Capturing Snapshots of Web Page Elements

[Andy]

Recently I created a folder on my PC  to store clippings of parts of web pages that I liked the design of for future reference and inspiration. I use Paint Shop pro where all I do is click on an icon and the application minimizes. Then, when I want to grab a section of a web page I can right click my mouse to get a rubber band selection rectangle to select and grab an image of what I want into my paint program and I save it to disk for future reference.

Can this be done with other popular paint programs. If so, how?

Please don't state the basics like press the print screen button.

[donecweb]

I use the Firefox extension scrapbook to accomplish the same thing and I also use Ksnapshot which comes with SimplyMEPIS Linux to capture screens and pert of screens.

[Menard]

I use FastStone's Capture, a program (Windows) specifically for screen captures.

It has a variety of options for screen captures and includes a close-up viewer that allows you to select the capture area down to the pixel.

Here are some of their products: http://www.faststone.org/index.htm

Oh...darn; the Capture program is now shareware...not freeware anymore.

It would be cool if someone had the previous freeware version available for download.

http://trafficclose.com/downloads/graphics/FSCaptureSetup.exe 


They also, some time ago, had a pretty cool web browser (IE based) available for free. Too bad it has disappeared from their site.

http://trafficclose.com/downloads/internet/fsbrowser21setup.exe 

[donecweb]

I use FastStone's Capture, a program (Windows) specifically for screen captures.

It would be cool if someone had the previous freeware version available for download.

I have a copy of the free for home users version 5.3. I have not added to my site but I have it on a list to do so.

[Menard]

I have a copy of the free for home users version 5.3. I have not added to my site but I have it on a list to do so.

I was being facetious when I said that, as I provided a download link; but I believe your's is much more recent than mine. I think the last time I downloaded the program was almost a year ago.

[donecweb]

I was being facetious when I said that, as I provided a download link; but I believe your's is much more recent than mine. I think the last time I downloaded the program was almost a year ago.

Mine is the portable version no install just unzip and run. The version you linked to would not run under wine in Linux but the portable does.

[Menard]

Mine is the portable version no install just unzip and run. The version you linked to would not run under wine in Linux but the portable does.

Cool

I like portable apps.

[Andy]

I use the Firefox extension scrapbook to accomplish the same thing

Not the same thing. That seems to capture the actual page code.

I capture images of page sections so I can easily view them in a browse of my scrap book directory.

[donecweb]

Not the same thing. That seems to capture the actual page code.

Yes it captures the page or selection as it is seen in the page.

I capture images of page sections so I can easily view them in a browse of my scrap book directory.

What is the difference in capturing the image and saving the image with save as?

[Andy]

What is the difference in capturing the image and saving the image with save as?

You are twisting my words again, I don't save the image that is part of the web page, I "rubber band " select what I see on a web page and my software saves this selection as an image.

[donecweb]

You are twisting my words again, I don't save the image that is part of the web page, I "rubber band " select what I see on a web page and my software saves this selection as an image.

I'm not familiar with the rubber band term used in this manner but from what you say it sounds as though you select a section of the web page and create an image of it. Yes? If so I don't see the advantage of this over capturing the code. By capturing the code you can copy and paste the text and or images into other programs easily.

I mentioned FastStone Capture 5.3 on another forum and they ask me to make it available for download and so I have added it to my site....
http://bestwebstop.dbws.info/programs3.php
It should be noted that it works in Win 98/NT/ME/2000/XP/Vista and Linux using Wine very well. It is one of the best free capture programs I have ever seen with the ability to select many different types of capture and many extra features including it's own editor.

[Queen Bee]

I do that myself, but I take the slow route (yep, the good ol' print screen button). Still, it is much more convenient and reliable than bookmarking. I have noticed that many sites "go down" rather quickly, even the ones that appear to be very well designed. It is good to have screenshots for reference.

Also, I do not see this function available in Photoshop CS2. If it is, it's hard to find.

[donecweb]

I do that myself, but I take the slow route (yep, the good ol' print screen button). Still, it is much more convenient and reliable than bookmarking. I have noticed that many sites "go down" rather quickly, even the ones that appear to be very well designed. It is good to have screenshots for reference.

