Android Application Development For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Getting Screen Shots for Your Application

Screen shots are a vital part of the Google Play Store ecosystem because they allow users to preview an application before installing it. Allowing users to view a couple of screen shots of your application can be the determining factor in installing your application. If you’ve spent weeks (or months) creating detailed graphics for a game that you want users to play, you want potential users and buyers to see them so that they can see the overall look of your app.

To grab real-time shots of your application, you use an emulator or a physical Android device. To grab screen shots with an emulator, follow these steps:

1. Open the emulator and place the widget on the Home screen.

2. In Eclipse, open the DDMS Perspective.

Visit Chapter 5 for a refresher on how to use DDMS.

3. Choose the emulator in the Devices panel, as shown in Figure 8-9.

4. Click the Screen Shot button to capture a screen shot.

After the screen shot is taken, save the file somewhere on your computer.

Figure 8-9: The DDMS perspective with the emulator screen shot taken.