Having screenshots from specific windows, web pages, movie scenes, etc. is a good idea when you want to stress the importance of a particular visual material. This blog post will guide you through different methods of taking screenshots on both Windows and Mac machines.

Let us begin with taking a screenshot off the entire screen of a Windows machine

Step 1) Prepare your screen. Organize the visual items in the manner you wish them to be captured.

Step 2) On your keyboard, find the button titled "Print Screen" and press it.

If you are using a standard Windows keyboard, please see the location of the button on the picture below:

If you are using a Mac keyboard, while running Windows on your machine, please see the location of the button (F14) on the picture below: 

Now, there are two ways to proceed to the next step. All Trinity College Windows platforms have "PrintKey 2000" installed. This is an easy to work with software solution that would enable you to take screenshots. If you, however, do not have a copy of this program, there is a different way through which you can save your screenshots.

In steps 3a and 4a, "PrintKey 2000" will be used. In steps 3b and 4b, a different, universal method will be used.

Step 3a) A "PrintKey 2000" program launches on your computer. It has taken the screenshot.
Step 4a) Proceed to saving the screenshot. Click on the "Save" button, located at the top left side of the program.

Would you like to take a screenshot of a certain area on your screen only?

Once you have clicked on the "Print Screen" button and the "PrintKey 2000" program has launched, you may select the "Rectangular" tool from the menu in the top of the PrintKey 2000 program.
When you have clicked on the "Rectangular" tool, with your mouse, you can draw a rectangle around the area you wish to take a screenshot of.

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Step 3b) Open MS Paint.
Step 4b) Go to Edit>Paste. You screenshot appears on the white sheet. You can save the screenshot from File>Save.

Let us have a look at taking screenshots on a Mac platform

There are four different ways of taking screenshots on Mac machines. Three of the ways require use of keyboard combinations, and one of the ways lets you use a software product.

Combination 1) Command-Shift-3

When you click on Command, then Shift, and then 3, a screenshot of your entire screen is taken. This means that you need to have your visual items arranged prior to selecting the combination.

Combination 2) Command-Shift-4

When you click on Command, then Shift, and then 4, you can draw a rectangle, with your mouse, around the area you wish to take a screenshot of. 

Combination 3) Command-Shift-4-Space

When you click on Command, then Shift, then 4, and then Space, your mouse cursor turns into a camera. You can click with the camera on a specific window that you want the screenshot of.

*All screenshots taken with keyboard combinations are automatically saved to your Desktop.

Taking screenshots with Grab on Mac

Step 1) Start "Grab". You can find the program in your "Applications" folder.
Step 2) Go to the "Capture" menu of Grab, at the top of the screen. 

a) "Selection" gives you the opportunity to select an area of your screen
b) "Window" lets you take a screenshot of a particular window on your screen
c) "Screen" gives you the ability to take a screenshot of your entire screen
d) "Timed Screen" lets you take a screenshot with a 10-second time delay. This option is perfect for use when you need to move or select an object right before the screenshot is taken.

Once you have taken the screenshot, it will appear on your screen. To save it, go to Grab: File>Save

When you insert a CD and it launches automatically, this saves you time. As time is important during lectures, the autorun feature on Windows OS could help you achieve more efficiency in your classes. This article will help you start movies (.mpeg, .mov, etc.) or presentations (.ppt, .pdf, etc.) with just the insertion of the CD in the CD-ROM drive.

In order to make autorun more simple and eliminate the risk of encountering errors with the CD, we will use a freeware program, called AutorunPro. You may download it from the official website.

Step 1: Unzip AutorunPro and extract the files to a location at your preference.

Step 2: Open the folder at which you have extracted AutorunPro.

Step 3: Open the file "autorun" by double-clicking on it.

Step 4: You will need to edit the text of the autorun file, so that it knows which file to open later on (this file being your video, your presentation, etc.)

Step 5: In the second paragraph, after "Run1="  you have to insert the name and the extension of your file. The line should look like: Run1=YOUR_FILE.EXTENSION

For example, if you would like to autorun a movie file called HarryPotter, you will write: Run1=HarryPotter.mov

If you would like to autorun a PowerPoint presentation called Chemistry1, you will write: Run1=Chemistry1.ppt

Step 6: Save the autorun file (File>Save).

Step 7: Copy and paste the autorun file and the AutorunPro application from the folder you have saved them, to the CD you are about to burn.

Step 8: Select the file that you want to burn and drag it onto the CD. 

IMPORTANT: Make sure that before you burn the CD, you have placed on the CD the three crucial files for autorun: the autorun script that you adjusted, the AutorunPro file, and the file that you want to burn.

You can now burn the CD using the built-in Windows burning software or Nero. To learn more about Nero, please see the Nero article by clicking HERE. Enjoy your autorunning CD and save time!

This blog post is an extension to Andres' blog post that explains how to save MS Office documents in PDF. Here you will find out how to save anything that you see on your screen as a PDF file without too much hassle!

If you wonder what a PDF file is and what is good about it, I would encourage you to take a look at Andres' post, titled "PDF Files".

1) Obtain a free copy of PrimoPDF from: http://www.primopdf.com/index.aspx
2) Install the product on your machine.
The next few steps will guide you on using the software. PrimoPDF allows anything that you see on your computer screen, and has the option of being printed, to be saved as a PDF File. All you need to do is go to File>Print.
3) Go to File>Print. Select for printer name PrimoPDF and then click OK.

