Snagit
Snagit
Reviewed December 2010
What's It Do?

Selects and captures anything on one's screen - an entire desktop, window, or scrolling window with a single hotkey or click - and lets you share it with others to visually clarify difficult concepts, create clear documentation, and give presentations a professional dynamic look. Creates custom shapes from a captured window, shares with embedded core or URL with clickable thumbnail, grabs text from a Web page and keeps the formatting but edits with different font styles, sizes, and colors, and, applies many different effects.


Does It Do What It Promises?

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: Snagit 10 is a screen-capture program that enables the user to capture almost anything on the screen, be it the entire desktop, a window, a section of a window, or a scrolling window (where the document extends beyond what one can see on the screen). Snagit also makes it possible to create custom shapes from screen captures and to apply a large array of special effects. The program does what it promises.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: Yes, Snagit performs all functions that the developers claim and its usage goes beyond what they advertise.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: Absolutely. The developer makes no inflated claims and, in fact, simply states: You can easily capture, edit, share and organize a screenshot of exactly what you see on your screen. The more you use Snagit, the more ways you'll find to use it. I have been using Snagit for years and this latest version for approximately six months, and I am still finding new ways to use it and new features to use.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: Snagit is a screen capture program that is very flexible and easy to use. It allows one to capture a picture of all or part of the computer screen and save it in a library of images within the program. These images can then be edited, annotated, labeled and sent elsewhere as needed.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: Yes. Although this program intimidated me at first, with a bit of time and reference to the excellent video tutorials and the online help, the program grew on me as I tried out different modules offered by Snagit. It is eminently customizable, so that it can be set up to work the way desired. Defaults need not be changed, but one's own features can be selected and saved for future use.


Was It Easy To Install?

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: Yes. The 30 MB file downloaded relatively quickly. An Install Wizard helps with the installation process. The End User License Agreement specifies that the program may be installed "on a single computer at a time," but it goes on to say "Each primary user . . . may also install and use an additional copy of the software product on a portable device or home computer (not both), providing this copy is not used concurrently with the primary copy." The installation also gives one the option to have the program start at Windows startup (I unchecked this option) and to have icons placed on the desktop. I appreciated being given these options; however, the program also installed an icon in my Quick Launch bar without asking, something I did not appreciate.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: Yes, the 29.9 MB downloaded installer package installed without any conflicts or problems. The installer provides the user with options on some of the install features including desktop shortcut. Snagit installs plug ins to one's browser and creates a new folder in My Documents. While Snagit installs all these quick access points, it does not add itself to the start up menu.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: Yes. For such a feature rich and insanely powerful program it is a sizeable but still quite reasonable 30MB download that took only approximately 60 seconds to download on a reasonably fast broadband connection. One should be aware, however, that Snagit takes 66MB of hard drive space. Installation was quick, easy, and mostly automated following the install wizard. It can even run alongside older versions in the event they are already installed and it is desirable to keep them until one is up-to-speed with the newest version. This is an especially welcome touch. Usage data may be sent to the developer, TechSmith, to help them improve the software; unfortunately, even when this option is declined, one will be asked again when the program is first opened. A noteworthy part of the installation process is that I was asked if I wanted the program to run at startup and I was provided a choice as to the installation and location of any icons. Best of all, there was no where to be found the ubiquitous third-party software so many developers are now trying to piggyback in their downloads. The registration went smoothly; although I was unable to copy and paste the registration number, somewhat of a minor aggravation. The EULA (End User License Agreement) was fairly standard with the normal exclusions as to liability and too much legalese for easy comprehension by the average consumer. It is a single copy license but does offer a fully functioning 30-day trial. The program uninstalled quickly and easily but did leave 66 fragments in the Window's Registry as well as six files.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: Yes, normal install routine is used. Snagit offered a "Typical" and "Custom" option during the install process. The custom option allows one to select different locations for an image library, checkboxes for desktop and quick start icons and to startup with Windows.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: Yes. It is a standard windows installation that allowed me to put the program and shortcuts where I wanted. I was given the option to install (or not) add-Ins for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, additional Snagit items on my Windows Explorer right-click Menu, and accessories for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Screencast.com outputs. The "Run Snagit when Windows starts" is checked by default but you can be unchecked it desired. I have often complained about programs that attempt to make these sorts of choices for the user, so I compliment TechSmith for allowing me to make my own decisions on the features I wanted to include.

