Author Topic: Screenshot Captor... cm vs. in (Read 12370 times)

crabby3 · « **on:** March 25, 2012, 06:03 AM »

Is there a way to set SC to always capture in inches?

I haven't been able to locate the setting.

If it can't be set... maybe it could be added to a future update?

mouser · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2012, 07:35 AM »

Assuming you mean for the print dialog, yes you can. Go to the "Print Options" tab in the options:
Screenshot - 3_25_2012 , 7_34_14 AM.png

crabby3 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:28 AM »

Thanks for your time, mouser, but printing isn't what I meant.

Sometimes I'll grab a photo of something and later, on closer inspection, I notice it has a choppy or saw-tooth look in different areas. Before I start editing it I check the dpi amount. This is when I see that it was captured in centimeter or inches.

The first place I looked in SC was Preferences/Image File Format but it wasn't there. I checked all the other Preferences areas but couldn't find what I thought would apply.

If it's not an option... it's not an option.

I just thought I'd ask, in case it was there, and I just didn't see it.

mouser · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:41 AM »

You can change the DPI number, but that doesnt seem to be the same thing.

Can you tell me which program you are using that is showing the images are "captured in centimeters"?

tomos · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:43 AM »

Sometimes I'll grab a photo of something and later, on closer inspection, I notice it has a choppy or saw-tooth look in different areas. Before I start editing it I check the dpi amount. This is when I see that it was captured in centimeter or inches.
-crabby3 (March 25, 2012, 10:28 AM)

Where/how do you check the dpi?
The dpi for the image is taken from the screen resolution information (e.g. 96 dpi here)
If that were expressed in centimetres it wouldnt change anything about the image itself.
Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something? - or everything :-)

sorry, overlapped with mouser's post...

crabby3 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 25, 2012, 10:59 AM »

You can change the DPI number, but that doesnt seem to be the same thing.

Can you tell me which program you are using that is showing the images are "captured in centimeters"?
-mouser (March 25, 2012, 10:41 AM)

It's Jasc PSP 9... my ancient photo editing program. And... it can convert any photo from centimeters to inches but I thought I would try to find a way to avoid this extra step. Unfortunately... I can't wrap-my-head-around the metric system

... so I have to switch pics to inches.

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2012, 11:04 AM »

Well like i said, you can change the DPI of captured images, as stored by SC in the image files (you'll find that in options on the Image File Format tab) -- but i don't know that the image files specify whether they were captured in inches or cm. Unless someone tells me they do, it sounds like your problem is with your image editor not SC.

crabby3 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 25, 2012, 11:40 AM »

Well like i said, you can change the DPI of captured images, as stored by SC in the image files (you'll find that in options on the Image File Format tab) -- but i don't know that the image files specify whether they were captured in inches or cm. Unless someone tells me they do, it sounds like your problem is with your image editor not SC.
-mouser (March 25, 2012, 11:04 AM)

More clarification on my part is needed... Not all of my SC screencaps are in centimeters. Some are in inches. My PSP just shows the information that was already there... on the web page... before it was captured.

I used this PSP to screencap stuff before I started using Screenshot Captor and it always captured in inches... never centimeters... because I have it set that way.

I'd still be using it too... but your SC is soooooo much easier and faster to setup and use.

No big deal really... I'm kind of sorry I started this topic.

And I'll think twice before I start another one.

mouser · « **Reply #8 on:** March 25, 2012, 11:50 AM »

crabby there is no reason to feel sorry for starting the topic (or to hesitate before starting a new one) !

Perhaps there is some misunderstanding and you think that someone is upset about your question/request -- not at all.

I'm just trying to understand why paint shop pro thinks that the screenshot was in centimeters -- whether there is something that Screenshot Captor is storing in the files telling it so, or whether PSP is configured to assume that all PNGs are in centimeters, etc.

If anyone can shed any light, let us know.

mouser · « **Reply #9 on:** March 25, 2012, 11:57 AM »

I did a little test that makes me think PSP is a bit schizophrenic about this suff.

I created a new image in PSP, saved it as PSP, PNG, JPG.

Then i opened each and view the "image information" from PSP.

The PSP and JPG formatted files both showed image information in inches.. The PNG showed them in centimeters and mm.

SO: My conclusion is that PSP treats all PNG files as if they were created by sane Europeans using the metric system. While jpgs and psp formatted files are treated as if they were created by crazy Americans.

Bring on the next question!

tomos · « **Reply #10 on:** March 25, 2012, 12:37 PM »

Perhaps there is some misunderstanding and you think that someone is upset about your question/request -- not at all.
-mouser (March 25, 2012, 11:50 AM)

yes - not at all here too

I think (especially after mouser's experimenting) it's actually got nothing to do with the image, but has to do with the programme settings. In my ancient version of photoshop I can choose to look at the resolution in terms of pixels-per-inch (dpi), or pixels-per-cm.

crabby3 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 27, 2012, 04:06 AM »

I composed several replies... and this one appears to be the least aggressive.

it sounds like your problem is with your image editor not SC.
-mouser (March 25, 2012, 11:04 AM)

I didn't mean to imply that SC had a problem and I don't think I did. I was looking for a setting or information I couldn't find myself.

