Saving Screen Grabs Automatically As Image Files

After you do a screen grab in Windows 7, an image is saved to your clipboard. It won't be possible to view and edit the image until the image is pasted in PowerPoint or another application. In order to automatically save the screen grab as an image file follow these steps:

1. Install AutoHotKey. See the Tip of the Night for May 9, 2017. When you save simple scripts in files with the extension, .ahk, AutoHotKey will allows you run these using hot keys - e.g., CTRL + J, or other designated keystrokes.

2. Last night's Tip of the Night, discussed NirSoft's NirCmd utility. This allows special commands to be run which are not normally available in Windows. These include savescreenshot.

3. Enter the below script into a text file with the extension, .ahk. Set the folder where you want your screengrabs to be saved.

#NoEnv SendMode Input SetWorkingDir, foofolder7

PRINTSCREEN::Run, c:\nircmd\nircmd.exe savescreenshot c:\foofolder7\Screenshot_%A_Now%.png !PRINTSCREEN::Run, c:\nircmd\nircmd.exe savescreenshotwin c:\foofolder7\Screenshot_%A_Now%.png return

4. The AutoHotKey installation includes a utility called, 'Convert .ahk to .exe'. Using this utility select the .ahk script you saved, and then convert it to a new executable file, saved in your startup folder. To find your startup folder, follow the steps in the Tip of the Night for November 16, 2018.

5. Now when you press the PRTSC button, or ALT + PRTSC an image file will be saved automatically to the designated folder.

Thanks to vvsraju for posting this AutoHotKey script here.