The Very Basics of Loops in Garageband

How To Take A Screenshot On A Computer

On a mac computer, a screenshot can be easily taken with the keyboard command Comand-Shift+3 (for a full screenshot) or Comand-Shift+4 (for a partial screenshot). The Mac will give a camera shutter click sound to announce that a picture of your screen has been taken. The file will be on your Mac desktop ready to be used or edited in your favorite photo software.

But have you ever wondered how to do this on a Windows computer?

Unfortunately there is no direct way like with a Mac computer, however you can do just as well by following these quick steps.

1)   If you look down at your windows keyboard, you’ll see that there is a key labeled PrtScn. This stands for “Print Screen”, and this is the button for you.

Note – On a laptop keyboard, you might need to press the "Fn" or "Function" key to access "Print Screen". Just a heads up.

2)   Once you have found this magic button, simply hit it. It will save an image of your entire screen to your clipboard. But you will receive no indication that it has happened. That’s right. None.

3)   Next, open up a program like Paint, Microsoft Word, Photoshop, GIMP or Notepad.

4)   Since you clicked PntScn earlier, and that put your screenshot onto your clipboard, just paste into your open program!

5)   Next, save your document/paint-file. Using Paint, GIMP, or Photoshop is best, because you can save your image in a photo-friendly file-type like JPG or PNG. And BAM. You have successfully taken a screenshot on a Windows computer, my friend. Pat yourself on the back. Take a few minutes for yourself. You are so impressive, knowing how to do this.  

Multimedia Support Needs Survey

Help us better meet your project needs!

The MEWS Teaching Area and its consultants are here to help you with your multi-media projects. Please help us better understand your needs by completing the survey below:

Open House, Tuesday, February 11, 7-8 pm

Drop by the MEWS on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 7 to 8 pm. 

Meet video consultant Jorge and the RISE video consultants. Tell us about your video and audio projects for this term and learn how we can help you plan and deliver these projects smoothly.


Button making, cider, donuts, and previews of new videos created by our consultants included.

GarageBand Project to MP3

Ever wonder how to turn your GarageBand Project into an MP3 file? Watch and find out!

Importing Audio in Audacity

Before importing files in Audacity, you need to first be aware of the file formats Audacity accepts. These file formats are:

• Audacity Project format (AUP)
• WAV (Windows Wave format)
• AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)
• Sun Au / NeXT
• MP3 (MPEG I, Layer 3)
• Ogg Vorbis

After you have ensured that your file is compatible with Audacity, you are ready to import your file into Audacity. There are three ways of importing files:

1. You can drag and drop files into the Audacity Window

2. You can go to the File menu and go to “Import" and then "Audio”

3. Or you can simply use the keyboard shortcut “Command +Shift + I”

Your imported file should now be seen in the Audio track, ready for editing.

Need Help with Audacity?

Check out the Manual and the Quick Help link!

First, if you are not inside Audacity, open the application. Once it launches,  you will see a welcome box.

Click on Quick Help if you have a specific question. The Quick Help page looks like this:

Click on Manual if you want to browse Audacity Manual to learn more about what Audacity can do:

If you are already inside Audacity, then just click on Help and you can go to either Quick Help or to the Manual.