Best Free Screen Capture Utility

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. If you're using Vista or Windows 7, it's pre-installed with a screen capture utility. Other operating systems may offer a similar utility for screen capture too.

As an alternative to the utilities come with the OS, the freeware products in this review cover most of the following useful features and functionalities needed by the users.

• To capture full screen or freely selected screen areas.
• To auto detect windows and control objects such as button, box, toolbar, tab, etc.
• To snap scrolling windows, allow delayed captures.
• To re-size screen shots or create thumbnails and other extra features.

PicPick is user friendly and full of features for screen capture, suitable for most average users.

A right click on the tray icon shows a context menu for capturing 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.

This program completes with extra functionalities which include color picker, screen ruler, protractor, crosshair, whiteboard, etc.

On the downside, drawing objects are flattened and not movable in the editor. Capturing of the scrolling window is found not working well with the Chrome browser.

As 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.

EasyCapture 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.

Bug Shooting is designed for making, editing and sending screenshots.

The application allows for taking full screen, rectangular region and multiple screens, but it has no detection of window objects.

Scrolling window can be captured by manually scrolling down the window after the "Delayed Capture" is pressed, a pretty good idea although auto scrolling would be preferred.

An image editor is included in the program for basic editing tasks, e.g. cropping, resizing, adding text or shapes and marking.

ZScreen 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.

Jing auto detects windows and objects and allows for capturing, saving and sharing the screenshots. Freehand regions and scrolling windows are not supported.

A simple image editor is included for adding arrows, text, frames and highlights. Surprisingly, it currently offers to save the file in png format only.

What's more? It completes with an on-screen video recorder which is reviewed in Best Free Screen Session Recorder. This is a good choice if you need a screen capturer with a session recorder.

• FastStone Capture has turned into commercial software since after Version 5.3. The old version is free for home users but no more supported by the developer. Some users find that it still works as a flexible and intuitive screen capture tool and is available for download here.
 
• 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.
 
• Greenshot snaps a region, window and full screen from hotkeys and the tray icon. It comes with a simple but useful image editor. Downside: no scrolling window and delayed captures are supported.
 
• 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.

You might want to check out these articles too:

• Best Free All-In-One Design Tools
• Free Multi-function Screen Capture / Image Editor Impresses
• Screen Captures: 40+ Tools and Tips
• Best Free Screen Session Recorder
• Best Free Color Picker

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

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