Friday Tip: Take A BlackBerry Screenshot From Your PC

Sometimes it's very handy to be able to grab a screenshot from your BlackBerry and have it appear straight on your PC. I've personally used this when the screen on my Bold 9700 stopped working and I urgently needed to get some info from my BlackBerry!

But whatever your need, this is a great way to extract the current screen on your BlackBerry. So here we go!

1. First of all, you need the BlackBerry Desktop Software installed. If you don't have it, you can download it from blackberry.com.

2. Next, you need to open the command line on your PC. This varies depending on your version of Windows, but usually you can go to Start > Accessories > Command Prompt

3. In the command prompt, you need to change to the BlackBerry software directory. Again, this is slightly different depending on your version of Windows. Type in the following command and press ENTER:
for 64-bit versions of Windows
for 32-bit versions of Windows:
If you're not sure which version you have then try the top command first. If it doesn't work just try the second one.

4. Now we're going to grab a screenshot! Type in this command:
If all has gone to plan, you'll find a new picture on your Windows desktop called bb.bmp. Open it up, and you'll see the majesty of your BlackBerry screen in glorious desktop-ness!

As a side note, another use I had for this was when I had to show a group of people how to use their BlackBerry phones. I hooked up my computer to a projector and opened the screenshot in the Windows Photo Viewer. Every time I took a new screenshot, the photo would automatically update - so I could run through my tutorial without having to use any special software, and it was all live!

The command line tool can do other useful things with your BlackBerry smartphone. If you want to find out more check out the BlackBerry Knowledge Base.