Screenshot

One thing I like about Linux is the tools available to take screenshots with.

Unfortunately, LXDE doesn't have that tool available as default. Thankfully, ImageMagick is a clever Terminal-based image manipulation application with no dependencies, which also has the useful side-effect of being able to take screenshots.

To install this feature…

sudo apt-get install imagemagick

In order to allow a GUI-style screenshot experience, a little tinkering is required.

First, create a .desktop file for it.

gksudo leafpad /usr/share/applications/screenshot.desktop

Copy and paste the following code directly into leafpad, and save the file.

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Take Screenshot
Categories=Application;Utility;GTK;
Exec=import screenshot.png
Icon=/usr/share/app-install/icons/_usr_lib_GNUstep_Applications_Camera.app_Resources_Camera.png
StartupNotify=true
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Comment=Take a screenshot within marked borders

This will add a new menu item to Accessories as Take Screenshot. You can also now add it to the panel launcher if you want, by right-clicking the panel launchers beside the main menu and selecting Application Launch Bar settings. Click Add, and select screenshot.desktop. Voila…

This is a very simple process, which, when launched, puts a cross-hair cursor on the desktop. Simply left-click one corner of where you want the screenshot to be taken, and then left-click the opposite corner. This will then create a file ~/screenshot.png. It will over-write any previous screenshots too.

Simple, but effective, I think.

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