I’m about to tackle my first Maxis10 HTC Desire Z review, but in order to do so with gusto, I need to be able to take HTC Desire Z screen captures, and I’m using an Apple iMac, where things just work… a little differently.
So, here’s a quick rundown of what we need to do.
Step 1 for the HTC Desire Z Screen Capture Setup –
Download Android SDK
Apparently screen captures are only for developer types – a telling sign of what you’re getting yourself into.
Become a developer type by downloading the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) from the Android Developer Site. Make sure you get the Mac OS X version, seeing as how you’re following the iMac tutorial and all.
It’s 29MiB heavy, which on my ADLS line took me all of 6 minutes to download. Unzip it and throw the android-sdk-mac_86 folder on your desktop.
Step 2 for the HTC Desire Z Screen Capture Setup –
Update Android SDK
Hang on to your geeky little hat, we’re going to use the Terminal. Launch the Terminal (it’s a black icon with >_ in the top left corner).
Type this:
~/Desktop/android-sdk-mac_86/tools/android update sdk
The command will launch the Android SDK, connect to the Internet and refresh the list of SDK sources.
You have to choose which ones to install.
My HTC Desire Z runs Android 2.2 – I know, because I’ve checked:
Physical Menu Button -> Settings -> About Phone -> Software Information
Form the list, all you need for now are the following:
- SDK Platform Android 2.2, API 8 revision 2
- Android SDK Platform-tools, revision 1 [*]
Click on all the other options and select Reject so as to not waste time downloading them. If you’re using TMNet DNS servers, change to OpenDNS for this exercise – speed increases significantly.
Step 3 for the HTC Desire Z Screen Capture Setup
Run The Dalvik Debug Monitor (DDMS)
This is the software that will create the magic. It’s in the same Tools folder – you can double click it to run, which will open first a Terminal window and then the DDMS screen.
Step 4 for the HTC Desire Z Screen Capture Setup
Prep your Desire to receive the iMac
Grab your shiny new HTC Desire Z and before plugging it in let’s tap a few buttons.
From your home screen, tap the following:
Physical Menu Button -> Settings -> Applications -> Development
On this screen check the USB Debugging box. If this isn’t checked, it won’t work.
If you want your screen to not go black while charging, also tick Stay Awake.
You are now ready to plug in! Grab your USB cable, plug the one end into your iMac, and the other end into your HTC Desire Z.
On your phone you should be prompted for the type of connection you’re about to make. Quickly choose the 3rd option from the top: Disk Drive – Mount as a Disk Drive.
The moment you do this your phone will connect to your iMac as a drive, and the DDMS should update itself and show your phone in the Name column.
Step 5 for the HTC Desire Z Screen Capture Setup
See your HTC Desire Z’s thoughts
Click on your phone under the Name column – you’ll see some text run in the bottom part of the window. These are the instructions and answers your phone is dealing with.
But what you’re here for is to go in the menu and choose:
Device -> Screen Capture
A little window will jump up with a red X and moments later, a pixel perfect representation of what’s going on on your HTC Desire Z’s screen at just that minute.
There’s a few handy buttons at the top with which to refresh, rotate, save, copy and exit.
Your HTC Desire Z Screen Captures from an Apple iMac is now golden.
PS: Whatever else you fiddle with while you’re in this software is entirely on your own head. If you don’t know what you’re doing (and by having to follow this tutorial you’ve made it clear that you don’t), you should capture your screen and exit. Anything else you change could possibly render your phone a paperweight.