I'm trying to take large pictures of a house I'm planning on uploading, but every screenshot that comes out turns out only 400x650, i think. or something like that.
I have the setting on 'large' but that doesn't seem to be making a difference..
how do i get screenshots that are 600x800 or more without having to tweak them on editing software...?

Help please?

Either use your printscreen key and then paste the image into paint, or download and use a screenshot program (there are loads, just google it).

Many creators use screenshot programs like FRAPS or Gadwin, or simply use the print screen button and paste the image into their graphics editor (GIMP Photoshop etc). This will take nice big pictures typically at whatever you have your screen resolution set to (800x600 for example). You can download FRAPS for free, just Google it

thanks!! that helped

Actually, a follow-up, where to I find the image I took with print screen?

It doesn't save itself anywhere, it is only a temporary file that you have to do something with for it to be saved. As el_flel said, you have to paste it into Paint or a similar program and save it that way.

So, to clarify. If you press print screen twice, it will only remember the last image because it only holds one. If you copy text with ctrl-c or by right clicking, the image will be gone because they use the same function. If you use print screen, copy it to Paint/whatever program you chose directly and save it.

I would recommend Fraps. It's easy to run in the background, takes good pictures, and saves on it's own.

I like Greenshot best. http://getgreenshot.org/. It's simple, free, and easy to use.

I use a combination of Fraps to take the pictures, and irfanview to edit them.

Irfanview is awesome for this kind of simple editing. Besides the normal cropping and dimension resizing, there's a tool in it to reduce picture sizes in kilobytes for the web. Irfanview is such a useful program that I've used for so long, half the time I forget that everyone doesn't have it.

My system came with "Snipping Tool" I use a lot. But I can take movies and snapshots of anything with free Bandicam. Just get watermarked on the movies only. Snapshots no watermark.

I use Gadwin, and the pictures are saved in a folder in "Documents" called "Printscreen Files".

Print screen never works for me within the Sims game. I've only ever been able to take screenshots through the camera.

To make your in-game camera take the best possible pictures, go to the Camera Options in game. Change snapshot size to large and snapshot picture quality to high. The snapshots are stored in My Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Neighborhoods > [Neighborhood #] (i.e. N001 for default Pleasantview) > Storytelling.

I never used Irfanview properly. I should try giving it another chance soon.
P.S.: This thread is 3 years old.

That's how you do it if you want somewhat alright but not good pictures that are instantly postable on all forums, but not particularly editable because they're much too small and a little blurry. I haven't used those pics since I discovered Gadwin... (or, I used Gadwin as backup until I figured out why the pictures went black & white - a side effect from the drawing board - and then I started using the ingame pictures as backup because I couldn't figure out why Gadwin gave me black screenshots. But then I got a new computer and made my game windowed - problem solved!)

Default screenshots work for sims 3, though.


Easy solution: Play windowed and tinker a bit with the Gadwin settings.


Zombies everywhere, quick, get the sunflower cannons!!!

*Hunts for sunflower cannons*

And her lot has been uploaded for two years as well. Way to go MusicalPlatypus, you are allowed to make your own thread.

Using print screen is kind of like a copy paste, just as text you highlight and copy is just there so is a print screen.
You need to open up a program even paint will do and do CTRL V and your print screen will show up. Just like a copy it will also be replaced if you do another one.
Something like Fraps is much better as it's free and stores the screenshots.

Occasionally I've come across systems that needed the "scroll lock" active before printscreen could be used but those were fairly old in pc terms. Sometimes pressing ALT + Printscreen together works. You can also try this for a more permanent solution.



Right click the Sims shortcut you use to start your game (mine is M&G in the pic there), choose properties, then compatibility, tick disable desktop composition, then apply and OK to save (just in case that pic disappears and someone else finds this in a search). You will lose your desktop theme whenever the game is started up but it will return after the game is shut down properly.

Also, adding to the above - some newer OS systems (especially win7 are not entirely compatible. But if you click "Run this program in compability mode for:" and choose windows XP (as seen above), the programs will usually work fine.

The other day I wanted to take a screenshot of a sims pie menu and couldn't. I found by Googling that changing to classic view also fixes the problem of not getting the screenshot you think you are taking. Looked ugly but it worked. Before that it would give me a black screen or a picture of my desktop.

That's why I changed to windowed mode. Now it thinks the game is just a regular window, and takes the proper pictures. Plus, the pictures don't get all stretched because I have widescreen format (they used to, even with the square pixels setting).