The EULA (End Users Licence Agreement) is quite long with much of the usual legalese, but I did not find anything out of the ordinary. The licence is for use on a single computer, but there is also an allowance to install it on an additional device or home computer (but not both), provided that Snagit is not used on both computers at the same time. Again, I compliment the developers for their recognition of the actual situation of many of their clients.

Although we are reviewing the Windows version of Snagit, the TechSmith Web site is also announcing a Macintosh version.


Good Points.

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: I have used other screen capture programs, and Snagit 10 is far and away the most versatile and feature rich. Like many other capable screen capture programs, Snagit can capture all or part of a screen, or multiple parts; it can scroll vertically to capture a Web page that extends below the visible window; it can crop an image, cut out a vertical or horizontal part of an image, resize the image, sharpen or blur it, change the colors or the resolution, add text, etc. But Snagit 10 also offers features not found in most other programs. For example, it can scroll horizontally to capture material wider than what can be seen on the screen, and it can even simultaneously scroll vertically and horizontally to capture items that are both longer and wider than the visible window. Snagit can often make part of a capture transparent, so that when the captured image is placed on a Web page's colored background, just the image will be seen, not the irrelevant background that was part of the capture. Snagit's capture process includes an unobtrusive but useful magnifying glass that provides a pixel-by-pixel view of the proposed capture, making possible much greater precision. It can also capture videos, and it can create videos of what the user does on the screen (great for making instructional videos). Snagit also offers a vast array of special effects that can be easily applied to the capture: shapes, edges, page curls, callouts, stamps, watermarks, and more. Users can also sign up for 2 GB of storage space on TechSmith's free web portal, Screencast.com, which they can use to show their work to the world or to the people they select. The site offers four levels of privacy control.

Snagit 10 offers an immensely rich array of features, but in a number of cases I found it difficult to figure out how to use them successfully. Fortunately, another of Snagit's strengths is an excellent support staff. I received valuable help both from the users forum and from Snagit's tech support. Tech support promises a response within 24 hours, and I found their responses not only prompt but extremely helpful.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: Snagit is much more than a screen capture program. It is loaded with features and functions from simple screen captures to full editing of a screen capture or portion of a screen capture. As expected with a feature rich program like Snagit, the user has a lot to learn in order to utilize the various functions. The makers of Snagit have fully realized that learning how to use the functions of Snagit are as important as how those functions perform. The user interface is very intuitive with popup balloons with explanations of the icon's function and naming of functions that an uninformed user could understand. I found that I could perform screen captures without reading any instructions. As I used Snagit and proceeded to more complex captures and editing I found the online video tutorials very helpful. I was able to perform the more in depth functions of Snagit by just watching the short videos. Any user new to Snagit should view the tutorial videos just to learn what Snagit can do. Each time I used Snagit I found something new it could do that made my final results look and perform even better than I expected. As I perform more elaborate captures and edited those captures I found the Help file easy to use in finding the exact instructions I needed. Snagit has one teaching tool I found extremely helpful in using it: warning boxes. If I tried to perform a function without a correct setting, Snagit would pop up a warning message describing that some function must be enabled to perform that task. Any program that prevents a user from trying to perform a function that cannot be performed is very user friendly.

Snagit and the Snagit Editor that accompanies it perform so many different functions to capture and edit that capture, it would be impossible to list all of them. After months of use, I'm still finding new ways to make and handle my captures. I will cover those functions of Snagit that I considered most helpful and that I have not found in other screen capture programs that I have used.

