Snipping tool not able to capture menus in win 7

The Cool Guy said:

Guess we can better use this software; A+ Freeware - Multimedia & Design - FastStone Capture 5.3 (last freeware version) if it doesn't work in Windows 7.

I'm not interested in anything involving editing, shrinking, cropping etc.

It would be so much easier if we could find out why Snipping Tool behaves differently in Win 7 (7100).

Hi Peter,

I agree with you!

It would be interesting if anyone running the later builds (7137?) could try this out and see if it still happens, and maybe one of the older builds too, (7000?)

It may be that the issue is a bug in the 7100 RC, or it is "by design"

I used Irfanview and Faststone Capture

The Cool Guy said:

You are wrong, Orbital Shark. I can prove it (I took these from Vista cause I'm currently booted into Vista's partition; if it does work on Vista, it should work on Win7)

Then surely you can post a shot of it working in Se7en, it won't happen for me

Hi Nigel,

I can confirm it's not working in 7137 & i don't think it has for any build, but i could be wrong.

OK, I discovered this online and we have "WindowsITPro" to thank....
I've tested it in Windows 7 and it works..samples below, 1st one is in Firefox.
It's just a variation on what we do in Vista really.

When you attempt to capture an image of the Start menu or context menu, accessing the Snipping Tool causes the Start menu and context menu to close.

To workaround this behavior:
1. Start / Programs / Accessories / Snipping Tool, or select New if the tool is already open so it is in capture mode.

2. Press Cancel or minimize the Snipping Tool.

3. Open the Start menu or context menu that you wish to capture.

4. Press Ctrl + PrtScn to copy the window the screen to the clipboard. Since the Snipping Tool is in rectangular capture mode, you can select the portion of the screen that you desire.

NOTE: Selecting New and minimizing the tool allows you to capture another image.

Thanks Peter,

That one works here too

You're welcome. It was actually an old Vista tip from 2006 according to the article. I tried it and it worked, so all's well that ends well.
Kudos to The Cool Guy for getting me into one of my "determined to solve this" moods.

Contrary to other reports, it IS possible to use the Snipping Tool to capture menus and context menus.

Start the Snipping Tool.
Click New to return the focus to the desktop.
Open the Menu or Context Menu that you wish to capture.
Press Ctrl and PrtScn. This freezes the screen, and returns the focus to the Snipping Tool.
You can now use the tool to capture the required image.

itinva said:

When I open the Snipping Tool I am able to hit print screen on my Vista computer and capture drop down menus or the start menu without a problem. When I use the Snipping Tool in Windows 7 I'm not able to use the Print Screen button because I have to use the Fn Key to activate Print screen which is non-responsive on the Win 7 side. It works on the Vista side on the same laptop just not on the Win 7 side. Just as a side not I can capture using Win 7 just can't get the screen shots of menus because they go away when the capture because available.

This could indicate that this is a keyboard driver issue.

Dwarf I beat you to it.