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You said:

how difficult is it to create a routine to create an animated png screen grabber program in c++

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 18s

Short answer: moderate if you lean on an existing APNG encoder; hard if you try to write the encoder yourself.

Here’s the shape of the work:

  • Capture frames — You already do this with Desktop Duplication → CPU RGBA8. That part’s “done.”

  • Encode APNG — This is the tricky bit. Windows WIC cannot write APNG, so your current WIC pipeline won’t help. You’ll need a separate encoder.

Two practical paths

  1. Use a ready APNG library (recommended) — “moderate” difficulty

    • Good options:

      • apngasm (C++ library + tool; permissive license)

      • LodePNG (header-only; supports APNG; no zlib dependency)

    • Flow: convert each captured frame to RGBA8 (unpremultiplied) → push into the encoder with per-frame delay (numerator/denominator) + blend/dispose ops → write single .png.

    • Gotchas you’ll handle:

      • Color space chunks (set sRGB/gAMA consistently so browsers/viewers don’t shift colors)

      • Picking blend=over and dispose=previous/background correctly (default “over/none” is fine for pure overlays)

      • Size & speed: PNG (deflate) is CPU-heavy. Use a worker thread and consider faster zlib settings for long captures.

  2. Roll your own APNG writer — “hard” difficulty

    • You must emit the PNG signature and chunks in the correct order: IHDR, acTL, fcTL, first frame IDAT, then for each subsequent frame: fcTL + fdAT chunks.

    • You’ll implement PNG filtering, DEFLATE (or integrate zlib), chunk CRCs, and handle APNG’s frame control semantics. It’s doable, but it’s weeks of careful work to make robust.

Streaming vs memory use

APNG needs the total frame count in the acTL at the beginning. If you don’t know it up front (e.g., user stops recording arbitrarily), you either:

  • Buffer frames (memory hungry), or

  • Write to a temp file and patch the header once you know the frame count (common, straightforward), or

  • Use a library that supports a “finalize/patch” step.

Integration with your plugin

  • Keep your existing WIC/DirectXTex paths for PNG/JPG/TIF/DDS.

  • Add an APNG-only path behind your ImageType == "APNG" case:

    1. Capture → BGRA8 → convert to RGBA8 (no premultiply).

    2. Queue frames and timestamps.

    3. Worker thread feeds frames to APNG encoder with correct delays (e.g., 10 fps → 100 ms per frame).

    4. Finalize (patch acTL if needed), write file, return status.

Effort estimate (for someone with your background)

  • With apngasm/LodePNG: ~1–2 days to a working MVP (capture loop already exists), plus 1–2 more days to polish timing, color, error handling, and background threading.

  • From scratch: multiple weeks.

If you want, I can sketch a small, production-ready C++ encoder wrapper (using apngasm or LodePNG) that takes std::span<const uint8_t> RGBA frames + per-frame delay and streams to disk with a finalize step—drop-in for your SKSE worker thread.

You said:

So I have found a mention of a commonpng.lib that may be availianle is this correct

ChatGPT said:

I wasn’t able to find any credible references to a commonpng.lib in the context of APNG (Animated PNG) or screen-grabber projects—nothing in the mainstream or open-source C/C++ ecosystems points to a well-known library by that name. That suggests it’s either:

  • A proprietary or private library, perhaps used internally in a specific project or organization—so publicly undocumented.

  • A misremembered or informal nickname for something like libpng, libpng-apng, or another component.

  • A placeholder name that someone on a forum or code comment used generically.

Where real APNG support lives

1. libpng

2. APNG patch for libpng

  • There’s a well-known unofficial patch (e.g., hosted on SourceForge or GitHub) that adds APNG support to existing libpng versions—commonly used in the community before native support landed. SourceForge+1

What you can do

  • If you came across a reference to commonpng.lib, it’s worth double-checking the source or documentation where that name appeared. It could be part of:

    • A company-specific SDK or wrapper around libpng.

    • A renamed static library built from something like libpng or apngasm.

  • If your goal is APNG support in C++, you have solid, well-supported options:

    • libpng (latest or 2.0 upcoming) — standard and battle-tested.

