Capture Window (Alt-Print Screen) of Context Menu

Question

As everyone knows, sometimes developers have to document stuff. Or capture some stuff for filing bug reports.

My question is in MS Windows.

I'm trying to capture the context menu (the popup menu that appears after right-clicking an item) of several areas of an application. Pressing Alt to start the Alt+PrintScreen process closes the context menu.

(Only pressing PrintScreen helps, but it's painful to remove the non-window areas everytime).

BONUS: For capturing menus, Alt also closes the menu. However, if you use the Alt key to open the menu in the first place, it works:

1. Press Alt+F (for opening the "File" menu), don't release Alt
2. Press PrintScreen
3. Tada!

Boatload

Answer 1

You can't get the menu on its own, but you can get it to capture the parent window + context menu through a similar trick to the one you discovered with the main menu:

1. Press & hold Shift
2. Press F10
3. Press and hold Alt (you're still holding down Shift)
4. Press PrintScreen
5. Release Shift + Alt

At least you don't have to install any software!

Monadism

thanks! I figured out a similar solution involving shift about an hour after I posted this question – Boatload

Works, just be sure to disable the high contrast accessibility shortcut. – Dam

This did not work for me. after pressing alt [step 3]the context menu disappears. – Pastime

Me neither. The same problem as Ravisha reported. – Olson

Didn't work on Win 7. Context menu disappeared on F10. High Contrast Accessibility shortcuts were disabled. – Twotone

I just pressed PrintScreen and then cropped the image in an image editor to show the context menu – Coeternal

Ctrl + Alt + PrintScreen will do it – Mesomorphic

Trying to capture an Eclipse context menu, the menu closes immediately on pressing CTRL-ALT or SHIFT-F10 – Balaam

Greenshot is a great tool - with this installed and the context menu open, you would simply press PrtScr and then you can select the area you want to capture. – Jaenicke

This doesn't work for me, opens some accessibility menu window on windows for me! Just pressing a prt sc button alone works, (and you have to paste it anywhere you want) but you end up getting the whole screen. – Ofori

Answer 2

Using Windows 7, I used Ctrl and PrntScr at the same time.

That captured the entire screen. I then pasted (Ctrl + V) into an image editor, and cropped out everything except the context menu.

I do have the Windows High Contrast Acccessibility Mode disabled on my computer (Control Panel -> Ease of Access Center -> Make the computer easier to see -> uncheck "Turn on or off High Contrast ..."). I'm not sure if that was necessary or not.

---

Note: if your keyboard does not have PrntScr as a primary key (it might show in small blue font), then obviously you'll have to adjust for that (e.g. you may need to press Alt to get the PrntScr function, which means a total key sequence of Ctrl + Alt + PrntScr on your keyboard).

Twotone

In Windows 7, this doesn't work because it hides the context menu. – Ethelynethene

@thecoolmacdude, I did this in Windows 7. That doesn't mean that it will work on every combination and permutation of Windows 7 settings. There could be something else that allows this to work for me, but not you. But, your statement that it "In Windows 7, this doesn't work" is incorrect. – Twotone

Ok, it doesn't for "for me" in Windows 7. – Ethelynethene

This worked for me, with the minor addition that I had to have the Windows "Snipping Tool" open already. – Rosenstein

Answer 3

Just press Print Screen. It will capture whole screen. Then open paint to a new window, and press Ctrl+V to paste then crop.

Garling

This is by far the best solution if you do not want to install anything. – Epstein

Answer 4

There's actually a slightly easier way for those users of the Snipping Tool.. I pulled this from the Microsoft site itself. It's from this site: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-snipping-tool-capture-screen-shots#1TC=windows-7

If you want to capture a snip of a menu, such as the Start menu, follow these steps:

Open Snipping Tool by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button. In the search box, type Snipping Tool, and then, in the list of results, click Snipping Tool.

After you open Snipping Tool, press Esc, and then open the menu that you want to capture.

Press Ctrl+PrtScn

Click the arrow next to the New button, select Free-form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, or Full-screen Snip from the list, and then select the area of your screen that you want to capture.

Cockoftherock

Answer 5

there is much easier way, simply

1. use snipping tool but with delay option (let's say 3 seconds)
2. click on "new"
3. do whatever you want (right click drop down menu, etc.)
4. save the output.

:)

Jacquelynejacquelynn

Answer 6

Try SnagIT. Works like a warm knife in butter! Also see this: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26183/screenshot-taking-tools

Doe

Rolled back improper 3rd-party edit. Sam's observation that the 2nd link is not working belongs in a comment, but the fact that there was a link should not be removed. – Brabazon

The link is invalid. Also I'm not sure how snagit solves that problem. Step by step instructions should have been posted. I have snagit but it isn't obvious how snagit can capture context menus either. – Ablaze

Answer 7

You might give a try to FastStone Capture which is imho the best tool for this kind of bug filing/doc making stuff.

With this app, just right click on the mouse so as to show the contextual menu, hit print screen, et voilà!

Catheycathi

Answer 8

Press Ctrl + Alt + Print Screen.

The Ctrl won't do anything, but it will prevent Alt for closing the context menu.

