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Best Free Screen Capture Utility

In a Hurry?
  Go straight to the Quick Selection Guide
Introduction

On the standard Windows operating system, pressing the Print-Screen key will copy an image of the entire screen to the clipboard, holding the Alt key and pressing the Print-Screen key will capture the currently selected window. Vista and Windows 7 come with a screen capture utility pre-installed. Other operating systems may also offer a similar utility for screen capture.

As an alternative to the utilities that come with the OS, the freeware products in this review cover most of the following useful features and functions which users may find they need.

  • Capture full screen or freely selected screen areas.
  • Auto detect windows and control objects such as button, box, toolbar, tab, etc.
  • Snap scrolling windows, allow delayed captures.
  • Re-size screen shots or create thumbnails and other extra features.
Discussion

PicPickPicPick is a powerful and user friendly screen capture tool with a plethora of features.

The program works straight from the tray icon to capture full screen, active window, window control, rectangular, fixed or freehand region. Auto-scroll, dual monitors and sound effect are supported. No delayed capture setting is probably needed as users have a chance to make, for example, a window current before pressing the Print-Screen key.

The screenshot can be saved into a file with an auto-save option, copied to the clipboard or directed to PicPick Image Editor included in the program for resizing or editing the image right away. In the Editor, drawing objects are flattened and not movable though.

This program completes with extra functionalities which include color picker, screen ruler, protractor, crosshair, whiteboard, etc. Upon installation, it installs a Bing Toolbar but it's optional.

FastStone CaptureAn older product FastStone Capture is also found user friendly and full of features for screen capture. It gives the choice of working via a floating capture panel (right), a tray icon or hotkeys. You can use any of these to capture an active window, window object, rectangular or freehand region, full screen or scrolling window - there's a delayed capture setting. Other extra features such as screen magnifier and color picker are also included.

You can save a captured image to the clipboard, auto-save to a file, print or email it, or send it to a built-in image editor for cropping, proportional resizing, adding text or symbols and so on.

On the flip side, this software has turned into a commercial product since after the version 5.3, which has been free for home users but no more supported by the developer.

Screenshot CaptorAs an alternative, Screenshot Captor is a good choice for screen capture with context-menu or hotkey access. It detects desktop, multi-monitor, active window, region and window object with delayed captures.

It allows for setting transparent background (untick 'flatten background') and saving in png format with the alpha channel, good for capturing a window with round corners or in non-square shape (as tested on XP). Auto scroll is supported but performs slower than PicPick.

The program has a main window including a thumbnail browser and an image editor with comprehensive tools for resizing, cropping, adding text, border, shadow, frame, arrow and highlight, etc. Creating a pre-defined thumbnail is just one-click away and image files can be saved in various formats.

A lot of options and settings including full object-editing tools and clipart library are available to the program for more advanced users. Moreover, external tools can be accessed from this program with proper configuration.

Upon running the program, the user is required to register and get a free license key to remove a nag message.

EasyCaptureEasyCapture is another easy-to-use screen capture software, accessible from the system tray, main window or hot keys.

It snaps full screen, active windows, control objects, fixed size or selected regions. Scrolling windows is featured but it does not work well with Firefox and Chrome when tested.

It has a tabbed image viewer and editor, allowing for cropping, resizing, text annotations, arrows, stamps, highlights and other drawing tools, and saving images in various formats.

DuckCaptureDuckCapture (or DuckLink Screen Capture) supports snapping a region, window or object, scrolling window and fullscreen. You can choose which snapping mode you like with a hotkey or mousing over the program icon on the system tray.

With this program, you have a good choice to select an image outline, setting output target to the clipboard or auto-save to a file.

I see this program easy and intuitive to use, but it lacks a simple image editor built-in and some other features such as capturing a freehand region and setting for a delayed capture.

GreenshotGreenshot, a simple and easy-to-use screen capture tool with a small download. It allows for capturing a region, active windows or objects, and full screen with setting for a delayed capture, but no snapping a scrolling window or freehand region is available.

It has a built-in image editor which is easy to use as well. You can add a textbox or draw a floating arrow or symbol with a shadow, obfuscate a selected area, then save your file in jpg, gif, png or bmp format.

