Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What's the best way to create a screenshot?

Here's how to create a screenshot in 3 easy steps...

1. Double-click the ScreenShot Direct shortcut on your desktop or in the Start Menu. A dialog box will appear and a program icon will load in your system tray.
2. Choose your options and select OK.
3. Press the "PrintScreen" button on your computer (usually in the upper right hand corner of your keyboard). When PowerPoint opens, select your options, and, when finished, return to the screen you wish to capture. You do not need to minimize PowerPoint.

That's it! Now, each time you press "PrintScreen," a new slide will be created and added to the current PowerPoint presentation. See the User's Guide for a complete description of advanced features.

Can I use ScreenShot Direct with other screenshot programs?

ScreenShot Direct has not been tested with other screenshot programs. If you use another program and ScreenShot Direct does not work, please close that program.

How can I see the ScreenShot Direct icon in the system tray?

Check first that the program is running. If already running, you may need to "unhide" the icon as follows:

1. Click Start > Settings > Taskbar and Start Menu
2. At the bottom right hand side of the window, click "Customize..."
3. Look for ScreenShot Direct in the list of Current Items and set the status to either "Hide when inactive" or "Always show."

Why is my screenshot not covering the entire slide when I set scaling to 100%?

You may not have the page size set correctly.

Open PowerPoint and go to File > Page Setup. You will see a place to enter "Width" and "Height."

• If you have a STANDARD DISPLAY (i.e. almost a square screen) - NO EXTRA STEPS ARE REQUIRED - PowerPoint will use defaults for a 10 inch by 7.5 inch page size.
• If you have a WIDE SCREEN DISPLAY - SET WIDTH = 8 and HEIGHT = 5.
• If you have an EXTRA WIDE SCREEN DISPLAY - SET WIDTH = 16 and HEIGHT = 9.

To test the settings, take a screenshot with scaling = 100% and check if your PowerPoint slide is completely covered. If not try a different setting.

FOR WIDE AND EXTRA WIDE DISPLAYS ONLY. The following process for creating a blank template will eliminate the need to set the page size for each new presentation created by ScreenShot Direct and PowerPoint.

• Open PowerPoint and select File > New
• Go to File > Page Setup and set the desired Width and Height as explained above
• Make any other changes you would like to use for slide layout, graphics, etc. NOTE: You can have as many, or few, slides as you like in the template.
• Click File > Save As... and "Save as type: Design Template (*.pot)"
• Select File name: Blank.pot (NOTE: This is not case sensitive).
• Use the following path to save the file:
  
  C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Account Name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

Now, all <new> ScreenShot Direct presentations will conform to this template unless otherwise controlled or specified by you.

NOTE: Without this template, PowerPoint will use defaults for a 10 inch by 7.5 inch page size.

How can I switch between multiple presentations?

You have two methods to switch between presentations...

• Click on the tray icon once and select the presentation you would like or select <new>
• Double-click the tray icon to open the Options dialog and select the presentation you would like or select <new>

Why do the options "Insert new slides before active slide" and "Insert new slides at the beginning" change to "Append new slides after active slide?"

This happens because the last slide inserted becomes the Active slide and all subsequent slides will follow.

Why does PowerPoint come to the foreground when the program opens?

PowerPoint will only come to the foreground when no presentations are open and <new> is selected. This is done so you can adjust presentation settings, and see how subsequent presentations will default. If at least one presentation is open, pressing PrintScreen will not bring PowerPoint to the foreground.

Why does my PowerPoint presentation have blank slides?

ScreenShot Direct inserts new slides at the end of any template or default PowerPoint presentation. That means if you have one or more slides in the Blank template, then those slides will appear before the first screenshot.