SotAWiki:Images

How to Take Great Screenshots

Preparing for a Screenshot

• Hide your Avatar: This can be done two ways:

1. Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom into first person mode
2. Type '/visible' to toggle your characters visibility

• Hide the User Interface

• Press 'F9' to toggle all of the interface pieces off.
  Note that the version string and player mode cannot be toggled off.

Other improvements

• Clear the "Enable Low Health Screen Indicator" options under Options | Game. This removes the red aura around the screen while injured.
• Hide nameplates for NPCs and creatures by pressing 'N'.

How to Take a Screenshot

There are a couple methods to create a screenshot. Regardless of the method, we recommend toggling off the UI by pressing "F9" before taking a screenshot.

• Method 1: Print Screen
  You can use the 'Print Screen' key from your keyboard in most Windows systems which copies to memory 1 screen shot at a time. You can then open an application like Paint by going to your start menu in Windows systems and in the search for programs and files type "paint".
  
  Open this application and press 'Control+V' to paste your screenshot from memory into the application. From here you can crop your photo using the tools, you can use crop or select to single out the rectangular area of the photo you wish to include in your SotAwiki article.
  
  Now save the file to some location on your hard drive with a meaningful name. Now upload your file, giving it again a meaningful name that you will remember, then follow the instructions here to add your uploaded file to the wiki page you are trying to enhance.
   
• Method 2: Internal Screenshot
  When you have the screen shot lined up how you want press "F11" to autoamtically save the image to your hard drive. You will find the screenshots you have take in the base install directory for Shroud of the Avatar (i.e., "C:\Games\Portalarium\Shroud of the Avatar\" for the standalone game, or "C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\common\SotA\" for a Steam install). Open the file using your favorite picture editing program, for example Paint that is included in windows. See method 1 for cropping saving and uploading to the wiki along with linking to the page the picture(s) are for.
   

Other suggestions

• If using the Print Screen method, crop out the window border so only the game portion is visible.
• Crop out the version string and player mode from the top left.
• For best resizing, save the image with a even resolution. Using a multiple of 20 pixels in both dimensions usually works best.
• For lower file sizes, save the file as a JPG.

Uploading a Image

Using the "Upload file" link at the bottom of the wiki, select the file you created for the screenshot. Under Licensing, select "This image is an unaltered screenshot of Shroud of the Avatar". Unaltered in this case means that what is depicted has not been altered, not that it has not been cropped. (Note that there are other licenses available, such as Official images that are published by Portalarium, Fair use, and images created by users.)

See Also

• SotAWiki:Manual of Style