It's convenient that you can crop an image with the editor but that has no resizer.

ZScreenZScreen makes snapping and uploading screenshots easier. It captures full screen, windows, objects and rectangular areas and uploads screenshots with the custom image uploaders.

The program supports optional delayed snaps and periodic screenshots via Auto Capture, but it does not allow for freehand captures and detection of scrolling windows.

The captured images can be added with text or image watermarks, and edited with the built-in image editor or pre-set external editors. Some extra features include a color picker, language translator and drag-and-drop window.

Looking for a screen capture tool for Linux?

ShutterShutter (previously GScrot) is like a swiss army knife for all screen capture tasks in Linux. It works better than Gnome-screenshot and KDE's KSnapshot. The program allows for capturing whole desktop, rectangular area, window or child window with a specified delayed time and setting to activate or deactivate the window border and cursor.

The captured screenshot can be edited with a simple inbuilt DrawingTool for adding text, highlights, floating arrows, etc. and executing the included plugins such as resize, 3D rotate, watermark, shadow, soft edge, torn paper, jigsaw piece and other special effects.

Shutter can also be linked to an external editor such as GIMP Image Editor for advanced editing. It supports upload or autosave in various formats. On the down side, Shutter does not feature auto-scroll capture but relies on Gnome Web Photographer to generate full-size image files and thumbnails from web pages and html files.

Others
These are a number of other applications for screen capture. Some were brought up in comments here or noted from other sources. As they are not rated in this review, I am listing them here with brief descriptions and relevant links for ease of reference.

  • Jing auto detects windows and objects and allows for capturing, saving and sharing the screenshots. Freehand regions and scrolling windows are not supported. It completes with an on-screen video recorder reviewed in Best Free Screen Session Recorder.
  • Shotty captures the desktop area with a click on the system tray icon or an active window with a hotkey. The program comes with a handy image editor but lacks other advanced snapping features.
  • Screenpresso, taking a scrolling window requires the user's input such as selecting part of the screen, releasing several times the mouse left button during scrolling, and right-clicking to start picture stitching. Checking for updates of this software is mandatory in the free version.
  • MWSnap is a lightweight program for taking screenshots with an adjustable delay. It does not detect scrolling window and lacks some basic editing features. Screen ruler, magnifier and color picker are included.
  • Gadwin PrintScreen captures full screen, current window, client window and rectangular area with delayed captures, but it does not detect scrolling windows and objects. More advanced features and editing functions are available to the commercial Pro version.
  • SnapShot grabs full screen, active window and rectangular area from hotkeys or tray icons with a delay time setting. No detection of scrolling window. Snapped images are shown on the main interface with an option to send to the clipboard, external editor or upload to a server.
  • Lightscreen captures screen, window and area from hotkeys or tray icon. It supports screenshot delay, cursor and multi-monitor, but lacks editing and other features.
  • ScreenHunter Free features snapping a rectangular area, active window and full screen, with delayed captures and adding pointers. Complete features are only available to the commercial Pro version.
  • FoxArc Screen Capture runs with four buttons to get region, window/object or desktop, followed by saving the image. Simple but less features.
  • Horizon33 takes screenshots in full screen, active window and rectangular area, featuring timer, bmp and jpg formats and auto-link to Paint, etc.
  • Screen Grab Pro features one-click grab of desktop, active window and region from the main interface, allows for timer operation and copies images to the clipboard or external editor.
  • Weighing in at 511 KB, Cropper makes it fast and easy to grab parts of the screen. A screenshot and a thumbnail can be created simultaneously, but the program lacks other useful features.
  • Probably at the smallest size among all, Snippy (100 KB) lets you mark out the region of the screen in a freehand or rectangular area and copy it to the clipboard. Easy and quick, minus most other features.
Have Your Say
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Please help us by rating this review

Related Products and Links

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Quick Selection Guide

PicPick    Rating 10 of 10  Gizmo's Top Pick

Pros   Capture full screen, active window, window control, rectangular, fixed or freehand region, support auto-scroll, dual monitors, sound effect, multi formats, included with an editor and other extra features.
Cons   Installation of the Bing Toolbar but it's optional.
Developer Home Page   http://picpick.wiziple.net/
Download link   http://picpick.wiziple.net/download
File Size   3.3 MB   Version 2.3.0   License Type Private Freeware (not free for commercial use)   Installation Requirements Win XP, Vista, Windows7
Portable   The program is portable.
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, png, gif & bmp.

