Unlock Print Screen (PRTSCN) button
There is a setting in the INI file:
bAllowScreenShot=0
change to:
bAllowScreenShot=1

Also, two related items for the screenshots:
iScreenShotIndex=0
SScreenShotBaseName=Oblivion

There are two INIs, one in the game folder called "Oblivion_default.ini", this is the one it uses to generate the REAL one....
My Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Oblivion.ini

Edit the first one if you want to default to having screenshots on by default for all users. The settings it uses at runtime are the ones from My Documents folder.

After you mod the INI file, you can press PRTSCN button and Oblivion will write a BMP file to your game folder.

Doesn't work for me, so I use FRAPS. I have a registered version of FRAPS anyway so it instantly converts the screens to JPG ready for site uploading

It is true that for some users, the technique listed by Stampede doesn't work.

In addition to what Stampede says, changing the line bAllowScreenshot=0 in the ConstructionSet.ini file in the My Documents folder to =1 can help, as can turning off the Anti-Aliasing, or so I've heard. Changing the ConstructionSet.ini file worked for me, I think, however I have a feeling I turned off AA at the same time. ^^; So who knows.

Stampede you are a legend! thanks for the advice! Now how do I post the shot onto a page such as this?

After turning off AA, screenshots now work.

Woohoo it worked for me.

There are a couple of ways to do it. You could either use the file attachment option when you post, or get an image hosting site (www.photobucket.com) to host them for you, then paste the image url.

Where does it save the screenshots to? I dont know if mine is creating them or not because there's no split second delay that most games have when screenshots are created and there's no visible display on the screen notifiying me that I took a screen shot. I turned the screenshot option to 1 in the oblivion.ini file in my documents but can't find the screenshots (if the game is taking them).

I've got AA on. I'll try turning it off and see what happens.


EDIT: I turned AA off and it takes screenshots now. I guess that was the problem. :/

it works for me a diffrent way....
i didnt try it but for most games you just have to press print screen Sys Rq button and go into paint and click on the box in the tools box and click right and press paste...that works for me....

Ive tried it but it didnt work....... a well....theres always a camera~

I changed everything that needs to be changed, but it still wont take a screenshot. I need help my prtSc isn't working.

I use FRAPS myself but from what I've read, try making the ini file read-only after editing it. Also, although I do not know if this is entirely true, on some systems you need to enable HDR to be able to take screenshots [although I believe this closely tied to the AA seeing as you can't have both on at the same time]

For those who use ATi-based cards, go grab ATi Tray Tools. Lets you take screenshots even with AA 6x enabled(on the card's hardware side, rather than through the game's decision to use AA). And it fixes a problem I noticed with chameleon as well(in-game AA rendered anything with any level of chameleon completely invisible. ATT-based AA had it looking like it does without AA enabled in-game).

I use a proggy called Xfire. Like FRAPS it has its own screenshot function (default keys are Scroll Lock + S) which can either be uploaded to the XFire servers (15meg capacity) or saved into the screenshots directory wherever you install the proggy. Files are saved as .png files but can easily be changed to jpeg's with MS Paint.

Oh, and XFire is free and rather handy to check up on what your mates are playing if they also have XFire installed.

Why all the messing around, why could'nt Bethesda allow you to take screen shots straight off.

Allow me to note here that, while it is not against forum rules to post excessively large images straight off onto the forum (with the "insert image" button), it IS quite annoying, as the page stretches and reading the thread becomes a little more difficult due having to scroll right in order to read any long posts.

So, it is therefore preffered by myself and probably many other people that instead of inserting the huge image - just use a hyperlink instead - it takes the same amount of time to load it up anyway and we don't have to scroll right for the entire thread page. If it is a small image that doesn't stretch the forum, then it's perfectl okay, of course.

Please take this into consideration. Thankyou.

Regards,
Vaanic~One.

Sean's post deleted. Please don't make one liner responses... must I point you to the rules once again?

I also use FRAPS and I think it is much more easier than rewriting your .ini.

Attempt at sounding a complete dolt. Does the AA have to be turned off completely or can it be a "Application Controlled", whereas Oblivion has it turned off when using HDR?

I am going to test my theory as is but I thought I'd ask the question so as to just make sure someone else isn't making the same error as I.

I think it's best to turn if off completely, but let us know if you have any luck.

Well there is a way because there is two inis and the other could have been stuck anywhere but mine was put into my documents so they both have the same info and words but one works and the other doesn't. But beware it writes the screenshots in .bmp form so you'll have to use corel draw to change it. and one last thing it is extremely addicting, I took 200 mb on my computer with screenshots that average at 0.06 kb.

