Screenshots are a great way of conveying issues while working with tech support, to resolve an issue that you are having. For example, if you are having trouble setting up your email application, a support technician can verify your settings through screenshots much faster than asking over again for each and every setting. Providing a screenshot to a Support Tech can make resolving your issue much quicker and easier.
This article provides basic instructions on how to take a screenshot, and save it as an image file. Then you can send the file in to Nexcess support, or attach to an existing support ticket.
Instructions are provided for Microsoft Windows XP, 7, and 8, and for Mac OSX systems. Follow the appropriate instructions for the operating system that your computer uses.
Windows (XP, 7 and 8)
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Bring the window/page that you want to capture into view.
You can capture either a whole screen, or just a single window.-
If you want to capture the whole screen, press the Print Screen key .
NOTE: The exact names of keys may vary depending on the type of keyboard that you are using. -
If you want to capture only an active window (and not the background), use the key combination Alt+Print Screen:Press and hold down the Alt key, and then (with the Alt key still pressed), press the Print Screen key.
The captured screen is now copied (“behind the scenes”) to the Windows Clipboard. Next, you need to paste the screen into a program that will allow you to open/create images. For example, you can use Microsoft Paint, which is a drawing program that is available by default on all systems running Windows. Paint can be found in the Accessories group.
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Open the Paint program by doing one of the following:
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Click the Start button, and then click Accessories > Paint.
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Click the Start button, and then click All Programs > Accessories > Paint.
The Paint program opens with a blank canvas.
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3. On the menu bar, click Edit > Paste, or use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+v.
The screen capture displays on the canvas. For example, the following image shows a single-screen capture.
4. To save as an image file:
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(Windows XP) Click File > Save as.
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(Windows 7) Click the Paint button (located at the upper, left-hand corner of the window) and then select Save as.
You can choose from several image format options.
5. Click on the format that you want to save the image as. NOTE: The PNG format is recommended because it provides clear resolution while keeping the file size small.
6. On the Save As dialog, in the File name box, enter the name that you want to assign to the image. TIP: Enter a descriptive name that reflects what the screenshot shows.
7. Click Save.
Now that you have created a screenshot, you can attach it to a new or existing Support ticket.
Mac OSX
- Bring the window/page that you want to capture into view.
- You can capture either a whole screen, or just a single window.
- To take a screenshot of your screen, press command + shift and 3. This will take the screenshot and save it on your desktop with the date and time that you took it.
- To take a partial screenshot, press command + shift and 4. Use your mouse to draw a rectangle to specify what you’re looking to capture.
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Now that you have created a screenshot, you can attach it to a new or existing Support ticket.