Capturing an Application

Use this method to capture an open application. This capture method is only available when capturing a region (or regions consecutively) or by setting a hot key option.

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How to Capture an Application

  1. (Optional) From the Edit ribbon, click the Select profile drop-down and choose a profile.

    Note Whenever you capture an image, you do so using a profile (which is a collection of settings that are applied to the image in advance). You can use the default profile ("MyProfile") provided for you in Capture (which uses basic settings that you may not even notice), or you can create and use your own profiles. This is a good way to save time and keep your captured images consistent.

  2. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
    • Ribbon Select File > Capture > New Capture or Edit > Capture > Capture Region.
    • Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+SHIFT+R.

    Intersecting red "crosshairs" are displayed on your computer screen.

    Note You can also capture an application window using Capture Regions Consecutively.

    Note If Capture does not minimize, you probably do not have the "Hide on Capture" feature selected in the Options dialog. See Hiding Capture When Recording an Image.

  3. Move your cursor to the location where you would like to begin the captured region (e.g., the upper-left corner of the prospective region). As you move the cursor, a small window displays the vertical and horizontal position of the cursor (in pixels) on the screen.
  4. Click the left mouse button and drag to draw a rectangle, releasing the button when you are satisfied with the region (identified by red borders and a small window displaying the size of the rectangle in pixels). As soon as you release the mouse button, the Capture task bar is displayed next to the drawn region.

  5. In the task bar, click the down arrow and choose one of the following options:

    • Select Snap to Window to capture an application at its current size.

    • Select Move Window into Rectangle to capture an application minimized to fit within the capture area that you drew.

    The Select Window dialog appears.

  6. Do one of the following:

    • Select an application in the list and click OK.

    • Double-click an application in the list.

      Note Capture will ignore applications that have been minimized. If you want these applications to appear as selections in the Select Window dialog, ensure they are open and have not been minimized.

  7. Click the red capture button. The image is captured and opens in the Capture Editor.

Note To set a keyboard shortcut for capturing applications, select File > Options > Hot Keys (Ribbon) or Tools > Configure Hot Keys (Tool Strip), then look for the "Capture Application" option. See Changing Hot Keys.

Note If you are working on a project in MadCap Flare and want to capture and insert an image, you can initiate an application capture from within Flare by selecting Insert > Screen Capture.

What’s Next?

After you capture or open an image, it displays in the Capture Editor. You can then do the following:

  • Edit If you want to enhance the image before saving it, you can perform tasks such as drawing shapes, creating effects, adding callouts, cropping, etc. See Editing Images.
  • Save If you do not want to make any enhancements to the captured image, you can simply save it. See Saving an Image.