Blogging Secret…{Snipping Tool for Windows & Mac}

Ever wonder how other bloggers can “snip” ANY object off of their screen like this?

Or capture their entire screen like this?

This tool is a life saver!  No more taking a picture of your computer screen with your camera! =)  {Yes, I’ve done that before!}  And, since I use both a Mac and Windows, I’m showing you both!

For Windows…

You’ll need to find the Snipping Tool on your computer, which as far as I can tell is only available for Windows 7 users.  {If you do not have Windows 7, I found another program here that lets you do the same thing.  I haven’t tried it, but it got good reviews and looks like it has the same capabilities.}

Now that you’ve found your snipping tool, you’re ready to go and it’s oh so easy!

1.  Open your snipping tool.

2.  Click on the arrow to the right of the new button.  You have several options of how you would like to snip your image.  I always use the rectangle snip when I’m capturing an image or a screen because it lets me capture everything perfectly!

3.  Using the rectangle snip, it will pop up with a small cross icon.  Simply use the crosshairs to draw a box around what you would like to copy (sort of like a text box).

4.  Your snip will automatically be copied to a clipboard where it then be copied into Windows Live Writer or Word document.

5.  Or, you can save your snip to your computer as an HTML, PNG, GIF, or JPEG file.  To do this, simply click the save snip button in the window it pops up after you’ve snipped your image.

Any questions?  Please let me know! =)

For Mac…

You’ll need to find the Preview application on your computer.  The icon looks like this:

1.  Open preview. 

2.  Go to File and hover your mouse over Take Screen Shot and click on From Selection. 

3.  Using the crosshairs that are now on your screen, simply drag a box around the image you would like to capture.

4.  Your captured image is now shown in a preview window.  To copy it into another application click on Edit at the top and then select Select All.  Now that it is selected, once again click on Edit at the top and select Copy.  Your image is now copied and ready to paste to another application.

5.  To save your image, select File at the top and then select Save As.  Just as in the Windows version, you can also change the format of your selection to an HTML, PNG, GIF, or JPEG file type.

Any questions? Please let me know! =)

Blogging Secret….

When we started blogging about seven months ago I was not in love with the post editor available with Blogger.  It’s not that it was hard to use, I guess I was just hoping for something with a few more options.  So, when Alisa mentioned a great program called Windows Live Writer, I immediately googled it to find out more.  And the rest is history… {sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that =) }

I {heart} Windows Live Writer!!!

Seriously, it’s that amazing!!  And it’s FREE!!!

To start, you just follow the steps to put in your blog information and it loads each window exactly like it would look like on your blog.  That means if you have a two column blog, it will show up with two columns in Windows Live Writer.  We have a three column blog and so whatever I type in Windows Live Writer shows up exactly as I had it typed in Blogger after it’s posted.

Not hooked yet?  Check out these other amazing features!

1.  You can use any font that is on your computer!  It has all of the capabilities of Word and is so easy to use!  I LOVE being able to blog using all of my favorite fonts!

2.  You can easily add pictures and then change their formatting.  Lately I like all of my pictures to have a rounded edge and to do that, you just have to click the rounded edge button. 

If you don’t want a line around your picture, you just click the button that shows the picture without a frame. So easy!!

3.  This is something I haven’t used yet, because I just found it writing this post.  {See, I’m learning too! =) } After you insert a photo, you can add a watermark to your photos in any font or location you want.  Love it!

4.  I know Blogger has this option, but it is so much easier to get to in Windows Live Writer.  At the top right of your screen you’ll see this button:

With it, you can set your post date and time.  I use this option almost every time I post!  I love being able to set linky parties and posts to automatically post first thing in the morning while I’m still sleeping.  So sneaky, right?!?

That being said…

Even I know that not everything can be perfect.  And yes, Windows Live Writer does have a flaw…it’s not available for a Mac.  =(  Sad, I know!  There are other programs available for a Mac but a lot of them you had to pay for.  So, if you have a PC, this is an amazing piece of software and is a must have for bloggers! 

**In case you don’t have Windows 7 or Windows Vista, here is an another version for Windows XP. **