PupSnap 4.0

Dependencies

64-bit Puppy Linux, imlib2 library, scrot (1.10 or greater), gtkdialog4 (0.7.21 or greater)

Purpose and Base Features

PupSnap is a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the many options of Scrot (SCReenshOT).
Scrot is a command-line screen capture utility that uses the imlib2 library to acquire and save images.

Capture Options

Name: User choice (conventional name, current date, or automatic enumeration)
Date: Current date (date +%F)
Save Folder: User choice (The default save folder is "/root/Pictures/Screenshots/")
File Format: User choice (PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, WEBP)
JPG/WEBP Quality: User choice (25-q100). Higher values indicate lower image compression (larger file size) and higher image quality. In PupSnap, this option has no impact on png, bmp or tiff images. (see Setup Recommendations below)
Scale: If enabled the Scale option supports downsizing to a percentage of the original image size (25-95%). If scaling is not enabled the captured image retains the dimensions of the selected screen, window or region.
Delay: User choice (0-60 seconds)
Cursor: User choice (Enable or disable cursor in captured image)
Mode: User choice (Full-screen, or interactively select a window or rectangular ROI)
Audio Alert: Optional confirmation beep when screenshot is acquired (dependency: aplay)

Post-Capture Options

Action: Post-capture actions include None, Editor, Viewer and Clipboard. If selected the Editor or Viewer options will automatically open the captured image in the default image editor or default image viewer. The Editor option supports post-capture image adjustments such as cropping, resizing, annotation, isometric transformation and pixel editing. The Clipboard option (if available) requires the xclip command-line utility to copy the captured image to the X11 clipboard where it is available for applications that support clipboard-pasting of bitmap images.
Quick-view of captured image: Automatic after capture, and on-demand at any time
Image Hosting: Upload screenshots (or any local image) to the imgur.com image hosting service
Reset Button: Reset PupSnap configuration options to default values

Setup Recommendations

Lossless file formats: PNG, BMP, TIFF (and WEBP in lossless mode)

Lossless file compression indicates no image quality is lost when data is compressed and saved. PNG and TIFF images are saved with high compression and these formats provide images of relatively small size with high (lossless) quality. BMP images are saved with no compression and this format provides images of large size with high quality. The BMP format still enjoys widespread familiarity in the Microsoft Windows OS, while the TIFF format is popular with graphic artists and photographers — and remains useful in the print publishing industry. The popular WEBP format provides small, high-quality images for the web.

Lossy file format: JPG (and WEBP in lossy mode)

Lossy file compression indicates some of the image quality is permanently lost when data in the JPG (or lossy WEBP) format is compressed and saved. Specifically, the JPG and WEBP algorithms are very efficient and have the capacity to produce very small files (for web pages or email), but image quality may degrade with lower Quality settings (particularly for JPG images). In most instances, depending on display requirements, Quality settings of 75-85 will produce JPG or WEBP images of good quality and small size, though lower values may be useful in some applications. Considering the potential limitations of the lossy formats, you may find the lossless PNG format is a better alternative for capturing screen images that retain high quality with data compression.

Caveats

Capture modes include full-screen, window and region (ROI). By default, screen windows are captured with the corresponding border decoration, but you can capture a borderless window by first deselecting PupSnap's border option. Including the cursor in the captured image is optional, but if the cursor option is enabled when selecting a region and you prefer to exclude the cursor image, simply move the cursor outside the selection frame during the pre-capture delay interval.

The default image capture is full-size but image scaling is also supported. For example, PupSnap facilitates the acquisition of reduced-size images (thumbnails) which are available as a percentage of the original image size. Alternatively, select the 800px option to downsize a large image to the 800-pixel width which is forum compatible. Note: The optional Quality option for JPG and WEBP screenshots does not apply to scaled images.

The default data for the Name entry box is the most recent prior capture. You can enter a new name for the next screen capture, or simply proceed with the acquisition and PupSnap will append a new name, with sequential enumeration — such as Screenshot-1 or Screenshot-2. If the file name selected in the entry box already exists in the current capture folder, PupSnap will not duplicate the name or overwrite the file, but will assign a new file name automatically, with enumeration.

The Date option (date +%F) will assign the current date to the file name. When the Date checkbox is selected, PupSnap adds the current date template to the Name entry box and then sequentially enumerates the suffix of the file name when the screenshot is acquired. Conversely, when the Date checkbox is unchecked, PupSnap adds Screenshot as the template and then sequentially enumerates the screenshot name. Alternatively, when the Date checkbox is unchecked, you can always add a custom screenshot name to the Name entry box.

If enabled, the Editor or Viewer action options will automatically load the new screenshot in the corresponding default image editor or default image viewer. If the Viewer option is enabled and a current instance of the image viewer is active, PupSnap will automatically close the image viewer before acquiring the new screenshot.

The Audio Alert option requires the aplay command-line utility to generate a confirmation beep when the screenshot is acquired. The sound is produced by sound-card output rather than by the built-in PC motherboard speaker. Consequently, if this option is enabled, an audible beep depends on the current volume control setting for the audio card.

When the capture button is selected, PupSnap will briefly close, conveniently excluding the GUI window from the captured image.

The optional Image Host tab of PupSnap provides an intuitive interface for uploading screenshots (or any local image) to the imgur.com image hosting service. For screenshots, the image-file name and path are added automatically to the selection box of the Image Host tab. For local images, you can use the File-selector button, or drag-and-drop image files from the file manager. If xclip or xsel are available, the uploaded image URL is sent automatically to the corresponding clipboard. Help resources and usage tips are available in the Imgur online FAQ