imagegrabscreen function is only available in PHP 5.2.2. This function is useful when it’s necessary to make a screenshot of a website or a private application web page. For example, when a lender wants to view credentials of an appraiser before an appraisal job is assign. That appraiser should reveal his/her credentials of their license/certificate/reports in an image rather than in html format. Here is how you’re going to use it. Remember to upgrade your server to php version 5.2.2, or if you have a hosting provider, ask them if they support 5.2.2 or higher.

Tips for Windows users: For this function to work properly, your Apache service must be set to ‘Allow service to interact with desktop’ otherwise you will just get a blank image. To fix this,  right-click on My Computer,  select Manage/Services and Applications/Services – find the apache service (such as Apache2) and right-click, select Properties – choose the Log on tab and check the ‘Allow service to interact with desktop’ checkbox. Restart Apache service. You’re now good to go.