Actually, you can use any basic drawing or image editing program. Such as Iceview. I think you can even change it in MS-Paint.

I agree it is addictive.

- delete this post -

For some reason, certain screenshots are continually overwritten by newer ones. Now, I can't take any new ones at all, the last screenshot I take just gets overwritten by anything new. If anyone knows why this is happening and/or how to fix it, I would greatly appreciate it.

nice, where did u get registered version?
or is it crackable like everything else is

I bought it. Was only $30 or something.

Can you specify the compression, though?

P.S. Water can't be cracked, depending on the phase.

No idea, Abramul. I haven't used it in about 6 months.

I can't find my screenshots. I looked in C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion where they're supposed to be. But they aren't there. Is there anywhere else that they might be located?

Are you sure the screenshots were taken in the first place? When you pressed the Print Screen button, did a message appear at the top of the screen saying 'screenshot0.bmp has been created', or something like that? Did you change the line in the ini file? And if you used FRAPS the screenshots will appear somewhere else of course.

I did it and it works! Stampede is the man!

doesen't work for me

[/quote]
Are you sure the screenshots were taken in the first place? When you pressed the Print Screen button, did a message appear at the top of the screen saying 'screenshot0.bmp has been created', or something like that? Did you change the line in the ini file? And if you used FRAPS the screenshots will appear somewhere else of course.
[/quote]


Well I'm pretty sure, I saw message and it said "screenshot created" but I still can't find it

ya. same here. I had to get FRAPS so I could do a school project, but I've also found LOTS of other uses for it.

I still have to upload a pic to the site, as soon as I get one of my mods to work...

In the file "Oblivion.ini" located in "My Documents/My Games/Oblivion" , search the line "iScreenShotIndex=##". If ## is 0, when you start taking screenshots they will overwrite the previous screenshots from the number 0.

My solution is remember the last screenshot i'd taken and then I go to the file and, for example, if my last screenshot was "Screenshot37.bmp", I change that line of code to "iScreenShotIndex=38" and when I return to the game, I can continue taking screenshots safely.

I hope you'll find that post interesting (If there's something you don't understand, sorry, but I suppose I can't speak english better, I'm Spanish )

Shadarquentirmo

I did everything the first post said and when i hit the print screen key it says something like "Screenshot: Oblivion1.bmp created. But i can't find out where the pic is located can someone help please. btw i have vista.

oo and i tried editing oblivion_default file (i was supposed to right?) but i couldn't save changes.

I did everything the first post said and when i hit the print screen key it says something like "Screenshot: Oblivion1.bmp created. But i can't find out where the pic is located can someone help please. btw i have vista.

Screenshots: A Basic Guideline

That tutorial will lead you to these as well:

How To Create Screenshots Using Oblivion
How To Create Screenshots Using Fraps
Advanced Tips on Taking Screenshots

LHammonds

If your game crashes on exit, then there is a good chance that your ini file is not being updated. This means that your screenshot count will not be accurate - the screens in your most recent session will not be counted in the ini screenshot count, causing you to overwrite those screenshots the next time you play the game. If this is happening, what you can do is before you exit the game you save your ini file. You do this by opening the console and typing saveini

Hope this helps

hmm,i cant not help you sorry

Ive noticed while browsing user post mods that some of the images look so clean and smooth, then I look at mine and they look jaggered and pixelized, How do people make the screenshots so pretty and clean.

example of Tona's mod shots

I use FRAPS because you can take images when AA is enabled. I just use F11 key and have all the other stuff turned off.

Dude so do I, but it never works when I hit F10 :| and where do the photos save?

If your're running on vista, click show compatability files in the Oblivion folder. They should be there.

get xfire at www.xfire.com

am also facing screen shot problem. can't take a pic. is tht FRAPS really do the trick ? O.o

I'm using FRAPS(unregistered) too and my question is. How do you take picture without showing the Life/magic/other bar on the screen?

Edit: Thanks LHammonds.

By using the console.

If you press tilde (`), this should display the console and stop the game world. You could take a screenshot at this point but would need to remove the small white console marker in the bottom left corner. If you typed any prior console commands, you would need to get rid of them by typing "cls" to clear the screen.

After you bring up the console, you can type "tm" which is short for Toggle Menu and then you can press tilde again to exit the console. The game will continue running and will not display the HUD or the ESC menu until you go back into the console and issue the "tm" command again.

LHammonds

A good alternative to FRAPS is Howie's Quick Screen Capture Tool (download here) - it is free, it works fine with AA on and it does not need to be registered in order to save screenshots in .jpg format.

Hope it helps!
Marvin