Grab


Grab is an application that can capture screen shots of Mac OS X and its applications. You tell Grab to capture what appears on your screen and it creates a TIFF file. You can then view the TIFF file with Preview or any application capable of opening TIFFs.

Tips

  • You might find screen shots useful for documenting softwareor for writing books like this one.

  • Although Grab is a handy screen shot utility, it isn't the best available for Mac OS X. Snapz Pro X, a shareware program from Ambrosia Software, is far better. If you take a lot of screen shots, be sure to check it out at www.ambrosiasw.com.


To create a screen shot

1.

Set up the screen so it shows what you want to capture.

2.

Open the Grab icon in the Utilities folder (Figure 1).

or

If Grab is already running, click its icon on the Dock (Figure 68) to make it active.

Figure 68. If Grab is already running, click its icon in the Dock to make it active.


3.

Choose an option from the Capture menu (Figure 69) or press its corresponding shortcut key:

  • Selection () enables you to capture a portion of the screen. When you choose this option, the Selection Grab dialog (Figure 70) appears. Use the mouse pointer to drag a box around the portion of the screen you want to capture (Figure 71). Release the mouse button to capture the screen.

    Figure 70. The Selection Grab dialog includes instructions for selecting a portion of the screen.


    Figure 71. Use the mouse to drag a red rectangle around the portion of the screen you want to capture.


  • Window () enables you to capture a window. When you choose this option, the Window Grab dialog (Figure 72) appears. Click the Choose Window button, then click the window you want to capture.

    Figure 72. The Window Grab dialog tells you how to capture a window.


  • Screen () enables you to capture the entire screen. When you choose this option, the Screen Grab dialog (Figure 73) appears. Click outside the dialog to capture the screen.

    Figure 73. The Screen Grab dialog provides instructions for capturing the entire screen.


  • Timed Screen () enables you to capture the entire screen after a ten-second delay. When you choose this option, the Timed Screen Grab dialog (Figure 74) appears. Click the Start Timer button, then activate the program you want to capture and arrange onscreen elements as desired. In ten seconds, the screen is captured.

    Figure 74. The Timed Screen Grab dialog includes a button to start the 10-second screen grab timer.


Figure 69. Grab's Capture menu.


4.

Grab makes a camera shutter sound as it captures the screen. The image appears in an untitled document window (Figure 75).

Figure 75. The image you capture in this case, a single icon in a window appears in a document window.


5.

If you are satisfied with the screen shot, choose File > Save (Figure 76) or press and use the Save As dialog sheet that appears to save it as a file on disk.

Figure 76. Grab's File menu.


or

If you are not satisfied with the screen shot, choose File > Close (Figure 76) or press to close the window. In the Close dialog sheet, click Don't Save.

Tip

  • You can create screen shots without Grab. Press to capture the entire screen or to capture a portion of the screen. The screen shot is automatically saved on the desktop as a PDF file.




Visual QuickStart Guide. Mac OS X 10. 4 Tiger
Mac Os X 10.4 Tiger (Visual Quickstart Guides)
ISBN: 0321423372
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 301
Authors: Maria Langer

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