Snapz is a Control Panel that allows you to quickly and easily capture the image displayed on your monitor, and save it to a PICT file for later editing. Snapz is the anywhere, anytime screen capture program: simply hit the user-definable Snapz key, and Snapz will instantly capture whatever is displayed on the screen and immediately save it as a PICT file.
Why Would I Use Snapz?
Snapz offers several unique features over both the built-in Command-Shift-3 screen capture facility and other commercial screen capture utilities. Snapz allows you to capture images that other programs fail to:
...when a screen saver display is on the screen
...in the middle of the action in a game
...while a menu is pulled down
...while your Macintosh is starting up
Snapz is the anywhere, anytime screen capture program. If it is displayed on your screen, Snapz can capture it.
Snapz also has several other useful features that other screen capture programs lack, such as a fully configurable hot key, multiple PICT file formats, and a unique file naming system that makes it easy for your to sort out your captured images.
Requirements
Snapz works on any Macintosh with Color Quickdraw, at least 1 Meg of memory, and running System 6 or later.
Installation
To install Snapz, simply drag the Snapz icon onto your System Folder icon. Under System 6, this will place Snapz into the System Folder proper; under System 7, Snapz will be placed in the Control Panels folder.
To activate Snapz after you have placed it onto the System Folder icon, restart your Macintosh. You will see Snapz's icon appear along the bottom of your monitor to indicate that it loaded successfully.
Once installed, Snapz uses up about 20K of memory, depending on the size of your screen (slightly more memory will be used up if you are using a larger screen).
Configuring
Under System 6, choose the Control Panel Desk Accessory from the Apple menu, scroll down to the Snapz icon and click on it.
Under System 7, choose the Control Panels item from the Apple Menu, scroll down to the Snapz icon and double-click on it.
Under either System, configuring Snapz is identical:
The Show Startup Icon checkbox controls whether or not Snapz should display its icon at startup time after it loads. Snapz will still load regardless of this setting, but some people prefer to not have this icon displayed.
The About... button brings up this on-line help.
The Settings... button brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose from the various options Snapz offers. Please see the Settings section for more information concerning this dialog box.
The On/Off radio buttons allow you to turn Snapz on or off.
Settings
Clicking on the Settings... button in the Snapz control panel brings up a dialog box that allows you to configure Snapz to suit your taste.
To change the key combination used to invoke Snapz, simply hit the key combination that you would like to use. Snapz's invocation key is initially set to Command-Shift-3, so that it overrides Apple's built-in screen capture facility, but you can this to be anything you like.
The PICT File Type popup menu allows you to choose what type of PICT files Snapz will create when capturing the screen. Click on the popup menu to choose the graphics program you work with most often; Snapz will create PICT files that will open directly in this application when you double-click on them. This is extremely convenient if you often take screen captures that need retouching.
The Hide Cursor in Screen Snapz checkbox allows you to determine whether the cursor should be visible in the screen captures you take.
Using Snapz
Once you have installed Snapz and configured it to suit your taste, using it is easy: when there is an image on the screen that you would like to capture, simply press the Snapz invocation key(s) and the image will be instantly saved for you. The screen will flash briefly to indicate that the screen capture was successful.
PICT files that Snapz creates are saved in a folder called Screen Snapz, which is placed in your System Folder. Under System 7, an alias to this folder is also placed in your Apple Menu for quick and convenient access to your screen captures. This allows the your screen captures to be kept in one tidy, out of the way place, while also allowing for quick access to them when you need it. The images Snapz grabs are saved with the following naming convention: {app_name}.pict.{xx}, where {app_name} is the name of the application you took the screen capture of, and {xx} is a counter.
For instance, the first screen capture you take in Maelstrom would be named Maelstrom.pict.01, while the 12th screen capture you take in Microsoft Word would be named Microsoft Word.pict.12.
To view or edit the screen captures you grab with Snapz, open them in an image editing program like PhotoShop, or even Apple's SimpleText.
Problems?
If Snapz does not work, check to see if it displays an X-ed out icon at startup time. Snapz will display this icon if it cannot load. Check the system requirements under the Requirements heading above to make sure you have an acceptable configuration for Snapz to operate in.
Contact Information
If you have any problems with this software or if you require additional information, please write or call:
US Mail:
Ambrosia Software, Inc.
PO Box 23140
Rochester, NY 14692
Voice:
716.427.2577
Fax:
716.475.9289
E-mail:
America Online: AmbrosiaSW
Compuserve: 73424, 1226
eWorld: AmbrosiaSW
GEnie: AmbrosiaSW
Internet: AmbrosiaSW@AOL.com
A thousand "thank you's" for technical assistance to: Chris Wysocki, Greg Marriott, and Joe Zobkiw
Many thanks to our beta testers, without whom this product would not exist: Scott Love, Tuncer Deniz, Derek Chee, Rodney Jacks, Sam Davidoff, Jerry Klorman, Shane Looker, Teddy Schall, Jack Mello, Jade Splawn, Joe Zobkiw, Spencer Low, John Hodal, Terry G. Fink, J. Marcus Ziegler, Andrea B. Binns, Jeffre R. Claunch, Hisashi Nishimura, Emile Smith, Rob Kilburn, Matt Lee, Joseph Vantaggi, Robert Collins, Mike Alletto, Ken Segall, Milton Adams, Michael Esser, Jim Sepe, David Bass, Jamie Dresser, Carl-Christian Jackson, Matt Domenici, Mark Juchter, Bob Clingan, William Henry, Andy Clymer, William A. DeJong, Dan Kalowsky, Tom Pitts, Robert S. Mooney, Andy Jones, and Steve Budrys.
