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Old 24-03-06, 18:09   #1
Henhead
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Exclamation Guide to Taking Screenshots Using Fraps

Here is a quick guide on using and setting up Fraps for taking screenshots.

A trial version of Fraps can be downloaded here (706k)

Fraps is a universal Windows application that can be used with all games using DirectX or OpenGL technology. In its current form Fraps performs many tasks and can best be described as:

Benchmarking Software - See how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen. Perform custom benchmarks and measure the frame rate between any two points. Save the statistics out to disk and use them for your own reviews and applications.

Screen Capture Software - Take a screenshot with the press of a key! There's no need to paste into a paint program every time you want to capture the screen. Your screen captures are also automatically named and timestamped.

Realtime Video Capture Software - Have you ever wanted to record video while playing your favorite game? Come join the Machinima revolution! Throw away the VCR, forget about using a DV cam, game recording has never been this easy! Fraps can capture audio and video up to 1152x864 and 100 frames per second!

The trial version is the same as the full version, however screen captures will be saved uncompressed as .BMP’s, if you purchase Fraps then they can then be saved automatically as .JPG’s or PNG’s


After downloading and running the install set you will have a fraps shortcut on your desktop.



After double clicking this icon you will be presented with the Fraps General tab



GENERAL TAB



1. Here you can see 4 tabs relating to different functions of Fraps


General - the tab were are on now

FPS – Settings for the Frames Per Second Function

Movies – Settings for taking in-game movie captures

Screenshots – Settings for taking in-game screenshots.


2. Click this box to start Fraps minimized. With this activated Fraps will no longer show up on your desktop but will run straight from you system tray (to open up fraps onto the desktop while it is running in the background double click this icon)



3. I usually un-tick this box, as I do not like the fraps window being on top, this option is down to your personal taste.

4. Tick this box if you want Fraps to start with windows, this is handy if you are forgetful and forget to start fraps before you start playing your game!


I will jump straight to the screenshots tab, but I will however brush over the other tabs later on

SCREENSHOTS TAB







1. Here you can select the folder all your captures will be saved to, by default it is C:\ Fraps, you can however change this to any folder you wish.

2. Here you can either disable the screenshot hotkey (but why would you ) or you can change it to a key of your choice

3. You can change the format of the saved screenshots (remember you can only save them as BMP’s in the trial version)

4. If this box is ticked then the current frame rate will be added to your screenshots


5. If you tick this box then Fraps will automatically take screenshots at specified intervals, this is a handy option for taking some great screen shots during hectic battles


Now with fraps running in the background every time you press the specified keystroke while playing your game, in this case F10 a screenshot will be saved


To retrieve any screenshots you have taken go to the related folder by using windows explorer or by clicking the view button within Fraps

All screenshots will be saved and named with the game you have taken the screenshots from along with a timestamp like below



The images I have taken are 1280 x 1024 in resolution and the file weight is around 3.5 to 4mb each as they are uncompressed in the BMP format.


To save space you can download IrFanView From here (884k) and batch convert them to jpeg’s

To do this open IrFanView go to File > Batch conversion/rename





1. Highlight the pictures you want to convert

2. Press the add button

3. All selected pictures will now appear here

4. Select your output directory

5. Select your output format i.e. JPG you can also change any options here (quality of image for example)

6. Then press start – IrFanView will then automatically go thought the list one by one and save them to the required format


I had 56 screenshots in bmp format weighing in at 210mb after running them thought IrFanView I had 56 jpegs weighing in at 27mb a saving of 183mb!



FPS TAB



I usually disable the overlay display Hotkey and the Benchmarking Hotkey as I do not use these capabilities of Fraps, I also disable the overlay corner as well.

However if you wish to find out more about its function, detailed help can be found by clicking the red help button in the lower right hand corner.


MOVIES TAB



On this tab you can change the options for movie capturing, the video size and frame rate etc.

At the top of this tab is the destination folder for movie captures, the default setting is C:\Fraps

Also you can either disable the hotkey or change it to a key of your choice.

If you are using the trial version of Fraps all movie captures will be watermarked, and you have a limited recording length. Just a note that if the frame rate of your game deteriorates while recording, this could be due to your processor capabilities or the amount of memory your system has

For further help on this function, press the help button

Last edited by Henhead; 25-03-06 at 01:42.
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Old 24-03-06, 18:25   #2
Neteru
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HH. Added your guide to the Video Capturing list
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Old 24-03-06, 18:29   #3
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Thanks Net. Hope it's of use to someone
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Old 24-03-06, 18:33   #4
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I am sure it will be.
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Old 24-03-06, 18:53   #5
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Another useful page! Good work Henhead!

Last edited by Joseph; 24-03-06 at 18:56.
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Old 24-03-06, 18:57   #6
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Yes, really good work. (escpecially I lile batch conv. thingy!)
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Old 24-03-06, 19:50   #7
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Excellent work, HH!
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Old 24-03-06, 20:41   #8
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Added to the How To: section of the Tech Pages.
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Old 24-03-06, 21:05   #9
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Great guide HH
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Old 25-03-06, 01:55   #10
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