Using HTML5/Canvas/JavaScript to take in-browser screenshots

Question

Google\'s "Report a Bug" or "Feedback Tool" lets you select an area of your browser window to create a screenshot that is submitted with your feedback ab

Answer 1

PoC

As Niklas mentioned you can use the html2canvas library to take a screenshot using JS in the browser. I will extend his answer in this point by providing an example of taking a screenshot using this library ("Proof of Concept"):

function report() {
  let region = document.querySelector("body"); // whole screen
  html2canvas(region, {
    onrendered: function(canvas) {
      let pngUrl = canvas.toDataURL(); // png in dataURL format
      let img = document.querySelector(".screen");
      img.src = pngUrl; 

      // here you can allow user to set bug-region
      // and send it with 'pngUrl' to server
    },
  });
}

.container {
  margin-top: 10px;
  border: solid 1px black;
}

Screenshot tester
Take screenshot


  

In report() function in onrendered after getting image as data URI you can show it to the user and allow him to draw "bug region" by mouse and then send a screenshot and region coordinates to the server.

In this example async/await version was made: with nice makeScreenshot() function.

UPDATE

Simple example which allows you to take screenshot, select region, describe bug and send POST request (here jsfiddle) (the main function is report()).

async function report() {
    let screenshot = await makeScreenshot(); // png dataUrl
    let img = q(".screen");
    img.src = screenshot; 
    
    let c = q(".bug-container");
    c.classList.remove('hide')
        
    let box = await getBox();    
    c.classList.add('hide');

    send(screenshot,box); // sed post request  with bug image, region and description
    alert('To see POST requset with image go to: chrome console > network tab');
}

// ----- Helper functions

let q = s => document.querySelector(s); // query selector helper
window.report = report; // bind report be visible in fiddle html

async function  makeScreenshot(selector="body") 
{
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {  
    let node = document.querySelector(selector);
    
    html2canvas(node, { onrendered: (canvas) => {
        let pngUrl = canvas.toDataURL();      
        resolve(pngUrl);
    }});  
  });
}

async function getBox(box) {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     let b = q(".bug");
     let r = q(".region");
     let scr = q(".screen");
     let send = q(".send");
     let start=0;
     let sx,sy,ex,ey=-1;
     r.style.width=0;
     r.style.height=0;
     
     let drawBox= () => {
         r.style.left   = (ex > 0 ? sx : sx+ex ) +'px'; 
         r.style.top    = (ey > 0 ? sy : sy+ey) +'px';
         r.style.width  = Math.abs(ex) +'px';
         r.style.height = Math.abs(ey) +'px'; 
     }
     
     
     
     //console.log({b,r, scr});
     b.addEventListener("click", e=>{
       if(start==0) {
         sx=e.pageX;
         sy=e.pageY;
         ex=0;
         ey=0;
         drawBox();
       }
       start=(start+1)%3;       
     });
     
     b.addEventListener("mousemove", e=>{
       //console.log(e)
       if(start==1) {
           ex=e.pageX-sx;
           ey=e.pageY-sy
           drawBox(); 
       }
     });
     
     send.addEventListener("click", e=>{
       start=0;
       let a=100/75 //zoom out img 75%       
       resolve({
          x:Math.floor(((ex > 0 ? sx : sx+ex )-scr.offsetLeft)*a),
          y:Math.floor(((ey > 0 ? sy : sy+ey )-b.offsetTop)*a),
          width:Math.floor(Math.abs(ex)*a),
          height:Math.floor(Math.abs(ex)*a),
          desc: q('.bug-desc').value
          });
          
     });
  });
}

function send(image,box) {

    let formData = new FormData();
    let req = new XMLHttpRequest();
    
    formData.append("box", JSON.stringify(box)); 
    formData.append("screenshot", image);     
    
    req.open("POST", '/upload/screenshot');
    req.send(formData);
}

.bug-container { background: rgb(255,0,0,0.1); margin-top:20px; text-align: center; }
.send { border-radius:5px; padding:10px; background: green; cursor: pointer; }
.region { position: absolute; background: rgba(255,0,0,0.4); }
.example { height: 100px; background: yellow; }
.bug { margin-top: 10px; cursor: crosshair; }
.hide { display: none; }
.screen { pointer-events: none }

Screenshot tester
Report bug

Lorem ipsum


  
Select bug region: click once - move mouse - click again
  
    
    
    
 
  
  

    Describe bug here...
  
  
SEND BUG