Screenpresso: Lightweight Jing Alternative for Screenshots
The Importance of Visuals in Tutorials and Explanations
Would attempting to follow a 500-word tutorial devoid of images prove frustrating? Or would explaining a complex technique on Youtube to friends become lengthy and difficult without supporting visuals?
Screenshots not only resolve this issue, but they also enhance the engagement of otherwise lengthy and potentially monotonous articles. We’ve previously explored useful Firefox extensions for screen capture, alongside desktop applications that streamline instant uploads to media-sharing platforms, and enable the capture of entire webpages without scrolling.
Jing and the Search for a Superior Alternative
Jing is a well-known option within the realm of screen-capturing software, however, its image editing capabilities are limited to a small set of fundamental features. It permits the addition and modification of arrow, rectangle, and text colors. If concealing sensitive data within a screenshot, like an email address, or saving the captured image as a .jpg for reduced file size is required, transferring the image to a separate program, such as MS Paint, becomes necessary.
My quest for a robust alternative to Jing, one that eliminated the need for these additional steps, involved a thorough evaluation of approximately ten free screen-capturing tools. Ultimately, Screenpresso (Windows only) emerged as the most capable solution. Screenpresso was previously mentioned on MUO, but it warrants a dedicated review due to its comprehensive feature set, rivaling that of paid screen capture utilities like Snagit, all at no cost.
Screenpresso: A Feature-Rich Capture Tool
Beyond the functionalities offered by Jing, Screenpresso distinguishes itself with several additional capabilities, including:
- Capturing scrolling webpages in their entirety.
- Zooming in on the cursor’s location (particularly beneficial for netbook users).
- Automatically pre-selecting screen areas based on cursor position for quicker capture.
- Maintaining a complete history of screenshots for easy retrieval.
- Saving images in .jpg, .bmp, .gif, and .png formats.
- Automating file naming using numbers or dates, along with file settings like borders and reflections.
Configuration Options
You can configure Screenpresso to launch automatically with your system and specify a temporary folder for storing screenshots in the History feature (1). Furthermore, you can automate post-capture actions, such as the default image format (.png, .gif, .bmp, .jpg) (2), the number of images stored in your History (from one to 100) (3), and the file naming convention (numbers or date) (4). Additional options include automatic opening of History or the image editor (5), and customization of image border effects and capture resizing (6).
Capture Methods
The zoom function is invaluable for precisely defining the capture region, preventing the inclusion of unwanted elements that would require subsequent editing. This feature is commonly found in paid applications like Snagit.
Screenpresso’s ability to pre-select screen regions based on cursor location is also highly useful, eliminating the need for manual dragging and selection.
For instance, if your cursor is positioned over the Start button, the area surrounding the button will be automatically pre-selected, facilitating a quick screenshot. This automated selection ensures accurate regional capture.
The scrolling capture feature is a significant advantage. Initially, I was unaware of its existence, but upon discovery, it proved incredibly useful. It allows you to capture an entire webpage, even if it extends beyond your screen’s visible area. To utilize this, select the initial capture region, release the mouse button, scroll to the next section, and click to capture it. Finally, right-click to allow Screenpresso to merge the captures into a single, complete image.
Post-Capture Editing
Once you’ve captured your screenshot, you can enhance it with arrows, blurred areas, rectangles, ellipses, text, and numbers.
Employing blurring to obscure sensitive information often presents a more polished appearance than simply applying a pixelated mark or solid rectangle.
Screenpresso allows you to adjust the blurring intensity on a scale of 1 to 20, where 1 provides slight transparency and 20 completely obscures the region.
You can also customize the appearance of rectangles, ellipses, text, and numbers, adjusting their shadow, opacity, and other attributes.
The ability to modify border effects is another valuable feature. You can select the border color and thickness, adjust the corner roundness, and control the shadow intensity. These settings can be saved as defaults for future captures.
It’s also possible to copy the image for pasting into another application, allowing you to combine it with other images, as Screenpresso does not support direct image importing.
Potential Enhancements for Screenpresso
Screenpresso is already a remarkably feature-rich screen capture utility, but a few additions would elevate it to an indispensable tool for bloggers: customizable keyboard shortcuts, the ability to paste images onto the capture, and support for video and audio recording (buttons for these features exist, but currently indicate they are unavailable).
The current lack of video capture doesn’t significantly detract from Screenpresso’s value, as I prefer using the web-based Screencast-O-Matic (review, website) which delivers exceptionally high-quality screen recordings without requiring registration.
Screenpresso is a compact 2.7MB download (3.43MB installed) that effectively addresses a wide range of image editing needs in addition to its core screen-capturing functionality. Share your preferred (and ideally free!) screenshot editor or screencasting software with us!