FastStone Capture    Rating 9 of 10

Pros   Features floating capture panel, tray icon and hotkeys; captures an active window, window object, rectangular or freehand region, full screen and scrolling window, with delayed capture setting.
Cons   The free version is no more supported by the developer.
Developer Home Page   http://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm (new version - commercial)
Download link   http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categories/mmedia/FastStoneCapture.html (old version - free)
File Size   1.38 MB   Version 5.3 (free old version)   License Type Private Freeware (not free for commercial use)   Installation Requirements Windows 98 to Vista
Portable version available   Portable version available
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, gif, png, tif, bmp & pdf.

Screenshot Captor    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Auto detects desktop, active window, region, window objects. Support scrolling window, multi-monitor, delayed capture and transparent background. Image editor included.
Cons   Required to register and get a free license key to remove the nag screen. Auto-scroll slower than PicPick.
Developer Home Page   http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/screenshotcaptor/index.html
Download link   http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/screenshotcaptor/index.html
File Size   9.0 MB   Version 2.70   License Type Unrestricted Freeware   Installation Requirements Windows 9x to Windows 7
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, gif, tif, pcx, png, bmp, tga, pxm, ppm, pgm, pbm, jp2, j2k, dcx & pdf.

EasyCapture    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Easy to use, captures full screen, active windows, control objects, fixed size or selected regions, scrolling windows, with tabbed image viewer and editor.
Cons   Scrolling windows not working well with Firefox and Chrome.
Developer Home Page   http://www.easy-capture.com/
Download link   http://www.easy-capture.com/
File Size   2.6 MB   Version 1.2.0   License Type Private Freeware (not free for commercial use)   Installation Requirements Windows 2000 to Vista
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, png, bmp, gif, tif & pcx.

DuckCapture    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Supports snapping a region, window or object, scrolling window and fullscreen using a hotkey or from the system tray, select an image outline, auto-save to a file.
Cons   Lacking a simple image editor and some other features such as capturing a freehand region and setting for a delayed capture.
Developer Home Page   http://www.ducklink.com/screen-capture-tool/
Download link   http://www.ducklink.com/screen-capture-tool/
File Size   4.2 MB   Version 2.3   License Type Unrestricted Freeware   Installation Requirements Windows, Visual C++ Redistribution Package.
Info   Support saving file formats: png, jpg & bmp.

Greenshot    Rating 7 of 10

Pros   Small download and easy to use, supports snapping a region, windows and objects and full screen. Built-in editor with simple yet easy-to-use features.
Cons   No capturing scroll windows and freehand regions are supported.
Developer Home Page   http://getgreenshot.org/
Download link   http://getgreenshot.org/downloads/
File Size   542 KB   Version 0.8.0   License Type Unrestricted Freeware   Installation Requirements Windows
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, png, bmp, gif.

ZScreen    Rating 7 of 10

Pros   Makes snapping and uploading screenshots easier, delayed and periodic screenshots, text or image watermark, built-in and pre-set editors.
Cons   No detection of scrolling windows.
Developer Home Page   http://brandonz.net/
Download link   http://brandonz.net/projects/zscreen/
File Size   1.1 MB   Version 2.30   License Type Unrestricted Freeware   Installation Requirements Windows XP, Vista
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, png, bmp, gif, tif & ico.

Shutter    Rating 8 of 10

Pros   Capture desktop, window, child window, rectangular area with many plugins for resize and special effects, delay capture, activate/deactivate window border and cursor, inbuilt drawing tools, linked to external editor, auto save, etc.
Cons   Does not feature auto-scroll capture but relies on optional Gnome Web Photographer to generate full-size image files and thumbnails from html files and web pages.
Developer Home Page   http://shutter-project.org/about/
Download link   http://shutter-project.org/downloads/
File Size   1.9 MB   Version v0.80.1   License Type Open Source Freeware (includes program code)   Installation Requirements Linux
Info   Support saving file formats: jpg, jpg2000, png, gif, bmp, pcx, tiff, tga, ico, icns, svg, wmf, xpm, xbm, wbmp, ras, pnm, ani.
Editor

This article is maintained by volunteer editor Jojoyee. Registered site users are allowed to edit and improve this article wiki-style.

