Taking screen shots in Trainz is easy as pie. Just hit the PrintScrn key and your shot is saved to the ScrenShots folder inside the TRS2004 folder. Each successive shot is conventiently numbered in ascending order by Trainz, so you don't have to worry about overriding a previous shot with a new one.

Depending on your hard drive capacity, you may have to worry about disk space. If your screen resolution is set to 1024 x 768 pixels, like the majority of users, each shot will take 3073 KB of space. That's 3+ MB each!

If size alone isn't enough to make you consider getting organized, then the inevitable confusion from a proliferation of screenies identified only by Screen_001, Screen_002, Screen_003, etc., along with a date will.

Here are some thoughts about getting organized. I've included some additional tips for those who are planning to use their shots on the web or to send them to friends.

Getting organized

1. After completing a screen shot session, move the Targa (.tga) files from the TRS2004 > ScreenShots folder into a new folder named and located for easy retrieval and identification. Let's call it the SESSIONS folder.


2. If you are using Windows Me, 2000, or XP, take advantage of the Thumbnails View option in the View menu to display all shots as thumbnails. To take advantage of this feature, convert all .tga screen shots to .jpg format, retaining the .tga files. (It's important to retain the .tga files because .jpg files are notorious for losing quality with each manipulation/save. It's best to crop, or change size, or edit a file BEFORE saving it to .jpg. If you retain the .tga you will always have a good original to return to).


1. Inside the SESSIONS folder create a folder for the original screen shots (e.g., TGAs). Then place all the .tga's in this folder.


2. Convert the .tga files to .jpg. I use IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com) to convert in batch mode. I place the .jpg files in the SESSIONS folder.


3. If I have a project for which I want to select the most useful screen shots, such as the "New England ski trip" filmstrip, I create a folder with a name something like CANDIDATES inside the SESSIONS folder and drag all likely candidate .jpg files into this folder. For quick viewing of a screen shot I just drag a shot onto the IrfanView shortcut icon, which I keep along the bottom edge of my screen for easy access. (IrfanView reads .tga files just fine, by the way.)


4. If you're running short of disk space, move your SESSIONS folder to a CD or DVD disk.

Preparing files for the web

Trainz screen shots have the same resolution as that set for use with Trainz. For most people that's 1024 x 768 pixels. This more than fills my screen and is a large file (over 3 MB in .tga and probably half a meg for .jpg depending on the quality level selected during conversion, assuming you had a choice). The smaller .jpg images in the "New England ski trip" filmstrip vary in size from 9 to 27 KB.

1. Change size by going back to the original .tga image. In IrfanView select Image > Resize/Resample from the menu bar, set the size as desired, and click the OK button.


2. I recommend using the Sharpen function for most .jpg conversions, especially when you are reducing the size. (Compare the before and after shots below. The reefer cars in the background, the station platform in the foreground, and the lettering on the locomotive are all sharper. Also, the light from the headlight is brighter.)
   
   
   

   Straight reduction and conversion to .jpg.

   
   
   

   Image sharpened after reduction and conversion to .jpg.

   To sharpen a picture in IrfanView select Image > Sharpen from the menu bar. If you are not happy with the result, click the undo icon or select Undo from the Edit menu.

   There are times when sharpening is not advantageous, and I'll be the first to acknowledge that we have only sharpened two sets of illustrations till now at the Journal -- "Rich Blake's Clear Lake Lumber Company" pictures and the "New England ski trip" pictures. The sharpen function increases contrast, particularly where adjoining colors meet. In some instances there is a color shift. There are other instances where a narrow band of light color, such as light gray, becomes unnaturally intense. Another disadvantage to the Sharpen function is that it increases file size. In the comparison shots above, the unsharpened file is 39 KB in size whereas the sharpened one is 48 KB. Still, the Sharpen function is something worth testing.

   There are other controls in IrfanVIew and most paint programs that you can test out, particularly the controls dealing with color balance. I've generally left these alone because I can't control the display characteristics of other people's monitors. I've seen vastly different color renditions of identiacl content just going from one monitor to another. So, in the case of the Journal, we just don't monkey with these controls, except in very rare instances.