For me with this kind of blog the use of images and video is very important but not just your standard video and images.I have always relied on screen capture image and scree cast video to make it so much easier to get my message across.Screen capture images are as the name suggests were you will capture an image of whats currently on your computer screen and Screen cast video is were we can record a video following what we are record our actions on a computer.In the next two posts I will be listing a collection of the best tools for screen capture and screen casts kicking off here with screen capture tools.
There are a number of tools you can use for example some tools are built into your browser while others can be downloaded onto your computer.Also options to edit the screen grab and add annotations is important.So we will go through all the options you have so your can get the perfect screen capture tool for your needs.
Screen Capture Built Into Your Computer
For Windows :
Snipping Tool
This is a simple tool I use quiet a lot as it’s built into the laptop, it has no bells and whistles but if your looking for a quick screen image it does the job.Snipping tool is available on Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.I wrote a post over two years ago on using so you can get all the Snipping tool tips and tricks here.
For Mac
There are three ways to take screen capture on your Mac they are as follows.
Entire screen : To take a screenshot of the entire screen click – Command-Shift-3.
Portion of the screen : To turn the cursor into a cross hair you can click and drag to select a section click – Command-Shift-4.
A framed screen capture : You can also take a framed screenshot of the visible portion of your screen by clicking – Command-Shift-4 Then click your space bar and finally click on the window you want the capture of.
CaptureMe : A good Mac only screen capture would be CaptureMe, Link – http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/captureme/
Works on all browsers
Skitch : Skitch is a screen capture from Evernote that will work on Windows, Mac and some mobile devices.As well as a screen capture tool Skitch can be used to add annotation, shapes and sketches to all your images.Link – http://evernote.com/skitch/
PicPick :
PicPic allows you to take and edit screen captures quickly on Windows.Once again you can screen grab the entire screen on sections of the screen.Once you have the screen captured you can add text and annotations, PicPick if free for personal use.Link – http://www.picpick.org/
Jing : Jing by TechSmith is another basic screen capture available for Windows XP to 8 and Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.Link – http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/
For Firefox
Awesome Screenshot Plus : This is an addon I have used and if anything it probably has too many options making it hard to figure out at first.Once downloaded a button is added to your browser bar with the option to capture firescreen and visible screen, you are then taking to a new window to save, edit and share your screen grab.Link – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/awesome-screenshot-capture-/
Webpage Screenshot : With Webpage Screenshot you can save your screenshots in all the main image formats, save as PDF, Email to a friend or send direct to the printer.Link – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/fireshot/
For Chrome
Screen Capture (by Google) : Capture any section of a webpage then edit before saving.”Capture visible content of a tab, a region of a web page, or the whole page as a PNG image. Support horizontal and vertical scroll…“.Link – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screen-capture-by-google/cpngackimfmofbokmjmljamhdncknpmg/details?
Awesome Screenshot : Once again there are a number of options for the portion of a web page you want to grab.You can then add annotations, this also includes a blur feature to blur out information you might want to hide.Link – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/awesome-screenshot-captur/alelhddbbhepgpmgidjdcjakblofbmce/
Pixlr Grabber : This is a great extension as you can bring your screen gram to the Pixlr editor to dit your image.Link – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pixlr-grabber-screen-capt/cjjghkapdciaiogkeofggpblmbbnjinn/
Have you a favorite screen capture tool we left out ? Drop your comments and questions below.
Author – Paul Crowe is the owner and main author of Spice Up Your Blog.Paul lives in Ireland, has been blogging since 2006 and writing Spice Up Your Blog since 2009.You can find him in the usual social networks.
