Camera Controls & Taking Screenshots

Guide: Camera Controls & Taking Screenshots

Tutorials

Camera controls

TAB: Puts the game into Cameraman mode, allowing better and more control of the camera, and removing the blue user interface. Make sure you are in live mode before going into Cameraman mode or you will see grid lines on the ground and floating where floor tiles may be placed. You will only be able to go into cameraman mode once per load if you are in buy/build mode (without a family moved in). You can either exit to the neighborhood and return to take more pictures, or instead just move a family in for taking your pics.
W and S: W moves the camera forward. S moves it backward.
A and D: A moves the camera left. D moves it right.
Q and E: Q lowers the camera. E raises it.
+ and -: Zooms in and out.
C: Takes a screenshot with the ingame camera and saves it to your Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Screenshots folder.

C key vs print screen

In TS3, the in-game camera (C key) can take screenshots of good enough quality that no additional screenshot program should be required. However, if you need to take pictures of a UI component (Think: notifications, moodlets, your sim's relationships) We'd recommend checking out the 'Taking screenshots & Tools' section!

Windowed mode

For TS3, if you do not use the C key, you must run the game in windowed mode to take screenshots. If screenshots are taken with an external program while the game is running full screen, the screenshots will turn out extremely dark. You can enable windowed mode with the following methods:

Method 1

The easiest method is to just use the ALT+ENTER keys on PCs or COMMAND+RETURN keys on Macs to toggle between the 2 modes while the game is already running. The keystroke combination work on most screens, just not at the loading screen while the game is just starting.

Method 2

If you're already in the game, then you can tweak the Game Options from the Options (F5) menu. For the "Enable fullscreen mode" setting, ticking this means that the game will be in fullscreen mode and vice versa. Click the checkmark again to confirm your changes.

game options

Taking Screenshots & Tools

Snipping tool
If you got windows 10, then using this tool is even easier than ever! Simply use the shortcut: Windows logo key + Alt + P for taking a screenshot.

For more info on other shortcuts for it and Windows 8 and 7 support, see: Snipping Tool

I have a relatively new Nvidia Card!
If you have a Nvidia card, with Ansel support (Check here if not sure) you can also take advantage of the Nvidia Ansel and take screenshots with ALT+F1!

I have Windows 10 but I don't have a Nvidia Graphics card...
Windows 10 came with even some other great features, Not only did they integrate the Snipping tool, but also something called XBox gamebar! All you got to do then is just use the shortcut Windows Logo key + Alt + PrintScreen :)

Other programs
You can always use something that isn't installed on your computer per-se. If you rather use programs like Fraps or IrfanView, feel free to do so! Although given the fact that those programs are ancient, you may experience some issues with Windows 10 telling you they're viruses and giving you a hard time using them. Just warning you beforehand!

Print screen

If you read through 'Taking Screenshots & Tools and you seem to be out of options/can't use those options, then there's always the Print screen button!

To do this, simply press the Print Screen or PrntScn key on your keyboard - it's usually off toward the right, over the arrow keys, above Insert and Delete. This will copy your current screen to your Windows clipboard, as if you had selected and copied it as an image.

Then open any graphics editing program (or Paint!), and paste the image. If pasting it doesn't work, then simply create a new Document inside the program with your screen resolution and then paste it.

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