Stardom

Answer 9

In response to the "BONUS" part of the OP, I sometimes just want to capture the contents of a "dropdown" from a menu (I may not be using to exact nomenclature). Now that the ribbon has replaced the menu in so many apps, to capture a "dropdown" from the ribbon (e.g. Excel, Home, Find & Select) - do the following:

• Click on Excel ribbon: Home, Find & Select ("dropdown" should appear)
• Move the mouse to the item that you want to be selected / highlighted
• Press & hold Ctrl key
• Press & hold Alt key
• Press PrintScreen key
• Release all keys
• Paste captured ribbon "dropdown" box where you want it

This also captures the highlight on the selected item.

This works for me on Win7, Office 2010.

Parliament

Answer 10

Here is my solution (2019/07/18 Tested on Windows 10).

• For RIGHT click context menu: (it is not work for all situation.)

  1. Mouse RIGHT click anywhere you want it shows a context menu.
  2. Mouse LEFT press down (no UP!!) on the context menu.
  3. do ALT + PrintScreen.
  4. release Mouse LEFT press.

• For tool bar menu:

  1. Mouse LEFT press down (no UP!!) any menu you like.
  2. You even can HIGHLIGHT any sub menu you like.
  3. do ALT + PrintScreen.
  4. release Mouse LEFT press.

Harpole

Answer 11

You could use Screenshot Captor (free).

You can do a Windows Object Capture to grab only the context menu (works with menu capturing as well), or just normal printscreen key to capture the whole screen.

-mouser

[disclaimer -- i am the author of Screenshot Captor]

Omnirange

Answer 12

I tried with my favorite, free screen capture software: MWSnap. I activated a shortkey (Ctrl + Shift + Z) to window/menu capture function, and while it was in background, I called Firefox's context menu on this page and used the shortkey. MWSnap highlighted the menu and upon clicking, captured it flawlessly.

Probably works with other screen capture softwares. PrintScreen is so obsolete... :-P

(Bonus: no Paint to open, save in any common format (PNG, Jpeg) you want, autosave & auto-number of captures if you want, etc.)

Beatriz

Answer 13

You could try PicPick

1. Select screen capture -> capture windows control
2. Do whatever you want, like right click to show the context menu
3. Now you can see the menu (which is a windows control) is the active control (surrounded by the red rectangle), press PrtSc key to capture it.

Parceling

I couldn't get PicPick to capture context menus--is there a trick to this? – Giovannagiovanni

+1, since it answers the OP question. I was actually looking to capture the screen (or part of it) while the context menu was showing--not just the context menu. For future readers, there's a delayed capture option that's asininely buried in the PicPick UI: Click the menu button triangle on the top left, then go to program options, and specify the "delay before capture" to be something acceptable (I chose 3000). Well, at least it's cheap as free. – Giovannagiovanni

Answer 14

As an update to this post from an answer to those with Windows 7+ from the Microsoft's answer site

How to Print Screen a right click?

If you use the built-in "Snipping Tool" (find it in your Start menu), you can take a snip of a menu:

• After you open Snipping Tool, press Esc to cancel the current snip, and then open the menu that you want to capture.
• Press Ctrl+PrtScn.
• Click the arrow next to the New button, select Free-form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, or Full-screen Snip from the list, and then select the area of your screen that you want to capture.

Spirit

Answer 15

In Windows 7:

1. Left-click the folder of the corresponding right-click menu you want to capture.
2. Hold down Shift+F10.
3. Tap the PrintScreen button.
4. If needed, use the Snipping Tool provided with your system to crop the image.

Ethelynethene

Answer 16

I can't get accepted answer to work (despite disabling high contrast) but this does it:

1. right-click context menu (obviously), use arrow keys, if you want to highlight a particular entry(that way it doesn't get closed)
2. Press Ctrl + PrintScreen
3. You got the entire screen(s) into your clipboard, including context menu.

(the only difference is neither pressing F10 nor alt)

Miner

Answer 17

20/20 can also capture a context menu http://www.sofotex.com/20/20-download_L230.html

Tarlatan

Answer 18

As far as capturing context menus such as right-click menus or others for which pressing the Alt-key causes the menu to disappear, at least on Windows 7, check out: http://blogs.technet.com/b/migreene/archive/2007/05/12/how-to-use-the-snipping-tool-to-capture-context-menus.aspx, as well as the comment there by Uwa.

Basically, open up Snipping Tool (which should be built into Windows 7 and can be searched for using the Start menu) and click the Cancel button, but do not close out of Snipping Tool. Then open up your context menu and press (on a desktop keyboard) Ctrl+PrintScreen. This will switch back to Snipping Tool, where you can select options before you capture, but leave your context menu open.

With Snipping Tool, you can capture a full screen, window, rectangular, or free-form snip. If you just want to capture the context menu and not the parent window, the rectangular snip will likely suit your needs best.

Attemper

Answer 19

Users on Linux or BSD can try scrot:

scrot -d 5 'contextmenuincluded.png' -e 'mv $f ~'

That will take a screenshot after five seconds and place it in your home directory. Make sure you click the context menu open before the 5 seconds are over. After that, edit the screenshot with your favorite image editor (for example GIMP) to only keep the context menu.