    • libpng + APNG patch — widely used before native support.

    • Standalone libraries like apngasm or LodePNG, which include APNG encoding.

TL;DR

  • No evidence of a public or widely recognized commonpng.lib.

  • Most APNG implementations rely on libpng, sometimes patched, or on dedicated libraries like LodePNG or apngasm.

  • If you have the context or a snippet mentioning commonpng.lib, feel free to share—I'd be glad to help decipher it!

You said:

I simply misspelled it. I am interested in adding animated png creation to my existing SKSR Plugin Screwengrabber mod. I planed on adding an animated Png catagory to my Imagr typr array and reusing the multitiGIF duration constant to determine the number of frames collected assuming sampeling at 10 frames per second. This mod already uses WIC and a seperate DirectxTek routine to support Png a, DDS files I was intendind to tack on another routine dedicated to the animates PNG. Which of the above methods seems most easily implimented?

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 14s

Got it—so you want to bolt APNG onto your existing SKSE “Screengrabber” without ripping up the WIC/DirectXTex paths. Easiest path, in practice:

Recommendation (short version)

  • For short clips (a few seconds at 10 fps): use LodePNG with APNG support.

    Why: header-only, zero external deps, drop-in. You collect frames in RGBA8 and write once at the end.

  • For longer clips (hundreds of frames/minutes): use apngasm (the C++ lib).

    Why: can build frames incrementally and avoid holding everything in RAM; easier to “stream” then finalize.

WIC and DirectXTex won’t help here: WIC can’t encode APNG, and DirectXTex’s PNG writer only does single-frame PNG.

How to wire it into your mod (cleanest shape)

  1. Add a new image type "APNG" to your enum/string array.

    • Reuse your MultiGIF_Duration (seconds) and assume 10 fps → frame_count = duration_seconds * 10.

    • Frame delay = 100 ms (APNG stores delay as numerator/denominator; 1/10 s = 1/10 or 100/1000).

  2. Capture format

    • Your DDA path likely gives BGRA8 premultiplied. Convert to RGBA8 unpremultiplied before feeding the encoder.

    • Quick unpremultiply (per pixel):

      if (a) { r = r*255/a; g = g*255/a; b = b*255/a; }

    • For APNG, set blend=over and dispose=none for simple “video-like” output.

  3. Threading

    • Keep your existing worker thread that you use for GIF.

    • For LodePNG: push frames into a vector (or disk-backed temp) and call encode once on finalize.

    • For apngasm: call apng::add_frame(...) per frame; the library handles chunking/patching, then save().

  4. Color metadata (optional but nice)

    • Add sRGB chunk (or gAMA/cHRM) so colors match viewers/browsers consistently.

  5. File size & speed

    • PNG/deflate is CPU-heavy; use your worker thread and pick a moderate compression level.

    • APNGs get big fast (10 fps × 60 s = 600 frames). Favor apngasm for long runs.

Which is “most easily implemented” for you?

  • You want minimal build pain? → LodePNG (APNG enabled)

    • Single header, no zlib; easiest to integrate in your SKSE project.

    • Caveat: it typically builds the output in memory—fine for short clips.

  • You want to support multi-minute captures without big memory spikes? → apngasm

    • Small, focused APNG library; lets you append frames and finalize to disk.

Minimal integration checklist (APNG path)

  • ImageType == "APNG" → route to ApngWriter.

  • ApngWriter::begin(width, height, fps=10)

  • For each captured frame:

    • Convert BGRA8 (premultiplied) → RGBA8 (unpremultiplied)

    • ApngWriter::addFrame(rgbaSpan, delay_num=1, delay_den=10, blend=over, dispose=none)

  • ApngWriter::finalize(outputPath) → return status/error string to Papyrus.

If you want, I can draft a tiny ApngWriter interface with two backends (LodePngBackend and ApngasmBackend) so you can swap based on duration (e.g., use LodePNG for ≤5 s, apngasm for longer).