4) A new window will open - PrimoPDF program. Click on the "Create PDF" button. It will then ask you where you would like to save the PDF File. Give the location and enjoy your newly created PDF file.

The only problem that you may encounter with PrimoPDF is that sometimes it does not convert images in a high resolution. If you have questions on how to save particular files in PDF and none of the suggestions on the Blog work for you, please contact the STA office for further assistance.

For beginners, it is important to note that the alpha-numeric keys are in the same location as a regular PC keyboard.

There are, however, some new keys that you may not be familiar with, and some that seem to be lacking altogether.

Among those that are lacking is one of the most frustrating ones-the NUMLOCK key. This key is the key that unlocks the numerical keypad located on the right hand side of the keyboard.

On a PC keyboard, this key would be located immediately above the number "7" key. However, this is not the case for the Apple keyboards. In the apple keyboards the equivalent of this numlock key is the CLEAR key that is found immediately above the number "7" key. Press this key to unlock the numeric keypad.

There is also another obvious difference between the apple keyboard and the PC keyboard. That is the lack of a Windows key. This key is traditionally found between the ALT key and the CONTROL key. By pressing this key on the PC keyboard, the START menu is called up.

On the apple keyboard, the substitute for this key is the COMMAND key. This key is located immediately adjacent to the SPACE bar and next to the ALT/OPTION keys. Use this key to perform the same functions that the Windows key would perform.

You should also know how to take a screen shot of a window using the apple keyboard. To do so, simultaneously press the ALT key and the F14 key. From there simply open PAINT and paste and you should have a screenshot of your window open in the program. From there you can save it as a .jpeg by clicking Save As from the File menu and in the scroll down menu that reads Save as type: select JPEG.

An additional piece of information that would be useful to know is the use of international characters, i.e. accent marks. To create these characters anywhere on a PC platform (not just in Microsoft Office) you simply need to simultaneously press the Alt Key and the numerical configuration that accompanies each character. Below you will find a table listing the most common characters used in a number of international languages that include: French, Spanish, Italian, German, & Portuguese.

Note: You must use the numerical keypad for the numbers

If you have any questions about this blog post, or would like additional information about the use of an Apple keyboard on a dualboot PC Platform, please feel free to contact the STA office.

Cleaning up your computer is now easy! CCleaner is a free software that cleans unused files, such as Windows logs or your internet browsing history. It does not, however, delete personal files, such as MS Word documents or MS PowerPoint presentations. CCleaner operates very fast and is very simple to use. Clean up gigabytes of information in just a few seconds!

1.Download CCleaner from: http://www.ccleaner.com/
2.Install the software and run the program.
3.Click on the "Run Cleaner" button in the lower, right corner.
4.The program should take a few seconds (sometimes a minute) to perform the run. It will show you a record of the deleted files and the amount of disk space that was cleaned up.

It is recommendable that you perform the clean up every one or two weeks. This way your machine will be more utilized and hence it will perform faster.

Nero is an easy and very fast software product that allows you to burn your files on CDs or DVDs. This blog post will explain how to burn your projects in a few simple steps.

Open Nero. If you do not have it installed on your computer, you may download a copy for free from http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero9-free.php

Depending on the software version you have, the colors and the icons may look different from those shown above, but generally all versions have similar looks and identical functions.

In the top part of the program's screen, you will find large icons.
The first icon will lead you to the Favorites menu. This is the menu that contains the most frequently used functions of the program.

1) Make Data CD: Lets you burn on a CD documents, archives, photos, mp3 files, movie files, and any other types of files.
2) Make Data DVD: Lets you burn on a DVD documents, archives, photos, mp3 files, movie files, etc. (You need to have the necessary hardware: a RW-DVD ROM)
3) Make Audio CD: A regular 700mb CD can contain up to 80mins of music. This type of CD is usually read by all players. If you have a player that reads mp3 files, it might be a better option to burn a Data CD with mp3 files, because it will contain more music.
4) Make Video CD: Lets you burn a video CD. It is usually read by most DVD players.
5) Copy CD: Lets you copy the content of one CD to another CD. For this option, you need to have two different ROMs. Insert the matrix CD in the first ROM, and insert the blank CD in the RW-ROM.
6) Copy DVD: Let you copy the content of one CD/DVD to a DVD. Just as in "Copy CD," you need to have the necessary hardware.
7) Make Photo Slide Show (VCD): Lets you make slide shows with your pictures. It can be played on DVD Players.

The following example will explain in more details how to burn a Data CD. The steps in this example are universal, and can be used in any of the other options.
Step 1. Select "Make Data CD" from the Favorites menu.
Step 2. Click on the Add Tab, located in the right side of the screen.

Step 3. A new window opens. Select file(s) and press the "Add" button on the new window. When you are finished with adding files, press "Cancel."
Step 4. All of the added files should be listed in front of you. You can add more or delete some of the files, through operating with the "Add" and "Delete" buttons on the right side.
Step 5. When you are done with the selection of files, continue to the next step, by clicking on the "Next" button. Hint: Make sure the total content of your project is not greater than 700mb, because this is the maximum capacity of most CDs.
Step 6. You can insert a name for your CD. After you have done that, click on "Burn." The CD should start burning. The burning process can take up to 12-15minutes in some cases, so be patient. When the content is burnt on the CD, the RW-ROM will automatically open.

You can also erase a CD/DVD, if this is allowed, depending on the type of CD or DVD you are using. To do that, go to the Extras Screen, and select the appropriate option.