I thought using a simplified screenshot app was a good idea - an idea I borrowed from Slitaz. The idea seemed quite good: ask a user for a delay, take the screenshot, and then open it in mtpaint for editing, saving, etc. However, for some users - especially those unfamiliar with image editing, the new approach was a bit awkward. So I looked at several options to perhaps replace zenscreen: gsnapshot, shutter, and xfce's screenshot app. I couldn't compile gsnapshot and shutter pulled in too many dependencies. Xfce screenshot also would have brought in some dependencies, but it's layout was what I was looking for. And so I've come up with the following layout:


And now opening the image with an image viewer/editor is an option. Also, the custom and full options are in the same window. And now for the bad news:
1. The reason I've been rewriting the app is because closing the window (in the version shipped with antix 8.0) before capturing the screen required a hack. This still needs to be fixed (and may be on track to fixing it).
2. I need to find a way to change the cursor for custom area options (as is done in xfce's screenshot app - it would look like a square cross).
3. I need to modify the app so that after the screen is captured you either get a dialog confirmation or the image is opened with a chosen viewer.
4. I'm thinking about including a camera icon at the top of the screenshot window.

What do think? Am I heading in the right direction this time? Let me know before I get too far into this.

john

me, i didn't found the new screenshot app awkward. i found it time consuming. i need to make a screenshot fast, because usually i share it instantly. the new layout is awsome, i'll use it right now. it has all the options in one window. very cool. thanks john

like the new layout.
gives the user full control on everything - wow
good job!

My post got lost.

Yes the new version is a great step forward.

Update:

1. I didn't know how to process the checkbox option for the image viewer option. So I simplified things by using a drop-down menu with the first option set to"none." It is now much easier to process.
2. I've tested the script several times with several options and I can say it's working 90%.
3. Why 90%? Because I still need to figure out how to change the cursor for the custom screenshot option. When that happens, the script will be 100%. But at least it's more than usable in its current state. And I'm much happier with it now than any other screenshot script I've written.
4. I still need to decide if I want a camera icon at the top of the window. I'll go ahead and do and post a screenshot with it.

Perhaps tonight I can post an updated screenshot of the screenshot app and with an icon. Don't know how long it will take me to figure out the change of icon for the custom area option, though.

john

PM email addresses and I'll start sending out the script for testing. Unless anti knows of an easier way. No depends for this app except gtkdialog, zenity, feh, mtpaint, and gqview. If you have other viewers/editors that you'd like to use, you'd simply need to study the code and add the new options in the appropriate spot. No programming experience necessary - just an eye for detail.

john

John, What are you using for a partial screen? If"scrot -s" then the cursor will change when a"left click" is detected. After you drag and release then the shot is taken.

Send me the latest for a test. Maybe a .deb?????

eriefisher@gmail.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

After a lot of searching, I found that you can change your cursor by doing

xsetroot -cursor_name nameofcursoricon

But as eriefisher pointed out, the cursor changes when the left-click is detected. Of course I didn't notice this myself until after I spent about an hour searching for the solution.

So here is a screenshot of the new window. I did try putting a camera icon at the top, but it looked kind of silly to me.


Hope this is what everybody wants.

I've sent the script to ice-m and erie. Hopefully a .deb can be made soon and uploaded by erie for all to enjoy. Or not.

john

i tested it. wow it's very easy and fast. one thing i can suggest: the home/user/ to be the default option for the lazy ones. i'll delete the old ones and use this one. thanks john great work.

I was trying to figure out how to have /home/user the"default" option, but I couldn't quite find it. I'll dig around some more and see what I can find. I was also thinking of making the"choose region" option a set of radio buttons since there's only two options. Time to get back to work. Thanks.

john

I haven't found a way to get a"default" entry in the input area. But the good news is the screenshot is saved by default to your active directory. So as long as you haven't navigated away from /home/user, your screenshot will be saved there. Otherwise, you'll need to use the icon to choose a folder. Additionally, whether you open the screenshot with a viewer or just let the confirmation window pop-up, the path will be displayed. It may be the best I can do.

john

P.S. I've been inspired by the results of this experiment; I want to write a mouse config app: theme, size, acceleration, threshold, etc. like the one available in rox. I've looked into the acceleration bit and the only thing we need to get it to work is a simple entry in either ~/.xinitrc. I'll start another thread when I have a window layout ready.

Turns out I was wrong in the last post: You must choose a directory or your image won't be saved properly. And I have not found a way to set /home/user as a default directory.

john

John, this is very nice. I came here to ask for it to remind the last directory used to save the shot. Now I see you were having trouble with this. But maybe some little script that creates a reference file when a directory is chosen to save the image which would be referred from the next time the app is opened. If that is feasible, then it could come with this file defaulted to ~/ for the first run.
(something alike nitrogen does with wallpapers?)