Tags

capture screen, print screen, free screen capture, screen shot, screenshot, thumbnail, capture screen tool, capture screen utility

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Average: 4.5 (37 votes)
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Comments

by ehorwitz1 on Tue, 08/17/2010 - 16:26  (#56217)

I've used MWSnap for a couple years on XP systems and love it for its simplicity and ease of use. Unfortunately, it doesn't work well on mutiple screens. It supports the first one just fine but the others might just as well not be there. Which is what brought be back today - looking for another lightweight, easy screen capture tool.

by supanut on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 12:46  (#55799)

I tried Picpic before, but it can't capture menus and context menus. Does any of those supports capturing of menus and context menus?

by Jojoyee on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 12:54  (#55800)

You might want to try FastStone Capture for that purpose, last free version works.

by Bob N (not verified) on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 15:21  (#55047)

Hi,

Just downloaded and am trying out PicPick and have a few comments:

1. I can't find any manual or help information on how to use it. Am I missing something or is just not there?

2. Autoscroll doesn't seem to work in IE8. Am I doing something wrong?

3. Download site tries to trick you into downloading sponsor supported software. Beware.

4. Program seems sluggish on my 64 bit Win 7, AMD 64 system. This normal?

Thanks,

Bob N

by Jojoyee on Thu, 07/29/2010 - 05:50  (#55096)

PicPick works well for me including the feature of auto-scrolling on IE8 in Win7 32 bit. I can't confirm if it works for 64bit as I'm not running on it. The developer's site lists out the features available to the program with some basic descriptions but I don't think full documentation is currently available.

by rik on Thu, 07/29/2010 - 13:55  (#55122)

As of the last time I checked, which was a couple of weeks ago, the autoscroll feature of PicPick still doesn't work under 64 bit Windows 7. If you really need this then try Fastone Caputure, it works a treat.

Rik - Category Editor, Best Free Windows 7 / Vista 64 bit Software

by Anupam on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:08  (#55028)

A new software suggestion :

Shotty : http://shotty.devs-on.net/en/Overview.aspx

by Jojoyee on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 13:31  (#55041)

Doesn't seem to work well for me to be able to take screenshots with aero glass frame transparency and shadow as featured. The windows frame it took also differs from what appears on screen. Tried on Win7, but I might need more test.

by Bob N (not verified) on Sun, 07/18/2010 - 12:21  (#54476)

Kudos on a great, well-researched and thought-out article! You've done a good job!

My only suggestion is that you have two categories:

- simple, bare-bones screen capture
- full-featured screen capture

I use screen capture *a lot* to prepare curricula materials for my community college CSCI teaching job. **All** I want is a fast, easy, minimal-footprint tool to capture to the clipboard so I can paste into other applications. I don't care about editing or anything else. I do use one of the tools mentioned on your 'B-list' but won't name it since this would make my comment seem like just another rant touting a favorite program. I am interested in finding alternatives to that tool. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the good job!

Bob N

by ehorwitz1 on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 17:41  (#56319)

Bob -

I'd be very interested in knowing what tool you're using, and why you're looking for alternatives. I've been using MWSnap and still would be, if it supported two screens properly. I mostly want to do a quick 'cut and paste' from any region I outline on my screen.

I just tried Shotty. It was the first screen capture utility I've used with an editor built in. Some nice features, like being able to obscure an area, add highlights, boxes, etc. Saves me work in other tools later after I paste my captured screen image.

Still, I'd love something quick and easy. So, whatcha got??

-E.

by Bob N (not verified) on Sun, 08/22/2010 - 10:03  (#56516)

Hi E,

I used 'Screenhunter Free' in my XP environment. It worked well there but I haven't yet used it in Win 7 (which I recently switched to). Also I really don't have any basis of comparison since I haven't used any others. It could be that there is something a lot better out there that I don't know about. I have recently experimented with the free 'Snipping Tool' accessory provided with Win 7. It's a little too 'bare bones' to be useful. Thanks for your info.

