WinSnap 4.6.2

Overview

WinSnap is a well-designed, user-friendly, feature-rich application that lets you save and edit excellent quality screenshots. Users have the freedom to take standard rectangular or square screenshots of any scale, or create custom shapes and circles that highlight specific components of a window or the entire screen.

Installation

With a file size of only about 6 MB, WinSnap downloads and unpacks in a snap. Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (setup package includes native 64-bit versiond as well). After accepting the terms of agreement you'll have the opportunity to choose between a full or custom installation (lets you specify which components of the software you'd like to install). This application is so compact that it has no specific system requirements, so you can use it on any computer that has one of the aforementioned operating systems installed.

Interface

The user interface is fun to work with because it is not cluttered, yet it provides easy access to basic screenshot editing features. After you have snapped a screenshot you can check one of the five effects boxes along the right side of the editing window – shadow, reflection, outline, watermark, and colors. In the bottom right corner you'll find tools that let you cut out, highlight, annotate, and circle areas of the screenshot. Once you're satisfied with the output preview you can click the save or copy button in the bottom left corner.

Pros

• Makes it easy to switch between windows after you click the "New Snapshot" button in the main interface. Simply mouse over the window you would like to switch to and it will be highlighted. Click it and a screenshot will automatically be taken.

• Can take screenshots of Windows with rounded corners and transparent themes

• Multi-object capture mode makes it possible to take a screenshot that contains more than one window or application. You can choose to fill the blank spaces between windows with any background you'd like

• Convenient hotkeys let you use keyboard combination shortcuts to perform various functions (i.e. – pressing the Print Screen key will create a new snapshot, pressing Shift + Print Screen will take a picture of the entire screen, pressing Ctrl + Print Screen will take a screenshot of the selected application, and pressing Alt + Print Screen snaps a screenshot of the selected window

Cons

• A watermark is added to every screenshot outputted by the free version

Alternatives

There are many free applications that let you capture and edit screenshots, the more popular of which include Greenshot, Jing (Win, Mac), FastStone Capture, Snipping Tool included in Windows Vista and 7, Snagit, Screenshot Captor, ZScreen, and FireShot. Of these alternatives, only GreenShot and Snagit are formidable competitors.

Conclusion

If you're looking for an application that can take high quality screenshots of any type of window, while also providing a large selection of editing features, WinSnap is certainly a suitable utility. With unique features that put it at the forefront of screenshot technology, there are few alternatives that can compete with the feature set and user-friendliness of this software.