Capturing your computer screen is a terribly handy trick in all sorts of situations, ranging from creating tutorials to capturing web moments for posterity. Take a peek at the five most popular screen capture applications.
Jan 03, 2016 The fact is that the Mac came out with a 'snipping tool' app way, way before Windows ever did. OS X comes with an app called Grab (as in 'screen grab'), in your Utilities folder. It will let you do screen shots with your mouse instead of having to memorize the shortcuts. Download File Multi Tool 5 for macOS 10.7 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. -- Version 6 is out! Search for 'File Multi Tool 6' instead -- File Multi Tool 5 is the ultimate file tweaking tool.
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Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite screen capture tools. You logged hundreds of votes, and now we're back with five great screen capture tools for your consideration as king of the screen capture kingdom.
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Best Screen Capture Tool?
Whether you're demonstrating software or saving a weird web moment for posterity, you're…
Read more ReadSnipping Tool (Windows, Free)
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![Repeat for emphasis Repeat for emphasis](https://cdn.woorkup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/movavi-screen-capture-for-mac.png)
Included in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and the Experience Pack for Windows XP Tablet Edition, Snipping Tool fits into a perfect niche for many users. For those of you who don't need high-powered screen capture tools, the basic functionality of Snipping Tool allows you to capture the whole screen, individual windows, or user-specified capture areas. Snipping Tool also has extremely basic editing functions, like the ability to highlight and write on your screen captures. It lacks the more advanced features included in other screen capture tools, but it does a great job filling the gap between the frustrating Print Screen and Paste style screen capture in earlier versions of Windows and more advanced applications. Snipping Tool is a solid choice if you've already got it on your system and your screen capture needs are minimal and far between.
FastStone Capture (Windows, $20)
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FastStone Capture lives up to the fast in its name; this application is lightweight and extremely responsive. It doesn't have a large interface, but within the tiny user interface is a screen capturing workhorse. FastStone Capture can capture multiple windows, regions, and multi-level menus. You can set it to automatically upload screenshots to an FTP server, send them by email, or embed them into a Word or Power Point presentation. In addition, this flexible tool includes a basic but very effective screencasting tool that supports audio input. FastStone Capture can be set to automatically prompt your for a caption with preset options, which makes bulk-producing screenshots a snap. Another small but handy feature is the built in color picker for easy color sampling.
Jing (Windows/Mac, Free)
Mac Tool For Screen Emphasis In Art
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Jing is the spartan baby brother of another screenshot tool, Snagit, both of which are products produced by software company TechSmith. Jing fills a niche in the screen capture crowd, allowing folks who want to share their screen captures to do so as quickly as possible. When you install Jing and set up an account at Screencast.com, you can also set Jing to upload to your Flickr account or YouTube account. Once you've set it up, going from capturing a screenshot or screencast to sharing the URL for your hosted file takes a matter of seconds. Jing has basic annotation tools, but the real draw is speedy sharing. Upgrading to Jing Pro for $15 a year removes the Jing branding from your images and video and adds in a few features, like the ability to record your screencasts in MPEG in addition to Flash.
Skitch (Mac, Free)
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Skitch is a screen capture tool in the same vein as Jing. Skitch the application is closely tied to Skitch.com, the screen capture hosting site. Skitch captures your screen, annotates it, draws on it with swanky graphics, and when you're ready, sharing it online is as easy as saving it to your desktop. If you don't want to use Skitch.com to share your screenshots, you can just as easily use your own FTP, Flickr, or .Mac account. The interface of Skitch is particularly user friendly; nearly all the editing functions are laid out in a ring around your screen capture, making it easy to find the tool you're looking for.
Snagit (Windows, $50)
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Snagit is as far removed from the classic Print Screen school of screen captures as possible. Snagit helps you capture both still images and grab frames from video. You can capture your entire screen or regions of it, and thanks to a robust profile system, you can create profiles for all manner of capture techniques. Whether you only want to generate a screen capture after a menu is activated or you want every screen capture to be automatically uploaded to a server, you can create a Snagit profile to fit your purpose. On top of the highly customizable feature set, Snagit offers a built in editor for annotating your screenshots and adding basic effects. Finally, the app's screenshot organizer keeps your grabs in order with date, name, and tag-based searching. Snagit also has the ability to easily capture images from objects that are larger than the screen.
