Tech Need HELP with SCREENSHOTS...pleez...

[K.Z.]

For some reason, I can't paste screenshots anywhere nor upload them into photobucket.

Every how-to online website/article says it's simple: press the PrntScrn key and paste the image on an email, word document, whatever. Well, when I try to paste it, there's nothing to paste. I used to be able to find these screen shots in my hard disc (MyComputer/LocalDisc/DocumentsAndSettings/MyName/LocalSettings/Temp), but I can't find them there anymore. Something has changed. So I'm taking screenshots that I can neither paste nor find in my computer to upload them somewhere.

I'm such a dunce. Can anyone help me?

 

[RaeBelle]

Are you on a laptop? I know my Windows laptop I actually have to hold down the function key and press the Prt Sc button for it to take a screen capture.

 

[purse-nality]

hold down Fn + Prt Sc keys, open photo editor (eg. Paint) or wherever you need the pic, and paste.

 

[K.Z.]

Are you on a laptop? I know my Windows laptop I actually have to hold down the function key and press the Prt Sc button for it to take a screen capture.

Yes, laptop. But I never had to use the function key before. That's one of the first things I tried when I noticed it wasn't working, and it didn't make a difference.

hold down Fn + Prt Sc keys, open photo editor (eg. Paint) or wherever you need the pic, and paste.

I'm not sure what you mean by a photo editor--the program that comes with the camera, photobucket or imageshack websites? I've never had to use the camera editor for screenshots. I've tried pasting the supposedly captured screenshot on my email, here, and other places, and nothing. And I can't upload it on photobucket as I used to kuz I can't find the saved screenshots in my computer. I used to be able to find them via the folders I specified above, upload them on photobucket and copy/paste the links wherever I wanted. I can't anymore.

 

[Tuesdays Child]

For some reason, I can't paste screenshots anywhere nor upload them into photobucket.

Every how-to online website/article says it's simple: press the PrntScrn key and paste the image on an email, word document, whatever. Well, when I try to paste it, there's nothing to paste. I used to be able to find these screen shots in my hard disc (MyComputer/LocalDisc/DocumentsAndSettings/MyName/LocalSettings/Temp), but I can't find them there anymore. Something has changed. So I'm taking screenshots that I can neither paste nor find in my computer to upload them somewhere.

I'm such a dunce. Can anyone help me?

What operating system?

 

[ILuvShopping]

don't shoot me for this stupid question - but have you restarted your computer at all?

sometimes if electronics are acting funky all they need is a fresh reboot to act normal again.

 

[K.Z.]

What operating system?

Windows XP

don't shoot me for this stupid question - but have you restarted your computer at all? sometimes if electronics are acting funky all they need is a fresh reboot to act normal again.

I don't leave my computer on indefinitely. I used to shut it down every night until recently. Now I hibernate it, but I restart every couple of days. In any case, this screenshot thing has been going on for a while.

When I started this thread, I did some research online about how to do this, and all I found was the obvious "press the key and paste it" somewhere. But that doesn't always work kuz you can't paste a screenshot just anywhere, right? For example, I can't paste a screenshot of this page right here in this post.

 

[RaeBelle]

You can't paste a screen shot anywhere. You can paste a screen shot Microsoft products (like Word, Excel and Powerpoint), depending on how you do email, you might be able paste it into email. I normally paste my screen shots into MS Paint, have you tried that?

 

[one2many]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't MyComputer/LocalDisc/DocumentsAndSettings/MyName/LocalSettings/Temp a temporary folder and might get cleared out if you did a disc clean up or cleared your browser/temp files/cookies/history? That may explain why you can't find those files anymore.

As for the Fn button you shouldn't need to use that. On my laptop the key is in blue and corresponds with any blue writing on other keys. You only hold the Fn key down when you want to perform an action indicated by the blue writing. For example in white it says PrntScrn and in blue SysRq. So if I wanted to do a system request I would hold down the Fn button but not at any other time. At least that's how it is on mine.

When I do a screenshot I paste them in a paint document then save them to my desired location. In paint you can't just right click and paste though you have to click edit then paste. I've had the worst luck with Photobucket so I don't use that anymore but I do use ImageShack. I didn't think you could paste random screenshots to ImageShack. You would need to upload the pic from some place. The folder you mentioned is not a real folder it's just a place to store temporary things and can get deleted at any point.

That's how I look at it. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong peoples.

 

[Charles]

Yeah, I usually paste my screen prints in MS Paint.

 

[K.Z.]

Thanks everyone for trying to help me.

