What format does Windows make screenshots in? [closed]

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So here I am in quite a pickle.

If you make a screenshot in Windows 7, it is presented to you in .png format. The question is, does Windows first create a bitmap screenshot and then without your explicit consent convert it to .png? Or is it made in .png from the start?

Question no. 2:

Why it uses 24-bit format for the image? And is it 1-byte per colour or do those 24 bits include some kind of transparency?

Answer 1

1: It makes .png right away, and even if it didn't I don't see what difference would it make. Format .png is a raster format(bitmap) itself, very similar to .bmp, the only difference is that is can be compressed, but that doesn't erase any usable data in it.

2: Each color takes 1 byte = 8 bits, one byte for each channel, R(ed), G(reen) and B(lue). That sums up into 3 x 8 = 24 bits(not bytes). You can also add one more channel for transparency, usually called Alpha, which would be the 4th byte and then one pixel will have 32 bits.