Free screen capture tools
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009I have been asked many times to recommend free screen capture software. So in this post, i would like to introduce some different ways to capture screen, and free.
For Windows
1) Snipping Tool
There is a free screen capture tool called ‘Snipping Tool’. This tool could help you capture any part of the screen by using a selection rectangle. But this program is strictly Windows. It appears to have great reviews from windows users. It’s truly a helpful and easy tool to use and it is free with Microsoft Windows Vista.
Some Windows versions already have the snipping tool so be sure to do a search on your computer first. If you can’t find it, see the link below:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/News-Newsgroups-Blog-Tools/Snipping-Tool-Integration.shtml
2) ‘Print Screen’ key on the keyboard
The ‘Print Screen’ key is on everyone’s keyboard and not widely used or known. When you press the ‘PrntScr’, the full screen is captured and saved in memory and ready for your use. You can paste (Ctrl+V) the screenshot into MS Paint, MS Word and other graphic editor to make it out and edit it. Often, you don’t need the entire screenshot. So I suggest using the ‘ALT+PrntScr’ combination to capture the active window.
3)MWSnap
MWSnap is a small yet powerful Windows program for snapping (capturing) images from selected parts of the screen. It does not require installation and does not need any special dlls, drivers or system files which can mess up your system.
Download Link:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/MWSnap/1147362940/1
For Macs
1)Cmd Shift 3 (entire screen), Cmd Shift 4 (square)
Screenshot Plus Widget could help capture an entire screen, sections of a screen, timed screens, and grab pictures of widgets. It’s only available for Macs and extremely easy to use.
Link: http://www.pidog.com/screenshotplus/
3)Skitch
Skitch has screen capture capabilities and the basic editing features, besides, it also has the ability to annotate and text.
Link: http://skitch.com/
Paparrazzi could help you get a screenshot of the entire page. Simply enter the web address of the screen you want captured, hit enter, and viola. It free and easy to download.