How to Take a Screenshot on Google Glass

I’ve had a few people asking me how to take a screenshot on Google Glass, especially back when we didn’t have the Vignette option, so I decided to write an article about this. You have two ways of taking screenshots on Glass. One of them is called Vignette and it was released with the XE9 update, but it also takes a picture along with the screenshot. You can also take a screenshot from the command line by using ADB. This can be a bit harder for beginners, but it’s not as complicated as it seems.

How to take screenshots with Vignette

This is the easiest method, being a built-in feature on Google Glass. Its only downside is that it also uses the camera to take a picture along with the screenshot. If you only need the screenshot, then you will have to crop the image.

Follow the steps below in order to make a Vignette:

1. Turn on Google Glass’ display and navigate to the screen you want to take a screenshot of.
2. Now take a picture with Google Glass.
3. Once you have taken the picture, tap the touchpad and select Make Vignette.
4. Your Vignette is now saved on your device and you can transfer it to your smartphone or PC and crop it.

How to take screenshots with ADB

If you want to take just a screenshot and you’re unsatisfied with Vignettes, then you can use adb from the command line in order to do it. There are only two commands required, so it’s not so complicated. I will try to explain the steps in order to understand what you’re doing and make sure you aren’t doing anything wrong.

Follow the steps below:

1. Download and install Android SDK here (if you don’t have it already installed).
2. Extract the zip you just downloaded.
3. In the extracted folder you have to find platform-tool and copy it to C: then rename it to Android-adb.
4. Now you will have to find your computer’s Environment Variables settings.In windows 8 press start and search for it directly.In Windows 7 or older right-click My Computer and click Properties.
5. In the lower section of the window you have to find Path. Click on it, then click edit and add the following string to the end: ;C:\Android-adb (make sure you don’t delete anything there).

Now everything is ready for using adb from the command line. In order to take the screenshot, you will have to connect Google Glass to your computer and open Command Prompt (Press Ctrl + R simultaneously, type CMD and then press Enter).

In Command Prompt you will have to enter the following lines:

adb shell /system/bin/screencap -p /sdcard/myapp_screenshot.png

adb pull /sdcard/myapp_screenshot.png myapp_screenshot.png

If you did everything right, the screenshot should be taken on Google Glass and saved on the SD card. Let us know if you encounter any problem and we will do our best to assist you.