SO: My conclusion is that PSP treats all PNG files as if they were created by sane Europeans using the metric system. While jpgs and psp formatted files are treated as if they were created by crazy Americans.
-mouser (March 25, 2012, 11:57 AM)

I'm not biased in any way when in comes to using the Metric System vs. US Standard. I was just brought up with the US version and can't seem to relate to Metric. There must be some 'Europeans' out there who think the same way about US Standard.

No big deal really... I'm kind of sorry I started this topic. And I'll think twice before I start another one.
-crabby3 (March 25, 2012, 11:40 AM)

I'll still be cautious before posting a New Topic again. Constructive criticism (about the original topic) is always a plus. But sometimes, in the past, the word vulture came to mind at DC. I guess maybe other forums are conducted in this manner but I have no comparison.

.....................................................

So in conclusion...

Is there a way to set SC to always capture in inches? I haven't been able to locate the setting.

If it can't be set... maybe it could be added to a future update?
-crabby3 (March 25, 2012, 06:03 AM)

I'll assume the answer to my first question is NO. And, I guess, the answer to my second question is probably not?

justice · « **Reply #12 on:** March 27, 2012, 09:53 AM »

Is there a way to set SC to always capture in inches? I haven't been able to locate the setting.

If it can't be set... maybe it could be added to a future update?
-crabby3 (March 25, 2012, 06:03 AM)

Hi Crabby!
I think what people are saying is that Screencaptor does not decide to capture in inches or milimeters. It is Paint Shop pro that decides to convert the pixels to either inches or milimeters. Maybe someone that knows Paint Shop Pro can help investigate whether that is a setting you can change. Good luck.

So the answers to both your original quetions are no, but maybe with some help you can still get what you want.

mouser · « **Reply #13 on:** March 27, 2012, 10:04 AM »

Or put another way, it seems like this is something that would be impossible to fix in screenshot captor, since there is no way to embed this information in a png file, and that the discrepancy you are seeing seems to be entirely a creation of Paint Shop Pro, and has nothing to do with the image file.

crabby3 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 27, 2012, 12:04 PM »

Thanks to both of you, justice and mouser, for your understanding and input on this issue.

I guess my only option is to grab stuff using BMP because I don't like what JPG does to pics.

When I find a solution for this Jasc/PNG/metric issue I'll add it to this topic. I say 'when' because this my newest quest. I know the answer's out there... I just need to click the correct link or read the right (PSP) forum page.

BTW Corel doesn't even list Paint Shop Pro on their updates and patches page any more. (A reminder for others... to backup their Jasc patches/updates). There are probably other sources for these but nothing beats the real thing!

crabby3 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 27, 2012, 12:38 PM »

My deepest appreciation goes out to whomever put a link to this DC forum topic on the internet!

Maybe my quest will be a few years shorter because of it!

crabby3 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 29, 2012, 07:06 AM »

Maybe my quest will be a few years shorter because of it!
-crabby3 (March 27, 2012, 12:38 PM)

My quest has ended!

Please see this topic... Reply #11

crabby3 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2012, 01:08 AM »

I gleaned this info from another forum.

...where I posted this issue.

So really quick. The PNG file format defaults to meters. There is a single byte inside the physical pixel dimensions chunk that defines how the editor should read the resolution. Because it is only a single byte it can only have two values 0:unknown 1:meters. The default, again, is meters. If this is not set then I suspect that PSP will default to Inches using the necessary conversion. The encoder that PSP uses doesn't offer to let you change this so it auto-defaults to meters.

The reason you might find a PNG that shows in inches is because this single value in the file is set to 0. And if the screen capture program ~~NoName~~ uses defaults this to 1 they will show in centimeters. It's that simple.

BTW I just edited the 'NoName' and used copy/paste so there shouldn't be any mistakes.

Jibz · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2012, 02:14 AM »

That is basically what we arrived at here as well I think

.

Personally, I think that setting it to 0 just to let one programs possibly faulty decoder show inches instead of centimeters would be a mistake, unless this is some de-facto standard.

(And just for the record, a single byte can have 256 different values, there are just only two valid values defined in the PNG standard.)

crabby3 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 30, 2012, 02:29 AM »

That is basically what we arrived at here as well I think .

Personally, I think that setting it to 0 just to let one programs possibly faulty decoder show inches instead of centimeters would be a mistake, unless this is some de-facto standard.

(And just for the record, a single byte can have 256 different values, there are just only two valid values defined in the PNG standard.)
-Jibz (March 30, 2012, 02:14 AM)

Thanks for your info, Jibz... but I was able to find another screencap program that fixed my problem. This one, for some reason, allows my PSP to open PNG pics in inches.

Jibz · « **Reply #20 on:** March 30, 2012, 02:38 AM »

Thanks for your info, Jibz... but I was able to find another screencap program that fixed my problem. This one, for some reason, allows my PSP to open PNG pics in inches.
-crabby3 (March 30, 2012, 02:29 AM)

I am glad you found a solution to your problem

.

mouser · « **Reply #21 on:** March 30, 2012, 10:56 AM »

Right, so the only thing to consider for SC is whether it might be useful to let user set an option to say basically "don't put DPI info in the file". that would solve the PSP oddity, the question is whether it would help or hurt in other programs.