Also, I do not see this function available in Photoshop CS2. If it is, it's hard to find.

The scrapbook extension does not bookmark the site because the info added to the scrapbook is available even when not connected. I guess it is more like saving a page but since it also works with selections then it just saves the code needed to show that section properly.

[Andy]

I guess the mistake I made when starting this thread was to mention "web page elements" in my subject line 

What I should have said was "parts of the browser viewing area".

The idea is to quickly grab an image of a section of the web page you are viewing and save it to a folder. Then, later you can view your clippings in your paint program as a gallery and quickly open them up next to the image you are working on to get ideas for color schemes and ways to design graphical elements. For example, you might see a cool button or icon that you like and want to keep a snapshot of it.

[donecweb]

Then, later you can view your clippings in your paint program as a gallery and quickly open them up next to the image you are working on to get ideas for color schemes and ways to design graphical elements. For example, you might see a cool button or icon that you like and want to keep a snapshot of it.

With that in mind then using scrapbook would entail extra steps. I would suggest the handy portable FastStone Capture version 5.3 program. It is small and is quick to load. The editor it comes with would allow you to mark areas of the image for highlighting and more. Also you can set it to automatically save the image to your desired folder. It saves the captures as png, jpg, bmp, tif, gif or pdf.

[Andy]

Oh dear! Never-ending thread 

p.s. I also want to capture multiple image sections at the same time and save individual colors to a custom palette for later use in other applications cross platform.

Also, I would like the software to suggest more appropriate selections based on color balance across my spectrum of selections and even automagicaly select/suggest all the most similar areas of the image with a suggestivity power bar to slide up and down and even to remember my prior history in my decision making to fine tune it to my likely preferred way of working.

[donecweb]

Oh dear! Never-ending thread 

p.s. I also want to capture multiple image sections at the same time and save individual colors to a custom palette for later use in other applications cross platform.

Also, I would like the software to suggest more appropriate selections based on color balance across my spectrum of selections and even automagicaly select/suggest all the most similar areas of the image with a suggestivity power bar to slide up and down and even to remember my prior history in my decision making to fine tune it to my likely preferred way of working.

Now you are talking about more than capturing anything that psp can do by far. I doubt there is even at high expense a program that will do what you want. I can't even imagine what you would do with such a program if you could find one. Maybe you could write such a program but if you did would there be much demand for it?

[SensoVision]

I sometimes save interesting design conceptions to review them later, but just as Rachel use print screen to make screenshot of whole page. Guess I need to sort out these screenshots some day as right now they could be found everywhere.

[donecweb]

Guess I need to sort out these screenshots some day as right now they could be found everywhere.

That's one of the nice things about FastStone Capture once you select a folder for saving you capture it remembers that setting and saves them there unless you select save as and select a different folder.

Ksnapshot comes with Mepis but when you change the folder in some other process then the folder in it also changes and you have to browse to where you want the capture to go causing the images to be kind of scattered around.

[SensoVision]

That's one of the nice things about FastStone Capture once you select a folder for saving you capture it remembers that setting and saves them there unless you select save as and select a different folder.

Actually Gnome have this feature built in, when you click Print Screen you god dialog with preview of screenshot where can select path and name of file and it's extension which also determine format of resulting image.

[donecweb]

Actually Gnome have this feature built in, when you click Print Screen you god dialog with preview of screenshot where can select path and name of file and it's extension which also determine format of resulting image.

Ksnapshot has the option to select the path. However, doesn't always remember the path and you may have to reselect the path. Is this true for the Gnome screen capture utility?

[SensoVision]

it's remember last path and I doesn't spot that it ever change it without request(at least I don't remember).
But I never reboot my machine so maybe after reboot this could happen.

[donecweb]

it's remember last path and I doesn't spot that it ever change it without request(at least I don't remember).
But I never reboot my machine so maybe after reboot this could happen.

I was kind of thinking that it could be tied to the Konqueror last visited folder but it doesn't seem to be.