How to take screen shot of computer screen in javascript or through rest service?

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I want to take the screen shot (what is currently shown in the computer screen i.e. the Print Screen button functionality). If it can be achieved through JavaScript then it will be great. But if can be achieved through Rest Service then also it is okay.
Help is much appreciated. Thanks & Regards.

What I have tried:

I have tried through javascript (html2canvas, feedback.js, some pure javascript window function) but it only take the screen shot of the current browser.

I have implemented some C# code that can take the screen shot but it can't get implemented as a service because it is using the Screen class of System.Windows.Form namespace.

I can't find a way around to achieve my goal. Please help. A bit urgent.

Posted 10-Apr-16 12:12pm

Member 10048252

Updated 10-Apr-16 14:22pm

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PIEBALDconsult 10-Apr-16 22:06pm

The Web App doesn't even know what Operating System it is running on -- it might not even be a windowing OS.
And your question smells of snoopware, so you're unlikely to get help here.

Member 10048252 11-Apr-16 4:57am

Sorry for the snoopware feeling. But it was the client's demand. I'll try to convince them to only take the browser screenshot. Thanks.

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Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-10T14:22:00

Solution 1

You can not use javascript to do this because any code running in the browser does not have access to anything outside the browser.

You can not do it from a service because Windows Services run under an entirely different desktop from the users. You'll get a blank screenshot.

You can however do it from a normal application. This application would take the screenshots and also expose a web server if your javascript code needs the screenshots. The only thing javascript can do external to the web browser is talk to web servers. There's nothing that says the webserver can't be on the client machine.

Posted 10-Apr-16 14:22pm

Dave Kreskowiak

Comments

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 10-Apr-16 20:36pm

5ed.
—SA

Member 10048252 11-Apr-16 4:54am

Thank you Dave for the explanation. I also thought that through javascript or service it can't be achieved. I will try to convince the client to take only the browser screenshot.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 11-Apr-16 10:12am

You are welcome.

I'm just curious: why a screen shot? Is it a whole screen, not the browser page? What's the purpose? It sounds such a low-tech request...

—SA

Member 10048252 12-Apr-16 5:03am

Actually in the application there is a 'User Settings' page. There if some error occurs then there must be a provision for taking that screenshot for future reference. Now the client's weird demand was the whole computer screenshot. But after explaining the facts over and over they finally understood it and now they only want the browser screenshot. :-)

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 12-Apr-16 8:48am

It sounds like behavior of people calculating tax return on paper before entering figures into a computer in order to print a form. :-)

You could always present much more comprehensive exception information in text, without any screenshots.

—SA

Dave Kreskowiak 12-Apr-16 9:06am

A screenshot doesn't tell you anything at all. You get the users perspective of the error, that's it.

When troubleshooting, the user (perspective) is the most inaccurate description of the problem. Sure, they can tell you what they did when the error occurred, but rarely is it accurate. A screenshot gives you even less information than that. You can't see what the user was doing or what they clicked on.

Frankly, this is a "requirement" that should have been negotiated OUT of the requirements set forth by the customer. The customer usually doesn't have a clue how to properly troubleshoot a problem.

Member 10048252 13-Apr-16 6:35am

Exactly. I told them to maintain a log along with the screenshot, but they insists on image so they can mail them instantly to the support team. I told them that a log will help the support team to understand the error better than an image. But still what they demand I have to provide them and they are happy to have image. If later their senses come then they must go with the log. :-)