Snagit captures anything that can be displayed on one's monitor and even some things that are not displayed. Where Snagit excels is in the ability to capture screen displays that other capture programs can't. With Snagit, I was able to capture complete pages even when the entire page did not display on the screen. I wanted to see how far this would go and was able to not only capture entire Web pages that needed both horizontal and vertical scrolling to view but also multi page Word and pdf documents. I was able to capture menu tiers, command prompt screens, icons, dropdown lists, and even an individual frame of a video while the video was playing. Not only could Snagit capture these objects of many different formats, it could precisely capture only that portion of the object that I desired. The micro crosshairs of the capture screen let me capture the head of a single individual from a group photo. With such precise capturing I found that many captures needed little, if any, editing after the capture.

The Text mode capture function is a great addition to a screen capture program. Often, captured text is in image format and cannot be edited. Snagit captures the text in text format and the editor provides text editing tools. I especially like the increase and decrease font size button rather than testing different font sizes to find what I desired.

There are two basic reasons for obtaining a capture: 1) to obtain the image/text for another use or 2) obtain the image/text for instructional description. Snagit does precise image and text capture and edits that capture to display that image/text as desired. Snagit also has numerous edit options to point out aspects of that capture for descriptive and instructional purposes. I write instructions for using unique software applications and found Snagit very useful in adding arrows, highlighting, hand drawn colored lines, and call out balloons to point out the area or item being described. Many that read these instructions indicated that such added features made their understanding of the instructions easier. I made a time delay video of the use of the program with recorded audio. While the results were not bad for a first attempt, I realized that this function has to be planned out with precise timing to depict what I wanted. With practice and time I'm sure that the final results would be very good.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: Once again I find that I am reviewing a program that am inclined to say is nearly perfect and leave it at that. That would not do justice to a program that has been around almost as long as Windows itself and a screen capture program that is generally considered the best in that category; especially since after 20 years of continued development, the best just got better! In short, Snagit enables users to capture anything they see on the screen--literally, anything-and then edit it endlessly, annotate it, manipulate it, save it, and/or send via email or use it in a number of applications such as Microsoft Office. Again, if it can be seen, it can be captured, whether it is a small section of the screen, a whole window, multiple windows, or even an entire scrolling Web page. So, what sets Snagit apart from the many free screen capture programs and justifies it's rather high $50.00 price tag, aside from the 40 ways to capture and over 53 editing tools?

point While there are several types of screen captures (profiles) available, the new "all-in-one" may be all one ever needs. When using this tool, the Snagit window disappears and yellow guidelines or cross hairs appear on the screen which allow selecting any part of the screen or active window to capture. There is even a magnifying tool included for precision. To capture a Web page on a browser, when the entire page cannot be viewed, buttons appear at the edge of the window. These allow taking a screenshot of the entire Web page-horizontally, vertically, diagonally-even if it is not viewable in the window.

point The Snagit Editor is easily one of the best features and worth the price of the program alone. Once the screen capture is made, the image editor can add highlighting, arrows and other graphics, speech bubbles, and text. One can also crop, resize, pixilize, blur, add color effects, apply artistic filters, and on. It is like having a mini-Photoshop built into one's screen capture program. It also allows adding transparency which will not only allow one to keep rounded corners from a captured window or even create a custom shape, but also eliminate any background colors and make for a truly professional capture when pasting into a document.

point Support is exceptional. There is a Learning Center that offers video tutorials and demos which are superb. In addition, there are support bulletins, an extensive FAQ, a blog, an active user's forum, newsletters, and an extensive help file which contain ample screen shots to further amplify explanations. There is also direct support and my several experiences were each exceptional. My inquiries were all answered within a single business day and by an actual technician who knew what he was talking about and yet did not treat me like an idiot.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: After working with Snagit for several months, I usually keep it in the system tray most of the time. It's so easy to use to grab a quick capture of something I see on the screen. It is the only way to capture an error message from a popup window that will not allow one to select and copy the text normally. This facilitates providing tech support with the exact text of the error message, often necessary because many error messages are very cryptic and difficult to understand and write down from memory.