You can't paste a screen shot anywhere. You can paste a screen shot Microsoft products (like Word, Excel and Powerpoint), depending on how you do email, you might be able paste it into email. I normally paste my screen shots into MS Paint, have you tried that?

I don't think I have MS Paint...never seen it or used it since I got this lap top a few years ago. Looks like I'll have to look into it kuz I continue to see it mentioned.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't MyComputer/LocalDisc/DocumentsAndSettings/MyName/LocalSettings/Temp a temporary folder and might get cleared out if you did a disc clean up or cleared your browser/temp files/cookies/history? That may explain why you can't find those files anymore.

I'm not looking for old screenshots, but for the one I took of this screen, right now, and earlier today, etc. They should be there until the temp file is cleared, and even then, old screenshots I had used to stay there until I personally deleted them.

As for the Fn button you shouldn't need to use that. On my laptop the key is in blue and corresponds with any blue writing on other keys. You only hold the Fn key down when you want to perform an action indicated by the blue writing. For example in white it says PrntScrn and in blue SysRq. So if I wanted to do a system request I would hold down the Fn button but not at any other time. At least that's how it is on mine.

I agree. I don't understand why so many people, per the how-to's I've read on the Internet, have to use the Function key.

When I do a screenshot I paste them in a paint document then save them to my desired location.In paint you can't just right click and paste though you have to click edit then paste. I've had the worst luck with Photobucket so I don't use that anymore but I do use ImageShack. I didn't think you could paste random screenshots to ImageShack. You would need to upload the pic from some place. The folder you mentioned is not a real folder it's just a place to store temporary things and can get deleted at any point. That's where my computer automatically stores, or used to store, screenshots. But I haven't been able to find them there again.

I just remembered something else. This is a bit nuts, but it's how it used to work for me (a techie may be able to explain why this worked).

I used to press PrntScrn and have to "paste" whatever it was on a surface somewhere (like in this TPF post) for the temp file to show up in my disc. If I went to "Go Advance" here, I would see the pathway (MyComputer/LocalDisc/DocumentsAndSettings/MyName/LocalSettings/Temp) typed in the post box. That's how I found the location of the screenshots to begin with. For some reason, I haven't been able to do that lately.
Hmm. I'm going to play with it again...

 

[RaeBelle]

MS Paint is generally hidden under some in the Accessories menu. Or you could try Start Menu --> Run --> mspaint

 

[harlem_cutie]

or download Greenshot which is free and great for taking crisp, clear screenshots.

If your shots were stored in a temp folder they may have been deleted. Your clipboard may also be full so if you are using any MS Office based product clear your clipboard and then try it.

 

[one2many]

One thing I can say for certain is that if on my laptop I take a screenshot and try to paste it in the message box on tPF it comes up the exact same pathway as yours, so you don't have a problem there. You can't just paste screenshots on tPF.

You mentioned trying to recover screenshots from earlier in the day. If at any point after you took the screenshot you copied anything the screenshot won't be there. I think it's replaced by the next thing you copied. Cause when you paste something it only remembers the last thing you copied unless you physically saved it.

I know how frustrating little things like this can be. My battery icon disappeared for a few days and I kept trying to figure out why. Turns out the keep battery icon in tray was unchecked and I never unchecked it. So I get your frustration. Try looking for paint, RaeBelle showed you how. Then sometimes step away from the problem for a bit and a solution may just pop up. But don't get upset, computers are fun and majorly annoying at the same time

 

[K.Z.]

OK. So once again I tried to do it the way I used to: PrntScrn, paste the pathway somewhere, find the screenshot in the Temp file, upload it with Photobucket, and worked--only twice. I kept doing exactly the same thing, but it never worked again. I even tried Fn, Alt, too, but nothing. It makes no sense that it would work twice and then stop working. That remains a mystery.

I gave up trying to do it the way I used to and went looking for MS Paint, but I didn't find it, even though it's supposed to be included in Windows XP. I followed instructions I found online to Add/Remove Windows components and found that I did have it but that it wasn't working properly. So I removed/uninstalled it and added/installed it again. And now it's working.

I took a PrntScrn shot, opened MS Paint (which I found in the Accessories folder), pasted it. Saw the screenshot there. I saved it to my hard disc and uploaded it to Photobucket to edit it. Then I used the "Insert Image" icon here to paste it on this post. All good, but I want to post it as a TPF attachment not as a hotlink to my album. So I went to "Preview Post," right-clicked on the image and saved it in my hard disc. Then I uploaded it here using the Attachment feature. Christ.

As you can see, the resolution isn't great. You can barely read the words on the page/screenshot. Does anyone know how to adjust this in MS Paint, if it can be done?

Thankz again! :salute: