PySnip - Screen Capture Tool

An advanced screen capture tool with annotation and OCR functionality.

Features

✅ Dynamic Screen Capture

• Interactive area selection
• Move capture window (Right click + drag)
• Dynamic window resizing (drag on edges/corners)
• Toggle transparency for selection (T key)

✅ Advanced Annotations

• Lines and arrows
• Rectangles, ovals, circles
• Marker/highlighter
• Customizable colors

✅ OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

• Automatic text extraction from images
• Save text to file
• Copy text to clipboard

✅ Export and Sharing

• Save annotated images
• Copy to clipboard
• "New Snip" button for multiple captures

Installation

1. Install Dependencies

Double-click on install_dependencies.bat for automatic installation of all required packages.

2. Install Tesseract OCR

Download and install Tesseract OCR from: https://github.com/UB-Mannheim/tesseract/wiki

Default path: C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR\

3. Create desktop shortcut (optional)

Double-click on create_desktop_shortcut.bat to create a desktop shortcut.

4. Configure global hotkey (optional)

To use ALT+Print Screen at any time:

• Double-click on start_hotkey_service.bat
• The service will run in system tray (camera icon)
• For automatic startup with Windows: add_to_startup.bat

Usage

Method 1: Global hotkey (Recommended)

If you have configured the hotkey service:

• ALT+Print Screen - Start PySnip from any application
• System tray - Right-click on PySnip icon for options
• Stop service - Right-click in tray → Quit

Method 2: Manual startup

Double-click on run_pysnip.bat to start the application.

Method 3: Desktop shortcut

Double-click on the PySnip shortcut on desktop.

Controls

Capture window:

• Left click + drag: Select area
• Right click + drag: Move window
• Edges/corners + drag: Resize window
• T: Toggle selection transparency
• Enter/Space: Confirm selection
• Esc: Cancel

Annotation panel:

• Select drawing mode (line, rectangle, etc.)
• Choose color
• Click and drag to draw
• "Save & Close": Save and close
• "Copy to Clipboard": Copy to clipboard
• "New Snip": Start a new capture

Important Files

• pysnip.py - Main script
• run_pysnip.bat - Application launcher
• install_dependencies.bat - Dependencies installer
• requirements.txt - List of required Python packages

Shortcut and Hotkey:

• create_desktop_shortcut.bat - Create desktop shortcut
• pysnip_hotkey_service.py - Global hotkey service
• hotkey_config.py - Key combination configuration
• configure_hotkey.bat - Hotkey configuration wizard
• start_hotkey_service.bat - Start hotkey service (system tray)
• stop_hotkey_service.bat - Stop hotkey service
• add_to_startup.bat - Add to Windows startup
• remove_from_startup.bat - Remove from Windows startup

Hotkey Configuration

Method 1: Automatic wizard

Run configure_hotkey.bat for an interactive wizard that helps you:

• Choose from predefined combinations
• Test current hotkey
• Reset to default configuration

Method 2: Manual

Edit hotkey_config.py and modify:

# For ALT + Print Screen (default)
MODIFIER_KEYS = [Key.alt_l, Key.alt_r]
TRIGGER_KEY = Key.print_screen

# For CTRL + SHIFT + S
MODIFIER_KEYS = [Key.ctrl_l, Key.ctrl_r, Key.shift, Key.shift_r]
TRIGGER_KEY = KeyCode.from_char('s')

# For Windows + S
MODIFIER_KEYS = [Key.cmd]
TRIGGER_KEY = KeyCode.from_char('s')

# For F12 (no modifiers)
MODIFIER_KEYS = []
TRIGGER_KEY = Key.f12

After modification, restart the service: stop_hotkey_service.bat then start_hotkey_service.bat

System Requirements

• Windows 7/8/10/11
• Python 3.7 or newer
• Tesseract OCR

Troubleshooting

Error "Python not found":

• Install Python from python.org
• Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH"

Error "Tesseract not found":

• Install Tesseract OCR
• Check the path in pysnip.py (line ~23)

Missing packages error:

• Run install_dependencies.bat
• Or manually: pip install -r requirements.txt