Screen capture your Android phone

On the Xperia X10i with Android 2.3, and most other Android phones, you can screen capture for purpose of troubleshooting, development, presentation and article writing. Here is listed the instructions on MS Windows 7.

Step 1: Install the Android SDK.

Step 2: Switch the X10i debug.
Click "left" button, choose "Settings" ->"Applications" ->"Development".

Click to Check "USB Debugging".

Step 3: Plug USB cable between X10i and PC.
If asked to charge, choose that option.

Step 4: On the PC, start the Dalvik Debug Monitor (DDMS)
Click the Windows "Start" button, and type following and press "Enter" key.

cmd

Switch to the android directory and type following and press "Enter" key.

tools\ddms.bat

Ensure that you choose your phone from the left list. In my case its written as "XXX [SonyEricsson:X10i]". From the top menu of DDMS, click "Device" ->"Screen capture..."

Step 5: Capture the screen on the Android device (X10i)

On the X10i, select the screen to be captured (or saved).

Then on the PC, the DDMS should show the same screen as the Android, click "Copy". Start the graphics software such as GIMP or MS Paint and "paste" the screen capture. Save as the filename of your choice.

I have not used the "Save" button on DDMS, so I can't say where it saves to.