You said:

Yes, I think that would be useful. I had intended to limit collection time to a range of 0-30 seconds and am concerned about the sizw of the longer formata at 2k

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 19s

Great—limiting to 0–30 s at ~10 fps is sensible, but 2K frames can still get big fast. Quick scale check (1920×1080 RGBA8): ~7.9 MiB per raw frame → ~2.37 GB raw for 30 s/300 frames. PNG compression helps a lot on static UI, less so on full-screen motion. So we’ll design for short clips in-RAM and longer clips streaming to disk.

Here’s a clean way to drop APNG into your plugin without touching your WIC/DirectXTex paths.

Plan

  • Backend switch: use LodePNG for short captures (≤5 s or ≤~150 frames), apngasm for longer.

  • Always convert BGRA8 (premultiplied) → RGBA8 (unpremultiplied) before encoding.

  • Optional size savers (big wins at 2K):

    • Frame diff-rectangle (encode only changed region).

    • Palette quantize to 256 colors (e.g., with libimagequant) for APNG—huge size drop on UI/hud heavy scenes.

    • Consider 8–12 fps, slight downscale (e.g., 0.75×) toggle for “long mode”.

Drop-in interface (header)

Use this as ApngWriter.h. You can wire it into your existing worker thread the same way you do for GIF.

#pragma once #include <cstdint> #include <span> #include <string> #include <vector> #include <memory> #include <optional> struct ApngParams { uint32_t width{}; uint32_t height{}; // delay per frame as APNG numerator/denominator (e.g., 1/10 for 10 fps) uint32_t delay_num{1}; uint32_t delay_den{10}; // enable optimizations bool use_diff_rect{true}; bool use_palette_quant{false}; // require libimagequant or similar // compression hint: 0 fastest, 9 max int zlib_level{3}; }; struct ApngRect { uint32_t x{}, y{}, w{}, h{}; }; class IApngWriter { public: virtual ~IApngWriter() = default; virtual bool begin(const std::wstring& output_path, const ApngParams& p, uint32_t expected_frames) = 0; // RGBA8, unpremultiplied. If diff_rect.has_value(), pixels are tightly packed for that subrect. virtual bool addFrame(std::span<const uint8_t> rgba, std::optional<ApngRect> diff_rect = std::nullopt) = 0; virtual bool finalize(std::wstring* error = nullptr) = 0; virtual void cancel() noexcept = 0; }; /// Utilities you can reuse elsewhere namespace apngutil { // BGRA8 premultiplied -> RGBA8 unpremultiplied (in-place allowed if src==dst) inline void Unpremultiply_BGRA_to_RGBA(const uint8_t* srcBGRA, uint8_t* dstRGBA, size_t pixelCount) { for (size_t i = 0; i < pixelCount; ++i) { const uint8_t b = srcBGRA[4*i + 0]; const uint8_t g = srcBGRA[4*i + 1]; const uint8_t r = srcBGRA[4*i + 2]; const uint8_t a = srcBGRA[4*i + 3]; if (a == 0) { dstRGBA[4*i + 0] = 0; dstRGBA[4*i + 1] = 0; dstRGBA[4*i + 2] = 0; dstRGBA[4*i + 3] = 0; } else { // multiply by 255 and divide by alpha, clamped dstRGBA[4*i + 0] = (uint8_t)((uint32_t)r * 255u / a); dstRGBA[4*i + 1] = (uint8_t)((uint32_t)g * 255u / a); dstRGBA[4*i + 2] = (uint8_t)((uint32_t)b * 255u / a); dstRGBA[4*i + 3] = a; } } } // Compute tight bounding box of changed pixels between prev and curr RGBA8. // threshold is absolute difference on any channel to count as "changed". inline std::optional<ApngRect> DiffBBox(const uint8_t* prevRGBA, const uint8_t* currRGBA, uint32_t w, uint32_t h, uint32_t threshold = 2) { int minx = (int)w, miny = (int)h, maxx = -1, maxy = -1; for (uint32_t y = 0; y < h; ++y) { const uint8_t* p0 = prevRGBA + (size_t)y * w * 4; const uint8_t* p1 = currRGBA + (size_t)y * w * 4; for (uint32_t x = 0; x < w; ++x) { const uint8_t* a0 = p0 + 4*x; const uint8_t* a1 = p1 + 4*x; if ( (std::abs(int(a0[0])-int(a1[0])) > (int)threshold) || (std::abs(int(a0[1])-int(a1[1])) > (int)threshold) || (std::abs(int(a0[2])-int(a1[2])) > (int)threshold) || (std::abs(int(a0[3])-int(a1[3])) > (int)threshold) ) { if (x < (uint32_t)minx) minx = (int)x; if (y < (uint32_t)miny) miny = (int)y; if (x > (uint32_t)maxx) maxx = (int)x; if (y > (uint32_t)maxy) maxy = (int)y; } } } if (maxx < 0) return std::nullopt; ApngRect r; r.x = (uint32_t)minx; r.y = (uint32_t)miny; r.w = (uint32_t)(maxx - minx + 1); r.h = (uint32_t)(maxy - miny + 1); return r; } // Extract a tight subrect into a temporary contiguous RGBA buffer. inline void CopySubrectRGBA(const uint8_t* srcRGBA, uint32_t w, uint32_t h, const ApngRect& rc, std::vector<uint8_t>& out) { out.resize(size_t(rc.w) * rc.h * 4); for (uint32_t row = 0; row < rc.h; ++row) { const uint8_t* src = srcRGBA + (size_t)(rc.y + row) * w * 4 + size_t(rc.x) * 4; uint8_t* dst = out.data() + size_t(row) * rc.w * 4; std::memcpy(dst, src, size_t(rc.w) * 4); } } } // namespace apngutil

