This is a demonstration version of SnapJot 3.0 in which the size of all SnapJot windows and captured images is limited. It is otherwise fully functional. We hope that it will give you an opportunity to become familiar with the features and convenience of SnapJot. This demo version may be freely copied and distributed, as long as it is not altered or sold for profit.
SnapJot runs on any Macintosh, prints on any printer, supports color and multiple monitors, and supports 32 bit quickdraw. SnapJot captures any screen image, including menus, dialogs, cursors, and applications in action
ORDERING INFORMATION
The complete version of SnapJot is a commercial product produced by Wildflower Software. It is available from major mail-order software distributors and many dealers, or can be ordered directly from Wildflower Software for a list price of $59.95. To order from Wildflower Software, call us at (708) 916-9360 with a VISA or MasterCard number, or send check, money order, credit card information, or corporate purchase order to Wildflower Software, 21W171 Coronet Rd, Lombard, IL 60148, U.S.A.
INTRODUCING SNAPJOT
SnapJot is a full feature screen capture program for the Macintosh. It enables you to capture, print, copy, and save images directly from the screen at any time. In addition to being unequaled in convenience and capability for traditional screen capture tasks, like creating documentation, SnapJot brings you the new and unique ability of on-screen information management.
SnapJot is unusual among screen capture programs in that it can display captured images as soon as you finish selecting them, using a multi-window desk accessory. The desk accessory not only allows you to preview and organize images, but provides a quick and simple way to take notes and gather information while you work.
A large portion of the work that we do on computers involves coordinating and comparing information from many different sources, but it is not always possible to view all of that information at once. Using SnapJot, you can quickly and easily record the gems of information you encounter, such as names, phone numbers, paragraphs, changing numbers, or program variables. SnapJot keeps the information in small, manageable windows which you can set aside to refer to while you go on to other things.
QUICK START SUMMARY (If you don't want to read all of the instructions below)
Install SnapJot by putting the file named SnapJot in your system folder, installing the SnapJot Desk Accessory, and restarting your Macintosh.
To capture an image, first press command-shift-s. The cursor will change shape. Press and drag your mouse to select the area you want to capture. If you need to adjust the opposite corner of the selected area, press the space bar while the mouse is pressed down to move the entire selection rectangle. When you release the mouse, a copy of the image will appear in an individual SnapJot window. Use the Save As, Print, and Copy menu items to copy the captured image to a file, printer, or the clipboard.
You can also configure SnapJot to send images directly to a file, printer, or the clipboard, with or without popping up a window. Display the SnapJot Preferences dialog box, click the appropriate action checkbox to enable the desired action, change the activation key combination if you want, and exit the dialog. Capture an image in the same manner as above, by pressing the activation key combination and selecting an area with your mouse.
To re-display saved images, select Open from the SnapJot menu.
FULL INSTRUCTIONS
INSTALLATION
SnapJot consists of a desk accessory and a file for the system folder (called an "INIT").
• Drag the icon titled "SnapJot" into the system folder of the startup disk on which you wish to install SnapJot.
Do not lock or change the name of this icon.
• Install the SnapJot Desk Accessory. If you have not installed a Desk Accessory before, then please refer to your Macintosh manuals.
• Restart your Macintosh.
CAPTURING AND DISPLAYING IMAGES
The next few sections will show you how to capture and display a screen image in an individual SnapJot window. Later sections will show you how to use the SnapJot menu to copy, save, print, or open an image, and how to copy screen images directly to the clipboard, file, or printer, without first opening a window.
Activating SnapJot
There are two ways to activate SnapJot. To capture an image from your screen, you will activate SnapJot by pressing a combination of keys. A complete explanation of how to capture images follows this section.
You may also activate SnapJot without capturing an image by choosing SnapJot from the apple menu. This is useful if you want to change certain customizable options within SnapJot, or look at previously saved screen images.
When you choose SnapJot from the apple menu, you will see a window appear containing information about SnapJot. Desk accessories must always have at least one window displayed, so you should not close this window unless you are actually done with SnapJot. This window will disappear automatically if another SnapJot window is opened.
Capturing a Screen Image
To capture an image with SnapJot, you press an activating key combination, then select the area you wish to capture. This manual will refer to the activating key combination as command-shift-s, even though you may change it.
• While holding down the command (clover) and shift keys, press the letter "s".
The cursor changes to the SnapJot cursor.
• Position the cursor at one corner of the area to be captured. Press and hold down the mouse button. Drag the cursor to the opposite corner of the area to be captured.
A dotted outline of the area to be captured will follow the cursor.
• Release the mouse button.
A new SnapJot window will appear containing an exact copy of the area you selected.
• Move the window to a convenient location, by dragging it by the title bar.
You may now either return to your application, or create another SnapJot window. To create additional windows, simply repeat the process.
Adjusting the Selection
While dragging your mouse to select an area to capture, you can move the entire selection rectangle by pressing down on the space bar. When you hold down the space bar, the SnapJot cursor will change to a hand, and the size of the dotted selection rectangle will remain fixed. You can then move the entire selection rectangle by moving your mouse. When you release the space bar, then the SnapJot cursor and actions will return to normal.
Capturing Dialog Boxes
When you capture an image at a time when desk accessories are not accessible, such as when a dialog box is displayed, it may not be possible for SnapJot to display the image in a window immediately. An image which can not be displayed immediately is saved temporarily in memory until you activate SnapJot a second time.
• Activate SnapJot, and press and drag your mouse as usual to capture a dialog box.