Bob

by rik on Sun, 07/04/2010 - 15:43  (#53741)

As I have found it to be such an issue of late, it might be highlighting which applications can capture a scrolling window under 64 bit Windows. I use this feature to assist me in the technical support of TSA and sadly most fall down on this.

Rik - Category Editor, Best Free Windows 7 / Vista 64 bit Software & Site Technical Support

by Scott C (not verified) on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 20:08  (#53646)

Greenshot 0.8 (beta)
New web site: http://getgreenshot.org

A pleasantly surprised! I had been searching for a simple, straight forward, user friendly, screen capture utility which includes a decent, built-in editor w/ annotator.

So many of screen capture programs are getting so bloated with features & options. Greenshot simply installs and works! My 97 year old grandma could use it.

Many screen capture developers have changed their licenses to private-only use (not even local government use). “Greenshot can be downloaded and used free of charge, even in a commercial environment.”

Greenshot 0.8 (beta):
• Quickly capture a region with crosshairs, a window or full screen.
• Use the "Print Screen" key, or the tray icon for additional control.
• Image dimensions dynamically display during region capture.
• Can send to the clipboard, a printer or as an e-mail attachment.
• Can be saved as a GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP file.
• Configurable, dynamic file-naming pattern.

Built in editor:
• Easily annotate with lines, arrows, boxes, text & highlights.
• Annotations are fully controllable, and do not change original image.
• Automatic wrapping of text and resizing of text boxes.
• Shadows can be added/removed to/from annotations.
• Obfuscate feature can blur names, acct numbers, etc.
• Nice color picker with Transparent support.

One wish: A screen magnifier window during region selection would be a nice addition for a final/future release.

by Jojoyee on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 04:07  (#53670)

Thanks Scott for a nice suggestion. It's a good program which is now featured in the article, though it has no support for auto capturing a scrolling window in the software version reviewed.

by Anupam on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 04:14  (#53671)

This Greenshot is the same as the one which is mentioned in "Others" already. Its a Sourceforge project, but now they have moved to a new domain. Here's from their new site :

http://getgreenshot.org/2010/06/30/new-domain-new-look/

by Jojoyee on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 04:26  (#53672)

You're spot-on Anupam. Greenshot has added quite a number of new features and more stable than the last version I reviewed.

by Anupam on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 04:35  (#53675)

Thanks Jojo. I had also used it earlier, but was not impressed. Will try it again :).

by MidnightCowboy on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 08:03  (#53678)

Uses a huge chunk of memory if left running. 35.2MB average on my W7 x32 system compared to just 2.3MB for FastStone.

by Jens (not verified) on Sun, 07/11/2010 - 14:36  (#54089)

Thanks for this excellent comparison, Jojoyee.

Talking about memory usage: the value displayed in task manager is not the amount of memory actually being used by a process, but rather its working set size; bigger parts of a working set may be shared with other software, or even re-allocated if demanded.
Please do not judge software because of what the task manager says, its presentation is misleading.
Check out this link if you are interested in a more detailed explanation:
http://cybernetnews.com/cybernotes-windows-memory-usage-explained/

For example, my Greenshot installation has currently a WS size of 20M, however private WS size is 5M, which seems fair to me.

It is not in our hands how Windows and .NET handle their working sets (let's assume they know what they are doing ;-) but you can be sure that we are having an eye on memory usage all the time.