Backends (choose per duration)

Skeletons below show where to call the library. You can swap backends by duration or resolution.

// LodePNG backend — simple, keep frames in RAM; best for <= ~5 s at 1080p. class LodePngBackend final : public IApngWriter { public: bool begin(const std::wstring& output, const ApngParams& p, uint32_t expected_frames) override { out_ = output; params_ = p; frames_.clear(); frames_.reserve(expected_frames); return true; } bool addFrame(std::span<const uint8_t> rgba, std::optional<ApngRect> diff_rect) override { // Store either full frame or subrect + rect metadata Frame f; f.rect = diff_rect; f.pixels.assign(rgba.begin(), rgba.end()); frames_.push_back(std::move(f)); return true; } bool finalize(std::wstring* error) override { // TODO: integrate LodePNG APNG encode here. // Pseudo-code: // lodepng::State state; // state.encoder.zlibsettings.windowSize = ...; state.encoder.zlibsettings.minmatch = ...; // state.encoder.zlibsettings.btype = 2; state.encoder.zlibsettings.level = params_.zlib_level; // Configure APNG chunks, delays (fcTL), blend=over, dispose=none // If any frame has rect, set fcTL.x_offset/y_offset/width/height accordingly // lodepng::encode(apng_bytes, frames_, params_.width, params_.height, state); // write apng_bytes to out_ // Return true on success, set *error on failure return false; // until wired } void cancel() noexcept override { frames_.clear(); } private: struct Frame { std::optional<ApngRect> rect; std::vector<uint8_t> pixels; // RGBA8 (full frame or subrect) }; std::wstring out_; ApngParams params_; std::vector<Frame> frames_; }; // apngasm backend — stream to disk; better for longer clips at 2K class ApngAsmBackend final : public IApngWriter { public: bool begin(const std::wstring& output, const ApngParams& p, uint32_t expected_frames) override { out_ = output; params_ = p; // TODO: create encoder, open file/stream; set canvas size, acTL (may be patched on finalize) // apng::APNGAsm encoder(params.width, params.height, ...); // encoder.set_default_delay(params.delay_num, params.delay_den); // encoder.set_compression(params.zlib_level); inited_ = true; return true; } bool addFrame(std::span<const uint8_t> rgba, std::optional<ApngRect> diff_rect) override { if (!inited_) return false; // TODO: apngasm add frame // apng::Frame fr; // if (diff_rect) fr.set_rect(...); // fr.set_pixels(rgba.data(), rgba.size()); // fr.set_blend_over(); fr.set_dispose_none(); // fr.set_delay(params_.delay_num, params_.delay_den); // encoder_.add_frame(fr); return true; } bool finalize(std::wstring* error) override { if (!inited_) return false; // TODO: encoder_.save(out_); inited_ = false; return true; } void cancel() noexcept override { inited_ = false; // TODO: cleanup temp files if any } private: std::wstring out_; ApngParams params_; bool inited_{false}; // apng::APNGAsm encoder_; };

Wiring into your capture thread

  • Add "APNG" to your image type array.

