Screenshot of Meshmixer keeps appearing in Temp folder

[3DWP]

Hi,

Recently I happened to see an image in my Temp folder that happens to be a screenshot of a Meshmixer project I was working on, it's called thumbnail.png and pops up in C:\Users\ [user name] \AppData\Local\Temp and keeps updating even when removed.

How is this happening and especially - why - and for what reason? Is this done by Autodesk or not?

It's a screenshot of almost the entire screen exept the task bar (Windows 10), I'm using the latest version Meshmixer (3.5).

[3DWP]

Can anybody else confirm this is ''normal'' behavior?

I have only seen screenshots made in Meshmixer so I think it is made by Meshmixer/Autodesk itself..

[hfcandrew]

Ya I have the exact same thing. Never noticed that before.

I did some playing around and learned a few quirks:

• It takes a cropped screen shot of MM everytime you hit save. (not when you open or close)
• MM must be the one doing it because MM is cropping internally bc the image created follows some strange rules/parameters.
  • The screen shot roughly incorporates only the objects currently viewable on screen
    • If you pan laterally so no objects are currently in view it will still take the screen shot but the file it will just be a 20x20 pixel square of your MM background colour
  • This screen shot can also be altered by changing your MM window size, or camera position, or zoom level
• The screen shot is unaffected by having the object browser in the way
• Grid lines are always turned off but all other view menu options (Printer viability, wireframe, transparency etc..) are not affected.

[3DWP]

So why is this happening? When I change the picture in an editor and set it to read only and hidden it stays the same for a while but eventually MM overrides it..

[steffen_anders_adsk · Accepted solution]

From what I can tell after digging through the source code, the screenshot appears to have been meant to be used in functions that are either no longer, or were never, part of the released versions. The generation happens immediately during regular file saving which in turn would have been triggered during the use of those functions. (Why the developers chose to put the screenshot generation in a function that can be, and regularly is, triggered independently, I do not know.)

As such, the screenshot generation remains but an artefact of what might have been and may be disregarded.

[hfcandrew]

MM's source code!!?!

That's my grail, I'd just about sell my soul for that.         😉

[steffen_anders_adsk]

Sorry, but as far as I can tell, we're just about not in the soul-trading business. 😉