How Do You Save a Picture From Google Street View?

[rp2813]

I'm kind of bending the rules here, since qualifying topics include "website related issues" so I figured, well Google maps is a website, and the ATT forum just doesn't get the same kind of traffic as Super.

 

I'm trying to capture the street view of a beautiful large custom 1920's home that was demolished in favor of a new McMansion with zero character -- before the Google car cruises by to capture an updated image of the new house.

 

Is it possible?  Nothing I've tried has worked, other than saving the small view that populates in the upper left corner, and there are better views from a different angle.  I did save the page, but I'm sure it won't save the image with it once it's updated.

 

Right now the attached picture is the best I can do, and a shot from the end of the driveway where it's not so obscured by the Coast Live Oak tree would be much better.

 

[kb0nes]

Ralph, what operating system are you using? If you are using Win 7 there is a tool in your accessories folder called Snipping Tool that allows you to highlight any area of the screen and save it as a photo.

Other OS's you could do a screen capture and paste that into a photo exiting program like Paint (or better) and crop and adjust from there.

There may be more elegant methods but these are what I would try.

 

[rp2813]

I'm on XP.  I don't see any "screen capture" option in the drop-down list.  Is there another term for it or somewhere else I should look, or a Ctrl + something that will do it?

 

[jeffg]

Two built-in screen grabbers in Windows are PrintScrn (copies the entire screen image to the clipboard) and Alt+PrintScrn (copies just the active window image). Display the picture, hit one of the two key combos, then open up Paint or another graphic app and paste the clipboard (Ctrl+V) into a new file. You can edit and save the picture from there.

 

[petek]

I do it with the "Paint" program..

when you see that little streetview picture click on it so that it moves over to the map section and opens up with a larger picture.. Then push your "print screen" button on the keyboard to save the whole screen shot..

Go into your Paint program and paste the screenshot in there.. Then use the tools in paint to cut out just the photograph section you want, then go up to "file" and save it...

Then go back up to "file" and open a "new".. it will ask if you want to delete the previous.. click yes.. Then go to Edit,, click paste and just the enlarged picture of the house you previously clipped out will show up...go back to "file" and "save as"

kinda hard to explain but it's really quick once you've done it a couple of times

 

[rp2813]

So Jeff, will Picasa viewer work instead of Paint?  I don't even know where Paint is on this thing.  I never use graphics apps.

 

Reply #4:  Huh?  Print screen then paste it?  From where exactly?  Don't you have to hit copy or cut in order for it to know what you want to paste?  Or is Print Screen the same as copying/cutting?

 

[thomasortega]

Start>accessories>paint

All windows have it.

I hope this can help you.

 

[rp2813]

I found Paint and opened it.

 

I did Alt+PrtSc (this key is shared with Insert so I presume that since PrtSc is surrounded in a rectangular box that it responds to Alt) and then went to paint, did Ctrl+V and got zero zip zilch.  It didn't even react.  Just the little pencil sitting there in the white corner.

 

This is about as simple as folding a fitted sheet, apparently.

 

[jeffg]

If you're on a laptop the rectangular boxes are usually Fn (function) key combos, not Alt.

Also web developers have been trying for many years to find ways of disabling PrtScrn, some use ActiveX scripts etc. If Youtube is any indication, Google is an enemy of the open and free internet, not a friend. Or in other words if this doesn't work, post the street or web address of the house and I'll get whatever image(s) you want.

 

[foraloysius]

On most computers you have to hold the Shift button and then push print screen. Then paste is with Ctrl V into Paint.

 

[petek]

I just hit my Print Screen / SysRQ button.. I don't hold anything else down

When you go into Paint click on "edit" first then "paste" , see if it shows up

 

[jeffg]

If the PrintScrn function is in a box and shared with the Insert key, it's likely a laptop.

Also the shift requirement for the PrintScrn key on keyboards will vary according to their mapping. Some keep the old standard (SysRq unshifted, PrintScrn shifted), others map both to PrintScrn so that holding Shift down is optional.

 

[rp2813]

Success!

Thanks to all for the tutorials.

 

I used Fn+PrtSc and that saved it.  It captured the entire screen so it needed to be cropped.

 

Pasted it into paint, but couldn't get any changes to take there.  Saved it the way it was into "My Pictures" and then was able to edit and crop in Picasa.

 

Below is the finished product.  It's the best view I could come up with.  The house had been empty for a year or two before it was sold this past summer.

 

I intend to use this as a "before" picture.  The loss of classic homes only to be replaced with strip mall architecture needs to be curbed, but I'm not exactly sure how. 

 

People have the right to do what they want with their property, but there should be some kind of expanded inventory of architecturally and/or historically significant private residences, just as exists for public buildings.  They have one for "heritage" trees that are protected, either in parking strips or on private property, and I feel they need to take it further to include residences.  My neighborhood is under attack and losing homes that range from the one pictured to rambling MCM types, and is losing its identity as a result.

 

[supersuds]

It's a very handsome house. People had better taste back then.This is just one more area where yours truly is out of step with modern sensibilities.

 

It would be possible to build attractive new houses but instead we get these grotesque monsters that future generations will laugh at before tearing down.

 

[jeffg]

"I used Fn+PrtSc and that saved it. It captured the entire screen so it needed to be cropped."

Fn+Alt+PrtSc should save just the active window. It still requires cropping for a clean photo, but not as much.

One trick for larger images is to maximize the window and zoom in with your mouse wheel before grabbing it (in case that wasn't already obvious.

"Pasted it into paint, but couldn't get any changes to take there."

The quick way in Paint is to select the image with the rectangular marquee, copy it (Ctrl-C or select it from the menu), then do a File/New, DON'T save your changes (your image selection is still in your clipboard), then paste it into the new blank file. If you can get that far, you should be able to save the new file.

 

[rp2813]

in case that wasn't already obvious

Nothing is obvious when it comes to me and "special" functions!  I'm sure they're routine for many people, but then I don't have an iPhone either.  Just an old school flip-open type with tactile buttons on their own keyboard and a decent sized screen. 

 

I'll remember Fn+Alt+PrtSc along with max window and zoom for next time.

 

[carmine]

new homes

I laugh at the "style" of many new homes and often say they must price them by the number of triangles that can be found in the roof line, ala Sesame Street.

Does the new house feature a garage door as 1/3 of the frontage?

 

[danemodsandy]

There Is Also....

MWSnap3, a screen capture utility that allows you to turn anything onscreen into a saveable photo. It's free and simple to use. It allows you to drag a border around just the portion of the screen that you want to save - no cropping later.

You can get it at the link below. I swear by it, because it's so easy to use:

http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html

 

[retropia]

Tear-downs are a problem here, too. Though usually it is limited to the most desirable areas, which usually means a) close-in, high-income suburb, with b) its own school system.

Rambling ranches with large lots are the most popular targets, as a developer can cram three multi-story houses into a lot that only held one before. The suburbs are only too happy to allow a variance for code violations, like set-back requirements, because three houses = more tax revenue.