  • In the worker:

    1. ApngParams p{w,h,1,10,true,false,3};

    2. Choose backend: unique_ptr<IApngWriter> w = (duration_sec > 5 || is_2k) ? make_unique<ApngAsmBackend>() : make_unique<LodePngBackend>();

    3. w->begin(path, p, duration_sec*10);

    4. For each frame:

      • Convert BGRA8 premultiplied → RGBA8 (Unpremultiply_BGRA_to_RGBA).

      • If use_diff_rect and you have a previous frame, compute DiffBBox. If exists, CopySubrectRGBA and pass that span + rect; else pass full frame.

      • w->addFrame(span, rect_opt);

    5. w->finalize(&err); → propagate to Papyrus.

Practical size controls (flip-on options for 2K)

  • Diff rectangles: giant win when HUD/static background dominates.

  • Quantization: add a toggle to quantize frames to ≤256 colors (via libimagequant) before encoding; quality is often close to original for UI-heavy content, files shrink 2–5×.

  • Cap fps (8–10) and expose a downscale (e.g., 0.75×) just for APNG long mode.

If you want, I can fill in the LodePNG or apngasm sections to match whichever you prefer to vend through vcpkg (or drop a small CMake snippet for either).

You said:

Ok I think I will use the dual routine to change mode based on follection duration. I'd like a version of the jason file for manafest based VcPkg and the modifications for cmake cmakelists.txt

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 29s

Perfect—let’s wire this up with manifest-mode vcpkg and minimal CMake changes. We’ll pull in LodePNG (short captures) and libpng with the apng feature (long captures).

1) vcpkg.json (project manifest)

Put this at your repo root (next to your CMakeLists.txt):

{ "name": "printscreen", "version-string": "2.0.0", "dependencies": [ "lodepng", { "name": "libpng", "features": [ "apng" ] } ] }

  • lodepng is header-only with a CMake target you can link to directly. vcpkg.linkvcpkg.io

  • libpng in vcpkg exposes an apng feature which folds in the APNG patch. vcpkg.ioGitLab

2) vcpkg-configuration.json (registry + baseline)

Create this next to vcpkg.json. Replace the baseline with your registry’s current commit using the command shown below.

{ "registries": [ { "kind": "builtin", "baseline": "REPLACE_WITH_BASELINE_SHA" } ] }

Set the baseline automatically:

vcpkg x-update-baseline -c

(That command writes the correct commit SHA into vcpkg-configuration.json.) Microsoft Learn

3) CMake changes (add once at the top-level)

Add the vcpkg toolchain and link both libs; pick the backend at runtime in your code.

# --- vcpkg toolchain (before project()) # Option A: environment variable VCPKG_ROOT set if(DEFINED ENV{VCPKG_ROOT} AND NOT DEFINED CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE) set(CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "$ENV{VCPKG_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" CACHE STRING "") endif() cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.24) project(PrintScreen VERSION 2.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX) # Find packages provided by vcpkg manifest find_package(lodepng CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: lodepng find_package(PNG CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: PNG::PNG (libpng) # ... your existing target(s) ... # target_link_libraries(PrintScreenPlugin PRIVATE lodepng PNG::PNG) # (You can link both; choose at runtime which backend to use.)

  • vcpkg’s lodepng port exports the lodepng target; link it when you use the C++ API. vcpkg.link

  • vcpkg’s libpng exports the standard PNG::PNG target. Enable APNG via the feature in your manifest (already done above). vcpkg.io

4) How you’ll use it in code (quick sketch)

  • Short runs (≤5 s @ 2K or ≤~150 frames): use LodePNG APNG encode path (build in memory, then write).