Cheers,
Jens :)

by Anupam on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 09:15  (#53679)

35.2 MB! Whoa, thats a lot.
Anyways, PicPick is my pick for this purpose. I only run it when needed.

by MidnightCowboy on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 10:48  (#53685)

Yeah, surprised me too, I was looking for the integrated media player or antivirus suite :D You know I never go a real bundle on saving every ounce of memory but using 10 times + what a similar program does is a bit OTT.

by Anupam on Sat, 07/03/2010 - 11:01  (#53686)

I just installed it. The setup is just over 550 KB, but when I run it, it take around 22 MB of memory. I think it looks more like PicPick now, with similar kinds of options and looks. It also includes an image editor now, like PicPick does. PicPick has got much more features, and looking at its features, it should be more bloated than Greenshot. But still, PicPick takes only 9 MB of memory. I think I will stick to PicPick.
Greenshot is in beta though... so maybe they will improve in future versions.

by Anonymous on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 16:00  (#52248)

Just a note: DuckLink Screen Capture does not support dual monitors. A real shame, because it's a great little program otherwise...

by Anonymous on Wed, 06/09/2010 - 21:20  (#51771)

I just tried EasyCapture.

It does in fact NOT work with Windows 7 -- Just locked up on me. It's latest version is from 2008, and is apparently no longer maintained.

It's also not "Unrestricted Freeware" as currently listed. Here's what the license says during install: "EasyCapture is provided as freeware for private (non commercial), or educational use, including non-profit organization (i.e. schools, universities, public authorities, police, fire brigade, and hospitals)."

For these reasons, I don't think it should continue to be ranked #4 with a Gizmo rating of 8.

by Jojoyee on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 02:23  (#51787)

Thanks for the comments. I've updated the license type of this product in the article.

by Anonymous on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 23:23  (#51583)

Jojoyee,
Please insert a link to a source for PicPick 2.2.9 (free old version).

by Anonymous on Sun, 06/06/2010 - 20:15  (#51499)

Please note that the PicPick EULA has changed with version 2.3. It is no longer unrestricted freeware:

"PicPick is provided as freeware for only personal (non-business) and non-profit educational use.
In these cases, you are granted the right to use this program free of charge.

Otherwise, you need to pay for a license for commercial use."

by Anonymous on Wed, 06/09/2010 - 08:02  (#51698)

i was not able to download the personal version (nowhere to click) only the pay version works.So i guess it's not a freeware, if it's still is the download steps are not easy. thank you for any help

by Anupam on Wed, 06/09/2010 - 08:08  (#51699)

On the download page of PicPick, click on the link "Download Installation Package". That is the link for the freeware version. For commercial use, another link is there, which says "Get a License!".
The software is now free for personal use.

by Jojoyee on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 03:02  (#51528)

Many thanks for the useful info.

by Anonymous on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 23:16  (#51581)

I'm extremely disappointed that PicPick has done the exact same thing that so many other "freeware" programs have done, and change their license such that you suddenly can only use it at home. I work for a non-profit (city government), but it's not good enough in this case, where for some reason it specifies "education only". I'll be uninstalling this from all my workgroup computers and reverting to SnagIt, which has been licensed by our IT department. :(

The PicPick author should remove all the freeware awards from their site too, INCLUDING THE GIZMO FREEWARE AWARD. Gizmo should never award a “Top Pick” award to conditional freeware. All this conditional freeware is getting a free ride if you ask me, when they only allow a select group of people to actually use it for free. They shouldn’t be allowed to call it freeware anymore. Maybe personalware or something, because it’s false advertising, and in this case, bait & switch licensing! It’s completely unethical if you ask me.

by Anupam on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 19:12  (#51274)

PicPick 2.3.0 has been released with bug fixes.

Another screen capture utility :

DuckCapture : http://www.ducklink.com/screen-capture-tool/

by Anonymous on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 16:34  (#52180)

So is DuckCapture freeware? Language in the EULA seems to suggest otherwise:

This SOFTWARE PRODUCT may be evaluated on a "try-before-you-buy" basis. If you have not purchased a license, this EULA permits you to run the SOFTWARE PRODUCT 30 days for evaluation purposes. Your ability to use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT after the end of the 30-day evaluation period will be limited.

by Anonymous on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 01:56  (#52204)

I got this from the About page in the program:

Version Information: 2.3
This product is licensed under the terms of EULA to:
Name: Free Version
Key: Free Version

by Jojoyee on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 02:12  (#51345)

Thanks for mentioning DuckCapture. Added in the article.

by Anupam on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 07:37  (#51377)

Is it good? I did not try it. I saw on its site that the scroll feature does not work presently, because of some reason, but they intend to enable it in the future release.

by Jojoyee on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 13:48  (#51408)

The scroll feature worked for me when I tried it on Win7. It's pretty good. Sometimes I need my captured image complete with an outline, and this program does it easily.

by Anupam on Wed, 06/09/2010 - 08:34  (#51700)

Jojo, how did you manage to capture scrolling window with DuckCapture? I was unable to do it. Can you write the steps please? It says to left click on a region, and select it. I do it, but it does not scroll down... and is unsuccessful in capturing the whole page.