An outline of the window will appear momentarily, and shrink toward the apple menu. This tells you that SnapJot was not able to display the image right away.
• Complete your dialog box selections, and exit from the dialog.
• When you wish to display the SnapJot image that is being held in memory, press command-shift-s again at a time when desk accessories are allowed, or select SnapJot from the apple menu, or click on an already existing SnapJot window.
Instead of the usual SnapJot cursor, SnapJot will simply display any previously captured images.
Capturing Pull-Down Menus
You can capture pull-down menus with SnapJot the same way that you capture any other image.
• First display the menu you want to capture, by holding down the mouse button on the menu.
• While still holding the menu open, press the SnapJot activation keys.
• Release the mouse button.
The menu will remain frozen in its pulled down position.
• Press, drag, and release your mouse as usual to select the area to capture.
Capturing the cursor
To include a picture of the cursor in your screen image, turn on the cursor capturing option by selecting the Capture Cursor item in the SnapJot menu.
When you activate SnapJot with cursor capturing turned on, you will see two cursor images on your screen. One will be the real SnapJot shaped cursor controlled by your mouse, and one will be a picture of the cursor that does not move. This picture will be in the same shape and location that the cursor was at the moment you activated SnapJot. The extra cursor picture will disappear from your screen after you have captured your image.
ABOUT SNAPJOT WINDOWS
The information displayed within a SnapJot window will remain until you close the window or quit the desk accessory. Once you close a SnapJot window, you may not open it again, since SnapJot does not save the window contents permanently. If you wish to save the contents of a SnapJot window, use the copy or save command to copy the window to the clipboard or a file before closing it.
Like all desk accessories, selecting close from the file menu will close SnapJot, thereby causing all SnapJot windows to be closed. Notice that this is different from an application, where selecting close will only close the active window. You can also close all SnapJot windows by holding down the option key while clicking on the close box of any SnapJot window.
SNAPJOT MENU ITEMS
The SnapJot menu has selections for copying, saving, and printing images once they are displayed in SnapJot windows, and for opening previously saved screen images
Copying to the Clipboard
To copy the contents of a SnapJot window into the clipboard, make the SnapJot window you wish to copy active, and select Copy from the edit menu.
Saving to a document
To save a SnapJot window to a document, select the Save As… option from the SnapJot menu, click on either the MacPaint or PICT button located at the bottom of the dialog box, enter a document name, and click on Save.
MacPaint format is used by most Macintosh paint-type graphics applications. PICT format is understood by most Macintosh draw-type and color graphics applications. SnapJot windows that are in color, or larger than 8 by 10 inches, will be cropped and converted to black and white when saved to a MacPaint document. In both document types, the contents of a SnapJot window are saved as a bit image.
Printing a window
To print a SnapJot window, select Print from the SnapJot menu, choose the options you wish and click OK. If you wish to change the page setup options from the standard defaults for you printer, you should first choose Page Setup from the SnapJot menu, and select the options desired.
Displaying a previously saved image
To re-display SnapJot images which you previously saved to a file, select Open from the SnapJot menu, and choose the document you wish to display. You can also display PICT or MacPaint format documents created by applications other than SnapJot.
CUSTOMIZING SNAPJOT - PREFERENCES
Using the SnapJot preferences menu item, you can configure SnapJot to automatically copy screen images directly to the clipboard, a file, or a printer, instead of or in addition to displaying them in a window. You can also use preferences to change the activating key combinations or set file options.
Saving Directly to a File
To save screen images directly to a file, you must first enable the Save to File action in the Preferences dialog.
Choose Preferences from the SnapJot menu, and click on the check box next to the title "Save to File". If you wish to change the activating key combination from command-shift-3, then type in a new key combination, and exit the dialog.
Using the new Save to File key combination to activate SnapJot will let you capture an image as before, by pressing the keys and dragging your mouse to select an area. After you release the mouse, SnapJot will display a Save As dialog to save the image to a file, instead of displaying it in a window.
Printing and Copying without Windows
To enable SnapJot to copy images directly to the clipboard, or send images immediately to a printer, use the same procedure as above for saving images directly to a file.
Several Actions on One Keystroke
To make SnapJot perform more that one action when an image is captured, just assign the same key combination to several actions.
Changing the Activation Keys
You can change the SnapJot activation keys to a variety of key combinations using the Preferences dialog box. SnapJot will accept either a single extended Function key, or a combination of keys containing a single alphanumeric key, plus one of the following combinations: command-shift, command-control, control-shift, command, or control.
To set a key combination, select Preferences, click on the key combination you wish to change, and type in the new keys.
Preferences Dialog File Options
If you want SnapJot to automatically name the files that you create, click on the "Create name automatically" radio button. The Default Save File Format determines the format for automatically named files, as well as which button (PICT or MacPaint) is initially selected when a Save As… dialog is first displayed.
The buttons labeled PICT Owner and MacPaint Owner allow you to select the applications that will own the files created by SnapJot. The owning application is the application that will be launched when you double-click on the file icon. By default, the owner of PICT format files is MacDraw, and the owner of MacPaint files is MacPaint.
While SnapJot does not prevent you from selecting any application as the file owner, you should select a graphics applications that can open PICT or MacPaint files.
Black & White option
Clicking the Capture in Black & White option will cause images captured on a color or gray scale monitor to be converted to black and white. It will have no effect if you have a black and white monitor. If you do not need your image to be in color, then you might want to use this option to save memory or disk space, since images captured in black & white require less space than in color.
