Mini Review: HyperSnap-DX

The layout of the typical PC keyboard hasn't changed in so long that it still has a button labeled Print Screen (or, on more terse keyboards, PRT SCR). In 1983, that button actually meant something; you could send any DOS display to the printer.

Today, though, getting on-screen data onto paper or into a graphic file is more complicated. While the Print Screen button can grab a Windows display and put it in the clipboard, lots of other applications don't work that way. If you want to capture a screen from a game, many graphics programs, or most video editing programs, the good old Print Screen key won't work. That's why you should have HyperSnap-DX in your graphics toolbox. HyperSnap can capture any kind of display and save it in a standard graphic file for printing, adding to a PowerPoint file, or pasting into some other document.

Though HyperSnap costs $25 to register, it's well worth the fee to be able to grab and paste images from any video or graphics display on the PC. I've successfully captured hard-to-get images such as video from Direct X applications and DVD players. Download the trial version (which puts its logo on every screen you capture until it's registered).

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