I was also not able to do this with PicPick either. How do you do it with PicPick? I never tried actually :D.. just tried it today.. and not able to do it.

by Anonymous on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 07:01  (#51537)

I just tried it on Windows 7, and it did not work.

by Anupam on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 14:06  (#51409)

Thanks for the feedback Jojo :).

by Anonymous on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 17:21  (#50976)

Great review, VERY helpful! thanks

by Anupam on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 13:04  (#49538)

Moo0 now has screenshot tool :

http://www.moo0.com/software/ScreenShot/

by Anupam on Sat, 05/08/2010 - 08:21  (#49330)

DvdVideoSoft have released a software which can record screen activity, but also has the capability to capture screenshots... don't know if this can be considered a candidate here. Anyways, here is the link :

http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-Screen-Video-Recorder.htm

by Anonymous on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 19:25  (#48276)

latest version of Bug Shooting is a 30-day trial, no free version. older version still available.

also I remember from the older version of Bug Shooting there was no option to stop it from running automatically on Windows start up. >:|

G.A.L.E.S.L.

by Anupam on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 19:40  (#48281)

Thanks for this update. You are right, the new version BugShooting 2, as it is called, is now a commercial software. Last freeware version available is 1.9.3.

by Anonymous on Sun, 04/11/2010 - 09:21  (#47415)

Wonderfull picpick....
Have tried another "Screen Hunter"

by Anupam on Sun, 04/11/2010 - 09:24  (#47416)

Many features are missing in the free version of Screen Hunter. I think there are far better products listed in the article.

by Anonymous on Mon, 04/05/2010 - 17:37  (#47030)

there's also irfanview... that is good for me
www.irfanview.net

by Anonymous on Sat, 04/03/2010 - 00:22  (#46810)

Tried both PicPick and Screen Captor on the Device Manager scrolling window and neither worked in Win7! Uninstalled both of them.

by Anupam on Mon, 04/05/2010 - 11:34  (#47016)

New version of PicPick has been released, which fixes some buys on Windows7 and Vista. You should try the new version, and see if it works now. Here are the bugs fixed in version 2.2.6 released on 4th April 2010 :

- Added Slovak, Slovenian language
- Fixed: Firefox 3.6 Auto-scroll problem
- Fixed: Scroll Capture bug on Windows Vista/7
- Fixed: Control Capture bug on Windows Vista/7
- Fixed: Desktop shortcut creating problem

by Anonymous on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 14:37  (#44869)

I prefer the layout and functionality of even the free, discontinued version of FastStone Capture over PicPick (the next best free alternative I've tried). FastStone Capture will at least attempt a scrolling window capture on anything that includes a scroll bar. In the vast majority of cases it is successful.

PicPick will only attempt a scrolling window capture on certain (seemingly predetermined) applications that it likes, which kinda sucks!

Scrolling window capturing is not the only function a screen capture program should be judged on of course, but it is probably the most important imho. I will continue to use the free version of FastStone Capture whilst it is still fully compatible with my Os, and suggest others do the same.

It may no longer be being actively developed, but it is the best free screen capture program at this current time, and that should make it No.1 in this category imho.

by Anonymous on Sun, 02/14/2010 - 16:20  (#43610)

The autoscroll feature in PicPick seems to only work with a very limited number of programs. Works with IE8 and FF 3.5.7 (after turning off smooth scrolling), but not with Word, Excel etc.

by Anonymous on Sun, 02/07/2010 - 17:45  (#43064)

Tried PicPick, but it only did auto scroll vertically. Is there any screen captor that does auto scroll horizontally?

by Jojoyee on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 03:17  (#43087)

I've not come across a good one that will do auto scroll horizontally, but I'd say most web sites require you to scroll vertically rather than horizontally especially if you're using a wide screen.

