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PupSnap 2.6

Recommended OS

32/64-bit derivatives of Puppy Linux with gtkdialog4 (0.7.21 or greater)

Purpose and Base Features

PupSnap is a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the many options of Scrot (SCReenshOT).
Scrot is a command-line screen capture utility that uses the imlib2 library to acquire and save images.

Capture Options

  1. Name: user choice (conventional name, current date, or automatic enumeration)
  2. Date: current date and time (date +%F_%R:%S)
  3. Delay: 0-60 seconds
  4. Format: jpg, png, bmp, tiff
  5. JPG Quality: (10-100) higher values indicate lower JPG compression (larger file size) and higher image quality. In PupSnap, this option has no impact on BMP, PNG or TIFF images (see Setup Recommendations below).
  6. Size: Select Default (original image size), or percent of the original image size (10-95), or standard pixel width (600px, 640px, 768px, 800px, 1024px, 1152px, 1280px, 1360px, 1366px, 1400px, 1440px, 1600px, 1680px, 1920px)
  7. Mode: full-screen, or interactively select a window or rectangular ROI

Post-Capture Options

  1. File Folder: user choice (The default save folder is "/root/my-documents/images/")
  2. File Manager: ROX-Filer (if ROX is not available, PupSnap defaults to Thunar, PCManFM, SpaceFM or Xfe)
  3. Image Editor: defaultpaint, gimp, inkscape, mtpaint, LO-sdraw, OO-sdraw, xaralx
  4. Image Viewer: defaultimageviewer, fotoxx, geeqie, gpicview, gqview, gwenview, ristretto, viewnior, xnview
  5. Quick-view of captured image: automatic after capture, and on-demand at any time
  6. Image Hosting: upload screenshots (or any local image) to the imgur.com image hosting service

Setup Recommendations

Lossless file formats: BMP, PNG, TIFF

Lossless file compression means no image quality is lost when data is compressed and saved. As a general rule, with PupSnap (Scrot and the imlib2 library), you can ignore the Quality option when acquiring images in the BMP or TIFF formats. BMP images are saved with no compression, and TIFF images are saved with uniformly high compression at all Quality settings. The BMP format still enjoys widespread familiarity in the Microsoft Windows OS, while the TIFF format is popular with graphic artists and photographers, and has great utility in the publishing industry.

In PupSnap, the Quality setting of '0' is automatically applied when images are acquired in the PNG format. This default value overrides the other Quality settings for PNG images in Scrot, and approximates the maximum compression level of 9 in the GIMP and mtPaint graphic editors. Consequently, PupSnap provides PNG images of high (lossless) quality and convenient size (in kilobytes).

Lossy file format: JPG

Lossy file compression means some of the image quality is permanently lost when data in the JPG format is compressed and saved. Specifically, the JPG compression algorithm is very efficient and has the capacity to produce very small files (for web pages or email), but image quality degrades incrementally with each lower Quality setting (greater compression). Even at the maximum Quality setting of 100, there is moderate file compression and a slight loss of image quality. In most instances, depending on display requirements, Quality settings of 75-85 will produce compressed JPG images of acceptable quality and size, though lower values may be useful in some applications. Considering the limitations of the lossy JPG format, you may find the lossless PNG format is a better alternative for capturing screen images that retain high quality with data compression.

Caveats

  1. PupSnap supports a wide range of image editors and viewers. However, if your favorite graphics program is not included in the PupSnap support database, you can manually add the name of the executable to the appropriate combobox, with path or command switches if needed.
  2. Program access is by Puppy Menu->Graphic->PupSnap, or by the default Ctrl+Shift+S hotkey shortcut which is configured for IceWm, JWM, Openbox, Fluxbox, LXDE and LXPanel.
  3. Capture modes include full-screen, window and region (ROI). By default, screen windows are captured with the corresponding border decoration, but you can capture a borderless window by first deselecting PupSnap's border option.
  4. The default image capture is full-size, but PupSnap also facilitates the acquisition of reduced-size images (thumbnails) which are available as a percentage of the original image size. Additionally, an array of pixel-options will capture images in standard screen sizes, or you can manually enter the desired pixel dimensions (width x height) in the Size option. For example, enter 200x0 to capture an image with a 200-pixel width. The '0' in the second field indicates the height of the captured image will be proportional to the selected width, and the aspect-ratio of the image is preserved automatically. For those who post images to the Puppy forum, the 800px option will automatically reduce a large screenshot to the maximum 800-pixel width which is forum compatible, but a maximum 600-pixel width may better comply with forum etiquette.
  5. PupSnap requires a file name for the captured image and gently reminds us if the Name entry box is blank.
  6. The default data for the Name entry box is the most recent prior capture. You can enter a new name for the next screen capture, or simply proceed with the acquisition and PupSnap will append a new name, with sequential enumeration such as image-1 or image-2. If the file name selected in the entry box already exists in the current capture folder, PupSnap will not duplicate the name or overwrite the file, but will assign a new file name automatically, with enumeration.
  7. The Date option (date +%F_%R:%S) will assign the current date and time to the file name. When the Date checkbox is selected, PupSnap ignores the Name entry box. Conversely, when the checkbox is not selected (default mode), PupSnap ignores the Date option.
  8. When a capture option is selected, PupSnap will briefly close, conveniently excluding the GUI window from the captured image.
  9. When selecting a small capture region, start on the right side to avoid border artifacts.
  10. The optional 'Image Host' tab of PupSnap provides an intuitive interface for uploading screenshots (or any local image) to the imgur.com image hosting service. For screenshots, the image-file name and path are added automatically to the selection box of the Host tab. For local images, you can use the File-selector button, or drag-and-drop image files from ROX-Filer. If xclip or xsel are available, the uploaded image URL is sent automatically to the corresponding clipboard. Help resources and usage tips are available in the Imgur online FAQ. If desired, you can disable/remove the hosting option by deselecting the 'Image Host' checkbox and restarting PupSnap.

Add Cursors To The Captured Image

Scrot does not support direct capture of the screen cursor (mouse pointer), but you can copy one of the pointers below, then paste it to a captured image in your graphic editor. This is a simple process in editors that support right-click-to-copy, such as GIMP or Xara Extreme.

                   

MtPaint does not currently support right-click-to-copy, but will copy and paste an image through an internal clipboard. Specifically, while editing an image in mtPaint, open a second instance of the program and go to "/usr/local/PupSnap/cursors/". Load a cursor image and press Ctrl+A to select the image, and then (for example) press Ctrl+F5 to save this as image 5 in the multiple image clipboard. Now, return to the first instance of mtPaint and press Shift+F5 to load the saved cursor, then you can paste it into the original image. See http://mtpaint.blogspot.com/.

Vector image editors like Inkscape are not bitmap capable, but will allow the addition of vector graphics and symbols as overlays to the bitmap, enhancing the original graphic image.

Availability

Download information is available here for PupSnap, Scrot and the imlib2 library.

License

GNU GPLv3, Copyright 2010-2017, Roger D. Grider