Screenshot software?

[os1kne]

I have a project that requires me to insert some "screenshots" of some portions of what one would see on their computer screen into a document for a user guide. This is probably not something that I'll need to use much, so I don't want to spend much money on it. Basically, I need something that will allow me to create a .jpg of a portion of a screen that I define. Mostly in Internet Explorer, but if able to work with any software that would be a bonus.

Any recommendations for those that have done this?

Thanks!

[BigguyZ]

Alt+Print Screen takes a screenshot of the active program. You can then use MS Paint to crop the image and save as a Jpg (just Paste the image into the MS Paint program).

Cost= Free.

[pelligrini]

Yep 'Print Screen' works for screenshots. It will put it on the clipboard in windows. I don't have to use Alt in XP though. I'll use photoshop to crop and edit mine.

If you want to do recordings or set up a screenshot window Camtasia is a pretty good product. Sounds like 'Print Screen' and a editor is all you really need.

[atgcpaul]

If you're using Word or Powerpoint to make the document, after pasting the
screenshot in, you can do the cropping right in Word or Powerpoint. There's
no need to use a 3rd party.

There is a caveat to this approach, though, although the uncropped portion
is not visible on the screen, it is still there and if the end user gets the
original document, they can view the original screenshot, not just the
cropped view--you might have cropped away sensitive information or if
you're doing tabbed browsing, they'll be able to see all the other website
tabs you're viewing. Word and Powerpoint also let you eliminate the
uncropped areas. While the image is selected, you double click on it, and
you have the option to "Compress" the image. When you click on that
button, another window will popup. In the options section, make
sure "Delete cropped areas of pictures" is checked. Click OK. When you click
OK again on the Format Picture popup box, your image has all the uncropped
areas permanently trimmed away.

[BigguyZ]

Yep 'Print Screen' works for screenshots. It will put it on the clipboard in windows. I don't have to use Alt in XP though. I'll use photoshop to crop and edit mine.

While "Print Screen" will take a screenshot of everything, Print Screen + ALT will take a screen shot of only the active program. I've found that slight change in functionality to be very helpful.

[woodturner]

I have a project that requires me to insert some "screenshots" of some portions of what one would see on their computer screen into a document for a user guide.

Snagit is application that most businesses use. It works better than the rest, and offers a 30 day free trial.
http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/default.asp

giveawayoftheday offers capture software for free from time to time.
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/

[dwitzke]

If you are using Windows 7 - the Snipping Tool is included just for this purpose.

[pelligrini]

While "Print Screen" will take a screenshot of everything, Print Screen + ALT will take a screen shot of only the active program. I've found that slight change in functionality to be very helpful.

Cool, didn't know that. Sure would have saved me a lot of cropping. I'm always cropping a lot as just 'Print Screen' will capture my entire dual monitor setup. I wish you would have told me sooner.

Snagit is application that most businesses use. It works better than the rest, and offers a 30 day free trial.
http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/default.asp

They are also the makers of Camtasia. They put out some good programs.

[natausch]

Snaggit is about the best out there, especially if you need to add notes to the screenshot or manipulate it in any way. There is a 30 day trial, but if you plan on using it more it's more than worth the $50. Otherwise every few months they offer a key to download earlier versions for free.

[Kristofor]

Another +1 for SnagIt.

If all you need is a really basic capture capability the built-in functionality of windows (particularly Win7) will work fine. But there are a lot of extra features and capability in SnagIt. The ability to work with scrolling windows, animated menu selections, easy boxing/arrow/text overlay and even the simple pop-up pixel-peeper view when selecting an area are all great features.

That said, I'm not sure I'd grab a copy at $50 for personal use if I wasn't producing a large number of screen captures/documents. However, in a large corporate environment the cost per copy is <$10 and it seems like a great value at that point.

It looks like version 10 is current but most of the functionality has been in the tool for several versions and (at least) version 8 and newer (and maybe older?) work on Win7. So if you can find one of the deals that natausch was talking about for a free version of an older release it's well worth grabbing a copy.

[RAV2]

Printkey 2000

Used for many years on all sorts of windows platforms:

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...scription.html

[RodKirby]

Printkey 2000

Used for many years on all sorts of windows platforms:

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...scription.html

+1 (& Printkey Pro)