is there a way (maybe via a 3rd party app) to capture a screenshot of a specific running application and save it as a jpeg image, all from running a batch script? im not sure if HWND was implemented into DOS/CMD prompt but thats where a 3rd party application could come in. this would save me from opening a image editing application to save a screen shot.

just looking for automation.

As far as I know there is no way to achieve what you need even by a third party application.

A batch script runs in its own address space and is not aware of concurent processes. More, batches are aimed to text processing and can't handle images.

Last but not least, I suggest you post your next question on Programming Forum where a lot of guys are scripts' gurus and you can find more properly answers to NT batch questions.