  • Long runs: stream via libpng[apng] (write frames progressively; finalize/patch as needed).

If you want, I can drop in the exact CMake target_link_libraries(...) lines for your SKSE target name and a tiny backend selector (e.g., USE_LIBPNG_APNG compile definition for the long-mode path).

You said:

Ok I will probably call this version 3.0.o instead of 2.0 and make a new code base derived frome the existing version 2.00 The exact Cmakecode modifications would be helpfuff

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 5s

Nice—version bump to 3.0.0 and a fresh branch is a good call. Below are exact, drop-in CMake edits plus the vcpkg manifest files you can paste at the repo root. I’ll assume your plugin target is named PrintScreen (DLL). If it’s different, just change that one name.

1) vcpkg.json (manifest)

Put this next to your CMakeLists.txt:

{ "name": "printscreen", "version-string": "3.0.0", "dependencies": [ "lodepng", { "name": "libpng", "features": ["apng"] } ] }

2) vcpkg-configuration.json (baseline)

Also at repo root. After creating the file, run vcpkg x-update-baseline -c once to fill in the baseline commit.

{ "registries": [ { "kind": "builtin", "baseline": "REPLACE_WITH_BASELINE_SHA" } ] }

3) CMake: minimal, exact changes

A) Toolchain bootstrap (must be before project()):

Add this at the very top of your top-level CMakeLists.txt (above project(...)):

# --- vcpkg toolchain (before project()) if(DEFINED ENV{VCPKG_ROOT} AND NOT DEFINED CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE) set(CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "$ENV{VCPKG_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" CACHE STRING "") endif()

B) Project line (update version to 3.0.0)

If your file already has project(...), just bump the version:

project(PrintScreen VERSION 3.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

C) Find packages

Add these AFTER project(...) (keep your existing finds for CommonLibSSE-NG, DirectXTex, WIC, etc.):

# APNG backends find_package(lodepng CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: lodepng find_package(PNG CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: PNG::PNG (libpng with APNG feature via manifest)

D) Link to your plugin target

Where you already call target_link_libraries for your plugin DLL (target name assumed PrintScreen), add these two libraries. Keep your existing libs on the same call or another—order doesn’t matter here.

target_link_libraries(PrintScreen PRIVATE lodepng PNG::PNG # ... your existing libs, e.g. CommonLibSSE::CommonLibSSE, DirectXTex::DirectXTex, etc. )

E) Optional: expose a compile-time toggle + threshold

This lets you switch backends (LodePNG for short, libpng[apng] for long) in your code with a single #ifdef and a runtime threshold.

# Choose default long/short threshold (seconds). You can override at configure time: # cmake -DAPNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC=5 ... set(APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC 5 CACHE STRING "Seconds at/above which to use libpng[apng] backend") target_compile_definitions(PrintScreen PRIVATE APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC=${APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC} USE_APNG_DUAL_BACKEND=1 )

F) (Optional but handy) Require C++20 or later if you aren’t already

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20) set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON) set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)

How to use from code (ties into the definitions above)

In your APNG writer code, pick a backend at runtime:

// Pseudocode: constexpr int kThresholdSec = APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC; // from compile defs const bool longMode = (durationSec >= kThresholdSec) || (width*height >= 1920*1080 && durationSec >= 5); #ifdef USE_APNG_DUAL_BACKEND if (longMode) { // use libpng[apng] streaming encoder } else { // use LodePNG APNG encoder (in-memory, finalize once) } #else // fallback: pick one #endif

That’s it. With those edits:

  • vcpkg will pull LodePNG and libpng[apng] automatically (manifest mode).

  • CMake will find and link the correct targets (lodepng, PNG::PNG).

  • Your code can switch backends cleanly based on duration/resolution.

If you want, share your current target_link_libraries(...) block and I’ll splice these lines into it exactly where they belong (alongside CommonLibSSE-NG / DirectXTex) so you can paste once and build.

