen " key. (Options- define Hotkey)
Can also save part of the screen ( crosshairs - form a box) and can save as jpg,gif,bmp etc
My default save is gif. I put it in startup so always in my systray
Most useful app ever.

 

[Ydo]

Sorry, submitted this message too soon.

I forgot to add that someone I know is able to hit her Print Screen
button and when she pastes it directly into Outlook, it's already
optimized as a JPG. It's pretty obvious because when she sent the file
to me, it was about 200k vs. the 1MB size it would be had I used my
print screen.

I walked over to her desk and did the exact same steps. Somehow, her
machine (which runs Windows 2000, just like mine), is optimized to copy
to the clipboard at a smaller filesize. That's why I feel this must be
some sort of registry setting.

She has no idea if she'd had installed any software that may be doing
this but it didn't appear so. As far as I can tell, we have the same
basic workstations.

If you're using Outlook, make sure the Mail Format is HTML. If you're sending a Rich Text email it will not be compressed.