# Screen source

Video Capture SDK .Net VideoCaptureCoreX VideoCaptureCore

Screen capture is a process of copying what you see on your screen.

Video Capture SDK .Net allows you to capture the entire screen, a single window, or a selected area of the screen.

# Windows

On Windows you can use DirectX 9 or DirectX 11/12 for screen capture. DirectX 11 and 12 are faster and more efficient than DirectX 9.

For window capture, you can use the DirectX 11.

To capture the mouse cursor, set the AllowCaptureMouseCursor property to true.

Use DisplayIndex to select the display to capture. The default value is 0.

Use ScreenPreview or ScreenCapture mode to preview or capture video from the device.

Use the ScreenCaptureDX9SourceSettings or ScreenCaptureD3D11SourceSettings class to configure the screen capture source.

# Capture full screen or screen area

To capture a screen specify the full screen mode or rectangle area.

// Set screen capture source settings
VideoCapture1.Screen_Capture_Source = new ScreenCaptureSourceSettings
{
     // Set to true to capture the full screen
    FullScreen = false,

     // Set the left position of the screen area
    Left = 0,

    // Set the top position of the screen area
    Top = 0, 

    // Set the width of the screen area
    Width = 640, 

    // Set the height of the screen area
    Height = 480, 

    // Set the display index
    DisplayIndex = 0, 

    // Set the frame rate
    FrameRate = new VideoFrameRate(25), 

     // Set to true to capture the mouse cursor
    AllowCaptureMouseCursor = true
};

// Display index
var screenID = 0;

// Create a new screen capture source using DirectX 11
var source = new ScreenCaptureD3D11SourceSettings(); 

// Set the capture API
source.API = D3D11ScreenCaptureAPI.WGC; 

// Set the frame rate
source.FrameRate = new VideoFrameRate(25);

// Set the screen area or full screen mode
if (fullscreen)
{
    // Enumerate all screens and set the screen area
    for (int i = 0; i < System.Windows.Forms.Screen.AllScreens.Length; i++)
    {
        if (i == screenID)
        {
            source.Rectangle = new VisioForge.Core.Types.Rect(System.Windows.Forms.Screen.AllScreens[i].Bounds);
        }
    }
}
else
{
    // Set the screen area
    source.Rectangle = new VisioForge.Core.Types.Rect(0, 0, 1280, 720); 
}

// Set to true to capture the mouse cursor
source.CaptureCursor = true; 

// Set the monitor index
source.MonitorIndex = screenID; 

// Set the screen capture source
VideoCapture1.Video_Source = source; 

# Capture window

To capture a window specify the window handle.

// Set screen capture source settings
VideoCapture1.Screen_Capture_Source = new ScreenCaptureSourceSettings
{
    // Disable full screen capture
    FullScreen = false, 

    // Set the window handle
    WindowHandle = windowHandle, 

     // Set the frame rate
    FrameRate = new VideoFrameRate(25),

     // Set to true to capture the mouse cursor
    AllowCaptureMouseCursor = true
};

// Create Direct3D11 source
var source = new ScreenCaptureD3D11SourceSettings();

// Set the capture API
source.API = D3D11ScreenCaptureAPI.WGC; 

// Set frame rate
source.FrameRate = new VideoFrameRate(25);

// Set the window handle
source.WindowHandle = windowHandle;

VideoCapture1.Video_Source = source; // Set the screen capture source

Visit our GitHub page to get more code samples.