That said, there's still an alternative. Try Best Free Digital Image Stitcher which can join two screenshots taken horizontally, and of course it needs extra efforts.

by Anonymous on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 15:30  (#42790)

I have been looking for a free screen capture utility that would allow me to capture window objects. Thanks to this website I finally found PicPick. Thank's a lot!

by Anonymous on Sat, 01/16/2010 - 03:37  (#41202)

PicPick web site appears to be dysfunctional. Unable to get to the site for the last 2 weeks (since 1/3/2010).

by Anupam on Sat, 01/16/2010 - 08:41  (#41222)

The site is very much functional. Just few days ago I had downloaded the latest version from their site. 2 weeks is a big time. You need to look for problems at your end.

by Anonymous on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 07:46  (#44851)

The site is very much dysfunctional :)

I use picpick for a year or so and always had problems to get to the site. This is the case today too (2 MAR 2010, 8:43 CET). The rest of the world is available, through 3 different proxies and without proxies, from 3 locations (2 business and 1 home) - all this from 3 different and independent machines, one of them being linux. (that was a reasonable test, I believe :))

by Anupam on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 07:54  (#44852)

Which country are you located in? I tried the PicPick site just now, and I was able to access it. I am in India.

by Anonymous on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 09:50  (#46171)

I just tried again (the same anonymous as above) and it still does not work. I am in France but tried with a proxy in France, in the US and in Japan...

by Anonymous on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 10:30  (#46179)

Now it works :)

by Anupam on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 10:46  (#46180)

Great! :)

by Anupam on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 10:26  (#46178)

You need to consult your ISP about this. The site is working here.

by Anonymous on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 14:54  (#40954)

New version 2.2 of picpick is out. Changelog http://picpick.wiziple.net/12186#0

by Jaikrishna on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 02:11  (#40943)

Has anyone tried Screenpresso at http://www.screenpresso.com/
It is almost like Snag it(really) and has got many wonderful features.
It uses a different approach for auto scroll which almost works in every app.
IT has its own editor to add shapes, comments, arrow, blur and border effects.
Other features include uploading directly to twitter via twitpic.
It seems, that in a few days, video capture will also be developed.
Although it has got a portable mode, installing makes it work fast and easy.

Please see this and you will be impressed at once.

by Anonymous on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 22:19  (#48298)

I gave Screenpresso a quick try, and the editor is just too basic. There isn't even a select function. And the Blur function blurs *inside* the box, not outside.

But I do like the quick-and-easy numbering, great for explaining a process. However that's not enough to overcome its way-too-basic editor.

G.A.L.E.S.L.

by MidnightCowboy on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 14:33  (#41011)

Does look impressive but I note that the submission of usage statistics and "check for updates" is mandatory in the free version. Presumably therefore an internet connection is also mandatory in order to use the program? This might give some people concerns about privacy.

This from the agreement you have to accept before downloading the program:

The following restrictions apply for unregistered users (if no license key is found) :
- Features and user monitoring (e.g. which features of Screenpresso are used most often, hardware capabilities of the host and Company name of the user) are sent to a web server for statistical purpose. This requires that internet network must be operational, wich means that firewall and other HTTP traffic management must not be used to block HTTP requests between Screenpresso software and the Internet.
- End users of Screenpresso must be warn about the features monitoring mechanism.

by Jaikrishna on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 03:59  (#41064)

Yeah, I read those lines.
But, I think this kind of info is also sent by many good software like Picasa, Google Chrome, Avast and many more.
I'm sure that the program wont be sending any screenshots to them.
It says that it will only send info, such as which features are used often.
I think this wont harm privacy(will it? Sorry I cant make out the meaning)

I'm too a big fan of PicPick and I love it since it has a lot of options.
But this software might be helpful for editing(it has got a wonderful editor)

by Anonymous on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 13:05  (#40225)

PhotoScape has also a nice built-in tool

by Anonymous on Sat, 12/19/2009 - 12:02  (#39012)

There is a picpick portable version. Select the zip package from the normal download page.

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