How to: Create Screenshots for Windows Phone Marketplace
April 17, 2012
Customers see the screenshot of your application in the details page of the Windows Phone Marketplace catalog.
 Important Note: |
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There are several certification requirements related to application screenshots. Ensure that your application and screenshots adhere to section 4.6 of Application Submission Requirements before submitting your application to Windows Phone Marketplace. |
You can create screenshots of your Silverlight and XNA Framework applications by using the built-in emulator screenshot tool. You can capture specific pages, or gameplay in action. The tool creates only 480 x 800 pixel PNG files.
To create an application screenshot by using the built-in emulator screenshot tool
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To optimize the quality of your screenshots, set the zoom level of the emulator to 100 percent. The higher you set the zoom level, the better the quality of the screenshot. Note that the Fit to Screen option resizes the emulator to 70 percent, not 100 percent. The tool is disabled at zoom levels of 50 percent and below. For more information, see How to: Adjust the Zoom Setting in Windows Phone Emulator.
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Disable the frame rate counters if the screenshots you take will be used for submission to Windows Phone Marketplace.. You can do this by updating your code, as described at Frame Rate Counters in Windows Phone Emulator. Alternately, you can specify a release build in Visual Studio by following the steps at How to: Build and Deploy a Windows Phone Application Using Visual Studio. After specifying a release build, launch your app by selecting the Deploy [app name] link on the Build menu.
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Start your application in the emulator.
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On the emulator toolbar, click the expand button to open the Additional Tools window.
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Click the Screenshot tab.
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When your application is ready, click the Capture button.
The screenshot appears in the workspace.
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Click the Save button to open the Save As dialog.
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Choose the location and File name that you want, and then click Save.
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Important Note:
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The built-in emulator screenshot tool requires GPU emulation. If your computer is not GPU emulation enabled, an error message appears when you attempt to capture a screenshot. For more information, see Setup and System Requirements for Windows Phone Emulator. |
You can create your application screenshot easily by using the Snipping Tool feature of Windows® 7. You can find the Snipping Tool either by clicking Start | All Programs | Accessories | Snipping Tool or at C:\Windows\System32\SnippingTool.exe. For more information, see Snipping Tool.
To create an application screenshot by using the Snipping Tool
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Set the zoom level of the emulator to 100 percent to obtain a screenshot that is 480 x 800 pixels. Note that the Fit to Screen option resizes the emulator to 70 percent, not 100 percent. For more information, see How to: Adjust the Zoom Setting in Windows Phone Emulator.
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Disable the frame rate counters if you do not want them to appear in your screenshots. For more information, see Frame Rate Counters in Windows Phone Emulator.
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Start your application in the emulator.
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Open the Snipping Tool.
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Click the arrow next to the New button and then click Window Snip.
When you click Window Snip, and then move your mouse around the screen, a red rectangle highlights the different windows on the screen.
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Move your mouse over the emulator until a red rectangle highlights only the application screen (not the entire phone) and then click.
The screenshot is made and opens in the Snipping Tool.
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On the File menu, click Save As to open the Save As dialog.
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In the Save as type list, click Portable Network Graphic file (PNG).
Choose the location and File name that you want and then click Save.
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In Windows Explorer, browse to your screenshot and select it.
Confirm that the screen shot type is PNG image and that the Dimensions are 480 x 800 pixels.