Now that you've seen the contenders for king of the screen capture tools, it's time to log your vote for which nominee will take home the crown:
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Which Screen Capture Tool is Best?Dash For Emphasis
( online surveys)
If you have your own favorite screen capture tool that didn't make the list or a tip about screen captures, sound off in the comments below to share the wealth with your fellow readers.
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Yesterday, I provided a set of screencasting tips for creating great screencasts that you can use in remote training situations. Today, I’m sharing a list of tools (a mix of free and paid) that you can use to develop highly effective and professional screencasts…what do you use?
Screencasting Tools
A Windows screen recording application that supports full-screen and multi-screen recording, special effects and annotations, audio import, and exporting into multiple formats. ALLCapture also includes a compression technology for producing small demos that are easy to send via email. Pricing is on a per-license basis.
Free, open source streaming video software for Windows that allows you to record screen and audio activity on your computer and create AVI video files and export to SWF. CamStudio has an easy-to-use interface and includes a video annotation feature, custom cursors and selected screen region recording.
TechSmith’s screencasting software for Windows allows you to capture anything on your screen, record audio or add in narration later, display your webcam, and make annotations. Camtasia also integrates directly with PowerPoint and exports into compact file sizes with TechSmith’s compression technology into a handful of formats. It’s available on a fee-per-license basis. Camtasia for Mac recently launched for Apple users. TechSmith is also the maker of Jing (see below).
A web-based screen recording tool that lets you capture your screen, webcam and audio to create video presentations. Your videos are stored and accessed online and include the ability to take payments and capture leads. Fees are monthly on a per-views/per-producer basis, with a free option.
Free software that lets you record your screen, capture audio, control the cursor, and export to FLV format. You can then upload to FreeScreencast.com for free hosting (no file size or resolution limits) and sharing.
Free Windows software from Citrix Online, the makers of GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC, that allows you to record video of your screen, capture audio, edit and host your videos without bandwidth limitations. Screencasts can be password protected, and downloaded/uploaded to other sites.
HyperCam 3 is a Windows screen recording utility that lets you capture data as AVI files, make on-screen notes and annotations, and select frame rate and compression quality. It’s available on a fee-per-license basis.
A screen recording utility for the Mac that allows you to record screen video and audio, and includes features such as mouse capture, scaling, adjustable video quality, and multiple export options. Available on a fee-per-license basis, and there is also an HD version available.
Free simplified screen recording software for Mac and Windows machines that allows users to quickly record videos (including audio) from a window or region on their desktop, including the mouse, scroll movements and clicks on websites or applications. You can record up to five minutes, then upload to Screencast.com (with 2GB of free space) or save it locally as a SWF file. Jing is a product of TechSmith, the makers of Camtasia Studio and Camtasia for Mac.
Windows software that allows you to create and share recordings of your screen, embed your webcam, and add file attachments to your recording, then export it to FLV. Pixetell also includes collaboration capabilities and secure online storage. Pricing is on a fee-per-month basis after a free trial.
A Mac application that allows you to create screencasts and save them as SWF, FLV, or MOV files. Features include visual mouse tracking, audio dubbing and HTML Output. It’s available on a fee-per-license basis.
Free web-based tool for creating a video recording of your screen without installing anything. Features include cursor emphasis (increased size and mouse clicks get highlighted with a circle) and HD recording capability. A Pro version is also available.
A Mac screencast tool that provides a full list of functionality, including advanced audio editing, color correction, customizable cursors, picture-in-picture, and multiple export options. Available on a fee-per-license basis with a free trial.
A free web-based utility that lets you record your screen and audio for up to three minutes, then send it out to Twitter or in an email.
Another Word For Emphasis
A free web-based tool for Windows or Mac that lets you create screencasts without installing any software. Your screencast is published in high-definition Flash format, and can be shared on Twitter, YouTube or anywhere else on the web. Screenr is made by Articulate, the makers of Articulate Studio (see below).
Free web-based screen recorder that is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Screentoaster allows you to add audio and embed your webcam while recording. Your videos can be shared on Screentoaster and embedded on blogs and other websites in Flash.
Free Windows software that allows you to create and share Flash recordings of your desktop. You can edit your recordings to add voice, text or your webcam. You can either host your recordings on your own site or with Webinaria.
Examples Of Emphasis
Screencasting and Then Some…
If you’re looking for an application that does more than just screencasting and allows you to create more flexible and interactive videos for online learning, check out this bonus list of eLearning tools: