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DOS Screen Capture

If you're a DOS user, SnagIt not only allows you to capture from your Windows screen, but it also allows you to capture from an MS-DOS window. If your DOS program is running under Windows, you can use SnagIt to capture the DOS screen.

SnagIt also has DOS user-friendly features. For instance, as shown in the example below, SnagIt will automatically invert the text and background colors of the DOS capture to make a printed copy more readable and to reduce the ink usage that the black background would normally require.

DOS Screen Capture - click to enlarge.

Full-Screen DOS Capture (Image and Text Captures)

Note: If you will be capturing full-screen MS-DOS windows, use <Print Screen> as the SnagIt activation hotkey. For windowed MS-DOS captures, you would use your default hotkey selection - use <Print Screen> ONLY for full-screen MS-DOS screen captures.

To capture an image or text from a full-screen MS-DOS session:

1. From the Capture Settings pane, select Input > Advanced > Full-screen DOS. The Input option will indicate your selection and a check mark will appear next to the option.
   

2. Choose Output to select output options. Set the Output option to anything except Clipboard.

3. To set output properties, click Output > Properties.

4. Run your MS-DOS application from Windows, in a full-screen MS-DOS window (Use <ALT + ENTER> to switch between full-screen MS-DOS and windowed MS-DOS modes).

5. When the image you want to capture is on the screen, press the <Print Screen> key.

6. What happens next depends on your capture settings. If your settings are such that SnagIt does not require any user interaction after a capture, then SnagIt will perform the capture and send it directly to the output you have selected. If your settings require additional interaction (as with the Preview Window or Ask for File Name options), then SnagIt will be waiting for your response to finish the capture.

Note: If you plan to use Edge Effects (such as Drop Shadow Edge, Torn Edge, Fade Edge, or Custom Edge Effects) with DOS captures, you'll need to adjust the Color Depth to get the best results. SnagIt captures MS-DOS screens using a monochromatic palette to reduce file size. However, SnagIt needs a full color palette to cleanly add the Edge Effects to DOS captures. To adjust color depth within Preview Window or SnagIt Editor, choose Colors> Color Depth and select True Color (32-bit) from the Colors listbox.

With Windows 95 or NT 4.0:

Your full-screen MS-DOS session is minimized to the taskbar and SnagIt will come to the foreground. Finish the capture as you normally would. To return to the MS-DOS session, click on the MS-DOS button in the taskbar.

With Windows 98, Me, 2000 or later:

You will remain in the full-screen MS-DOS session, but SnagIt may still be waiting for your response to finish the capture. Press <ALT + ENTER > to switch out of full-screen mode. Activate SnagIt and finish the capture as you normally would. To return to the full-screen MS-DOS session, activate the MS-DOS window and hit <ALT + ENTER > if necessary to switch back to full-screen mode.

Windowed DOS Capture

Some DOS applications do not respond in the normal way when the <Print Screen> key is pressed in full-screen DOS mode. If the result of your capture is not what you expect, then you may achieve better results using a Windowed DOS capture. You can capture a windowed MS-DOS screen session the same way you would capture any other Windows screen:

1. Set the Input type you would like to use to capture your windowed DOS session.

2. Run your MS-DOS application. If you are in full screen mode, press <ALT + ENTER > to switch to windowed MS-DOS screen mode.

3. Press your SnagIt hotkey combination to capture.

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