- Taking a Basic Screenshot
- Capturing All or Part of the Screen with the Snipping Tool
- Using Third-Party Screen Capture Programs
Using Third-Party Screen Capture Programs
The screen capture options built into Windows are relatively easy to use and free. If you need more functionality, however, you need to turn to one of the many third-party screen capture programs available. These programs typically let you not only create full-screen and window captures, but also capture parts of a window (menus, toolbars, etc.), capture long web pages within a web browser, annotate and add special effects to captured images, and save those images in a variety of file formats. Most of the programs also help you automate the captures of multiple screens.
To get this increased functionality, however, you have to pay for it; most of these programs cost real money. The most popular of these screen capture programs include the following:
- FullShot (http://www.inbit.com/fullshot/, $49.99)
- HandySnap (http://www.wisepixel.com, $29.95)
- HyperSnap (http://www.hyperionics.com, $39.95)
- Snagit (http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/, $49.95)
Of these programs, Snagit and FullShot are arguably the most popular, especially among professionals. They offer a lot of options and, once you get to know them, make capturing screens relatively easy. Still, if all you need to do is capture a full screen or single window, Windows’ Snipping Tool does a good enough job – and it’s free.