[Gimp-developer] Screenshot tool: Unify plugin for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X

[grafxuser <gfx user online de>]

Hi,

lately I compared the plugins versions for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X 
for a bug report. Surprisingly the Windows version is totally different 
from the others. It only offers three options: capture a single window, 
capture the whole screen and the delay in seconds. All the other useful 
options are missing, although they would be of use in Windows, too.

The Windows' version plugin is Craig Seteras WinSnap v0.70 (07/16/1999). 
Compared to Linux' and Macs plug-in-screenshot this is a quite old 
version, which doesn't seem to be maintained by Craig Setera anymore.

On the other hand, there are a lot of good or more sophisticated 
screenshot tools existing. Some of them ship with every Windows 7, Mac 
OS X, GNOME or KDE distribution. Maybe there a screencapture tools, 
which give better results for some particular window managers, like 
Enlightenment. Why reinvent the wheel, even with restricted developing 
capacities? To provide a good solution while keeping the own
development efforts manageable, GIMP could users give the choice between 
GIMP's own screenshot plugin in its current state (which would be fixed 
in basic points and frozen then), the operating systems own screenshot 
tool and third party tools (SnagIt etc). Results from other tools should 
then be seamlessly reimported into GIMP.
I suggest to place a listbox in the settings dialog with the following 
items: GIMPs screenshot tool, operating systems tool, Other...
The second item would be Windows' 'Snipping tool', Mac's screencapture 
tool, on Linux' KDEs KSnapshot or whatever. The item 'Other...' would 
let the user choose an third-party executable for screenshots.

How do you think about this enhancement?

grafxuser