By Frank McPherson
An unexpected benefit of being a Windows CE-based device user is the realization that there are many things about desktop Windows that I have learned to take for granted. This occurred to me recently when I was working with my NEC MobilePro 750C and I wanted to create a screen print for an article that I was writing. I instinctively looked for the Print Scrn key on the keyboard and, Lo and Behold, there is no Print Scrn key to be found.
So I set out to figure out how to get a screen capture of the MobilePro Settings Properties dialog box? Perhaps I could open the MobilePro completely and lay it on a flatbed scanner, but I doubt that would create a very good image of the screen. Or, I could try to take a picture of the screen using my digital camera. This may sound silly, but it really can produce a nice image of the screen as shown in Figure A. Unfortunately, using a digital camera to take a screen shot just seems to be cumbersome. Besides, what if you don't have a camera?
FIGURE A
Here's a picture of my MobilePro screen, taken with a digital camera. (click for larger image)
What I needed was a program that can create an image file of what is displayed on the screen and store it on my device. Whenever I need a Windows CE program I fire up my Internet connection and head over to CEMonster.com at http://www.cemonster.com, as shown in Figure B. I have had the best luck finding exactly the program that I need from this site. Obviously, you can choose your own favorite download site, but this is one of my favorites.
FIGURE B
I love CEMonster.com! (click for larger image)
The home page shows that the file library is organized by categories and sub-categories. With one click on the Screenshots link at http://www.cemonster.com/screen.htm I got a listing of four screenshot programs, Capture CE, HardCopy, PPCSnap and SnapIt. All of the programs run on Windows CE version 1.0 or greater. Two of the programs have versions for both the handheld and palm-sized PCs. HardCopy only works on handhelds and PPCSnap only works on palm-sized devices. Both are the oldest programs in the listing.
Installing Capture CE
Capture CE had the most recent revision date and is freeware while SnapIt is distributed as shareware and costs $12.00. You can download a copy of SnapIt, but until you register the program it will only create images of half the screen. Since I wanted to start using the program right away, and you can't beat the price, I decided to try Capture CE.
If you look at the listing for Capture CE you will notice that there are links for versions of the program compiled for the SH3 and MIPS processors. This means that you will need to download and install the version of the program that is intended to work with the processor that is in your device. You can find out what processor your device has by running the System applet in control panel. When you start the applet you will get dialog box that looks like the one shown in Figure C.