You said:

Here are my current vcpkg and CmakeLists.txt files

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 9s

I don’t see the files attached—can you paste/upload them? I’ll mark up your exact lines.

In the meantime, here are drop-in patches you can apply. Replace YOUR_PLUGIN_TARGET with your DLL target name.

vcpkg.json (manifest)

{ "name": "printscreen", "version-string": "3.0.0", "dependencies": [ "lodepng", { "name": "libpng", "features": ["apng"] } ] }

vcpkg-configuration.json (baseline)

{ "registries": [ { "kind": "builtin", "baseline": "REPLACE_WITH_BASELINE_SHA" } ] }

Then run:

vcpkg x-update-baseline -c

CMakeLists.txt edits (exact inserts)

1) Toolchain (very top, before project(...))

# --- vcpkg toolchain if(DEFINED ENV{VCPKG_ROOT} AND NOT DEFINED CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE) set(CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "$ENV{VCPKG_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" CACHE STRING "") endif()

2) Project line (bump version)

project(PrintScreen VERSION 3.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

3) Find the APNG deps (after project and before you define/link targets)

# APNG backends find_package(lodepng CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: lodepng find_package(PNG CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: PNG::PNG (libpng with APNG feature)

4) Link them to your plugin target (add to your existing link block)

target_link_libraries(YOUR_PLUGIN_TARGET PRIVATE lodepng PNG::PNG # ... keep your existing libs here (CommonLibSSE::CommonLibSSE, DirectXTex::DirectXTex, etc.) )

5) Optional: dual-backend knob (compile defs)

# Switch to libpng[apng] for long captures at/above this duration (seconds) set(APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC 5 CACHE STRING "Seconds threshold for libpng[apng] backend") target_compile_definitions(YOUR_PLUGIN_TARGET PRIVATE USE_APNG_DUAL_BACKEND=1 APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC=${APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC} )

6) (If not already) standard level

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20) set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON) set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)

If you paste your actual CMakeLists.txt and current vcpkg*.json, I’ll return a precise, line-for-line patch (no placeholders) so you can drop it in and build.

You said:

Did they come through that time

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 39s

Yep—both files came through. I’ll give you precise, drop-in edits for APNG (LodePNG + libpng[apng]) and bump you to 3.0.0.

1) Add vcpkg manifests (repo root)

vcpkg.json

{ "name": "printscreen", "version-string": "3.0.0", "dependencies": [ "lodepng", { "name": "libpng", "features": ["apng"] } ] }

vcpkg-configuration.json

{ "registries": [ { "kind": "builtin", "baseline": "REPLACE_WITH_BASELINE_SHA" } ] }

Then run once:

vcpkg x-update-baseline -c

Your presets already point CMake at the vcpkg toolchain (CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE), so you don’t need to touch that. 

2) Exact CMake patches

A) Bump project version

In CMakeLists.txt, change line 2:

- project(PrintScreen VERSION 2.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX) + project(PrintScreen VERSION 3.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

 

B) Find the APNG deps

Insert after your existing find_package(directxtk CONFIG REQUIRED) (currently lines 26–29):

# APNG backends find_package(lodepng CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: lodepng find_package(PNG CONFIG REQUIRED) # target: PNG::PNG (libpng with APNG feature via manifest)

 

C) Link them to your plugin

Add these two to the existing target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE …) list (e.g., right after Microsoft::DirectXTK):

lodepng PNG::PNG

The block you’re modifying is at lines 48–71. 

D) Toggle for dual-backend + threshold

Add this after your SKSE/Xbyak definitions (present at lines 93–96):

# APNG dual-backend knobs set(APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC 5 CACHE STRING "Seconds at/above which libpng[apng] backend is used") target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE USE_APNG_DUAL_BACKEND=1 APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC=${APNG_LONG_MODE_THRESHOLD_SEC} )

 

No other changes are required—your presets already enforce x64, static triplet, and the vcpkg toolchain.  

If you want, paste your target_link_libraries block back at me and I’ll return it with those two new lines spliced in exactly.

Sources

 

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