TGrab
software:
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Revision history
Website contents: copyright © 1993-2011, Harry Doldersum.
March 20th, 2005 - Updated version 1.5.1.12 to 1.6.1.13: a new release.
- Implemented an auto-execute function into TGrab's Preference settings, in order to enable it to start taking screenshots (using it's previously stored Preference settings), immediately after being executed.
This will allow TGrab to be executed & start functioning automatically, using a scheduling application or scripts. TGrab already had the ability to terminate after a certain time-frame or after a certain amount of images were taken.
Please note, that TGrab will not be able to auto-execute in it's hidden mode, due to certain restrictions.
October 16th, 2004 - Updated version 1.4.1.7 to 1.5.1.12: a new release.
- Implemented an additional method for capturing the fullscreen snapshot, this "Custom" routine is now the default fullscreen capturing mode. On a few computer systems, it appeared that TGrab could not successfully capture the fullscreen snapshot? Since TGrab used the standard and documented Windows command events for these functions and these computers were all using versions of the Windows operating systems that had actually been included in our testing programme, it has to be assumed that this problem is caused by occasional bugs in the operating system. These bugs may possibly have been introduced by applying multiple patches (?), since they do not appear to exist in any of the local testing- or customer-machines.
As a work-around, we have implemented an additional software routine to perform fullscreen snapshots: the "Custom" snapshot command. This routine is now selected as the default fullscreen capture mode. If users would prefer to stick to the standard capturing method, then this choice can be indicated on the "Settings (2)" tab-page of the Preferences dialog.
- Two of TGrab's main window appearance properties have been made configurable: these are the settings for "dialog autoscaling" and "dialog resizing". These settings can be accessed through the "Settings (2)" tab-page of the Preferences dialog.
These settings have been made configurable, since - on some of the Windows XP systems - the selected settings for font & window appearances could cause TGrab's main window to grow slightly beyond the default window size. This growth would (also) trigger the automatic insertion of a set of scrollbars. In itself not a problem, since the dialog has always been manually resizable, but it's not how we'd like our application to present itself to it's user. Therefor, the default settings have been altered, so that TGrab can cope with this. However, if you prefer, you can switch the old settings back on.
- Then a minor cosmetic change: we altered the appearance of the text representation for the active filename & filepath at the label "Storage folder for captured..." on both the main window as well as the Preferences dialog. With very long pathnames, it could occur that the line ran out of the space that was allocated for it, intruding the dialog's space next to it. This has now been corrected.
August 16th, 2003 - Updated version 1.3.1.4 to 1.4.1.7: a new release.
- TGrab's "Select folder & filename basis" dialog did not show any image files that already exist in the active folder or directory. Functionality for showing this info was only rudimentary implemented in this dialog, since this wasn't in the initial scope (the dialog's primary function was to focus on the creation of new filenames and their storage location for any new images that TGrab would make in it's session). The "Select..." dialog has now been extended to include functionality to show the images files that already exist in the active folder. (As such, it can now also more suitable to be used as a preview option).
- Added the "Windows Metafile" (.WMF) and "Win32 Enhanced Metafile" (.EMF) file formats to TGrab. (For your information, the .WMF format is the Windows 3.1 Metafile, with "Aldus" header). These formats can be selected from the "Select folder & filename basis" dialog, accessible through the "Select" button in the "General settings" group.
- Corrected a bug, where the use of the timer session's "END" button (to stop the timer capturing process), would not reset the image counter. Since this counter is used not only in the filename, but also as an optional capture termination counter, this could cause problems in a directly following session. The counter is now reset with each session, as documented.
- Added an option in the "Preference" dialog, to switch the inclusion of an auto-incrementing number in the captured image's filename on or off. By default, this option is switched on: this means that the captured image's filename has an incrementing number inserted at the end. This allows the user to use on-topic filenames and also prevent a previous image from being overwritten: they just get numbered in sequence of their creation. This feature can now be switched off, to facilitate users who need to have only a single image file, that get's updated on each new image capture (overwriting the previous image).
- Added an "End" button in the manual session options, to terminate a manual capturing session. (When the manual capturing session is run in "Hide" mode, then you will not be able to access this button).
November 16th, 2002 - Updated V1.01.1 to V1.3.1.4: a new release.
Unfortunately, TGrab got off to a bumpy start. Due to error, part of the test procedure was skipped and as a result, some problems remain unnoticed. This update, V1.3 (full: V1.3.1.4) addresses these shortcomings and takes TGrab to the level where it was meant to be in the first place.
- TGrab V1.0 had some problems with the all important Windows clipboard communication. In half the cases, the captured image hadn't arrived in time on the clipboard in order to be processed by TGrab's image processing routines. In this update, this has been corrected: TGrab now waits until the clipboard can confirm that the bitmap has arrived, after which processing is continued.
- The selectable option for "Capture until quantity is reached" remained always active - whether the option was actually checked or not. Solved.
- During multiple sessions, a user can issue a manual "End" command - to manually abort a session. During testing, it was noticed that this command didn't stop the "Capture for duration..." timer sequence. As a result, a second session could terminate prematurely. This has been corrected now.
- Adding the clipboard functionality, described above, introduced a manual mode problem: TGrab's "Exit" function, to terminate the program manually was disabled. (Please note, that this only occured in interim release V1.2). This has also been corrected now.
November 5th, 2002 - NEW RELEASE.
- Release of the new TGrab V1.0:
TGrab V1.0: the Timer automated image Grabber.
TGrab is a new type of "image grabber", a utility to take snapshots of either your full windows desktop screen or the active window. It can not only take screenshots in a manual mode (like most others), but also in a timer automated mode.
You can actually configure TGrab to take a picture at a preferred timer interval, either during a time limited session or until a quantity of images is reached (or both). If preferred, it can even run totally invisible and/or close itself when the task is completed.
TGrab runs in the background, while you are using the program from which you want to obtain pictures. At every snapshot command (wether invoked by the timer mode or manual) the active window (or full screen) is captured and saved to a disk file (in either a .jpg or .bmp format), using a sequentially numbered filename (as in "MyFileName(##).bmp"). You don't need to do ANYTHING about this process, it's fully automated.
If you feel the need to do so, than you can process these image files afterwards in your preferred image editor.
TGrab V1.0 costs US$25,=. (equals EURO 21,=.). Upgrades are free, when downloaded from the support website, located at http://www.Doldersum.com.
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