On Ubuntu you install scrot like this:

sudo apt-get install scrot

On Arch it goes like this:

sudo pacman -S scrot

Linkman

look at the tag, the question is about Windows – Easterly

but it's unrelated to this question whatsoever. Unless the question has no tag about OS, otherwise it's off-topic – Easterly

Although the answer is off-topic indeed, it helped me (Gnome has a similar yet less searchable issue). Another solution is to use gnome-screenshot -w -d 5 (gnome-screenshot is often already installed). – Arlina

Answer 20

I use a more easy key pressing sequence (for main menus, not for context menus):

1. Press and hold Alt to show menu
2. Use mouse or cursors to show menu as i want to snapshot/screenshoot
3. Press and Hold Shift
4. Press and release PrintScreen
5. Now you can release Shift and Alt keys.

For context menus I use this sequence:

1. Show context menu
2. Use mouse or cursors to show menu as I want to snapshot/screenshoot
3. Press and Hold Shift
4. Press and release PrintScreen
5. Now you can release Shift and Alt keys.

All tested on Windows 10.

Coronet

Answer 21

I had tried a lot (more than 25 apps) that claim to save ScreenShot to a file.

They do it, but not well.

All you can try this simple step by step tests:

1. Without any of them active, press Alt+Printscreen to take the snapshot
2. Paste the clipboard image on a paint application (Paint.Net could be fine) as a layer
3. With one of such apps (screenshot) active, press Alt+Printscreen to take the snapshot, so it saves to PNG or whatever looseless format wanted
4. Now open saved file and take a look to the size on pixels, compare it with the size of what you got on steps 1 & 2, surprise: they do not match!

It is also worst when window border is not (i will use Delphi constant names) "bsSizeable", if it is "bsDialog", "bstoolWindow", etc, most of the applications that takes snapshops loose some part of the left and top part of the window; like if they where cropping.

So, i must ask:

Is there any application that can catch Alt+Printscreen to auto save the clipborad? Instead of them making their own screen shot!

In other words, when i use no tool i get the correct size / region pasted on clipboard, but when using applications to make screenshot easier, with some kind of windows i get more pixels around the windows border, or worst, lost part of the window.

All theese apps has that problem, and on them it is very easy to see it (there are a lot more with taht problem, but i put the most well known / most popular ones, in alfabethic order): Cropper 1.9.4, FSCaptureSetup53, GreenShot, Lightscreen, PrtScrAssistant, ScreenshotCaptor, ... etc.

By the way, why they are making the screen shot by them selves? When Alt+Printscreen is pressed (without any hook, no screen capture app running, etc), Windows put on the clipboard the correct region; but when any of such apps are running, the clipboard / file / etc get an incorrect region.

Please note i am talking about "standard" windows, no theme, all with rectangular border, no personal GUI, etc... windows standard forms.

Some apps, put an extra margin arround the rectangular border of the window. Other apps, cut part of the rectangular window, so some part is lost, so much, that first letter of the title caption (when no system menu icon is shown) is lost.

Wich one does work (save same region) as the same as Windows stardard Alt+Printscreen? I do not yet know of any one, all i tested fails at that point.

The only solution i known is having Paint.Net open and use:

1. Alt+Printscreen
2. Alt+Tad to go to Paint.Net
3. Ctrl+Alt+V to paste as new image
4. Ctrl+S to save (it asks for path, name and type, etc)

From all apps i had tried, some of them do not auto save as PNG; most of the ones that create a PNG save wrong region (some with bigger region, some with insuficient region); allways talking about taking a snapshot of a standard rectangular window.

Tested on: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10

P.D.: If you are not a developer that can set BorderStyle and BorderIcons for your forms, just try with any app that show non resizable tool windows, dialogs, etc... it is really easy to see the difference between doing windo screen shot by windows and than paste the result versus any of theese apps that can auto save; remember you need to use Alt+PrintScreen (only the region of the active rectangular window wanted, no more, no less).

Coronet

Answer 22

Found one working like a charm: free_clipboard_manager

Concept is somehow different: Copy the clipboard to a file each time the clipboard changes.

And it also saves TEXT copied to clipboard in a TXT file.

Since it saves what is copied to the clipboard, it saves the screenshot just as windows does it, including Alt-PrintScreen when window border is different, etc.

It is Portable, no install needed, and no elevation, etc, it runs in normal user account.

It creates a folder called clipboard where it store each thing copied to clipboard (tested only with image and text) to files, each time clipboard changes one file is created, a .TXT for text and a .PNG for images (can be changed in options to .JPG (90% and 80%).

I had tested it on Windows 10, so it also works on Windows 10.

Coronet

Answer 23

If you want to easily print menus and submenus Easy step! Ctrl + Fn+ PrntScrn on W10 Paste in Paint or Wordpad

Timikatiming

Answer 24

You may record the whole process with screen recording software DemoCreator. And you can add multiple callouts to your recording.

Polyclinic

Answer 25

you don't need anything. Just hook the menu window .

Biosphere