The image editing features have become a mainstay in my daily work. It is the best tool for annotating the photos I use in my reports. Adding arrows, call-out boxes, circles & boxes and text couldn't be easier. Exporting the results to the MS Office suite programs is built in as well as several other export options such as FTP, email, another non-MS programs and the system Clipboard.

Snagit offers several useful video tutorials on their Web site that will walk through the steps of the various processes that Snagit offers.

Techsmith has recognized the rise of social media and now has capabilities to "share" images on some of the social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook or a blog. After registering for a free a ScreenCast.com account, Snagit will upload images and store them on Techsmith's server for use in one's Twitter or Facebook account or blog page.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: At first I found the opening window (the main GUI (Graphical User Interface)) to be somewhat confusing. Fortunately, I found help in the Snagit "Learning Center" on the Web site at http://www.techsmith.com/learn/snagit/10/. I bookmarked it immediately, as there are sixteen video tutorials. Techsmith does an excellent job of demystifying the basic elements of Snagit, then encouraging exploration of some of the more interesting features contained in this program.

The GUI itself has help. As I hovered my mouse over the different parts of the window, balloon tips appeared, giving a brief description of each function. At the bottom of the tip, Press F1 for more help accessed the Help File with detailed instructions and illustrations.

Most other capture programs give the choice of different types of capture: the whole screen, a program window, a document, a Web page, or a freehand region. Usually, a shortcut "hotkey" can be assigned to call up one or another of these selections. Snagit calls each of these types of capture a "Profile" and the main capture window has seven default profiles. The profile I used most was the "All-in-One" capture that provided a definable and crosshairs to identified which part of the screen to capture. Instead of an individual hotkey for each type of capture, all the normal captures that most would want to make are available inside a single profile.

Each of the seven default profiles has its own settings and these can be changed for individual preferences. But capturing is only the beginning. The Snagit Editor provides ways of drawing or writing on the image, highlighting parts of the image, selecting a part or parts of the image to keep (and discarding the rest), and selecting the a border to put around it. Select a tool and one is presented with a half-dozen or so varieties of that tool. Select "Stamp", for example, and one has 16 different stamps, and 25 cursors, and more can be downloaded from the Web site. The same is true for the boxes, the callouts, arrows, pens, lines, shapes, etc., with the capabilities to crop, copy, cut, paste, rotate, trim, resize, colour, fill, and modify the text with all the editing tools normally available in text editing programs.

A handy feature) is "blur", used when one has a capture to show others but wishes to blur certain private information so it cannot be read. Another is the Library, where images are automatically stored and classified under one of several default headings.

One of my favorite Profiles is the "Menu with Time Delay" profile, where I can capture a menu with all its submenus in a problematic program. I can then edit my snapshot, perhaps adding an arrow or a callout and a bit of explanatory text and save it as a small image file to be attached to an email, or uploaded to the support personnel or users forum of the program in question.

One can choose from a rather large number of different file types, for use with another program, as an email attachment, or published on the Web by FTP or uploading it to the Web site server of choice.


Weak Points.

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: For me, the two main weak points of Snagit 10 are that it is somewhat slower than the screen capture program I'm accustomed to and is considerably more complicated to use. When I start Snagit 10, I generally have to wait 10-15 seconds before it appears on my screen. I tried putting it in my Quick Launch bar, but that did not help. Most other programs I use start much more quickly.

Snagit 10 offers more features than any other screen capture program I have tried, but, as a result, the learning curve is rather steep. Many of its features involve a multi-step procedure that is not intuitive and that involves navigating between two separate processes, Snagit and the Snagit Editor. A program this complex needs excellent Help documentation. Unfortunately, the Snagit Help file is often not adequate. One problem is that its index lists far too many tangential or even irrelevant discussions, making it hard to find information on a given topic. For example, when I turned to the Help file for information about getting a print preview, I found no listing for print preview. My search on that term did turn up half a dozen ostensibly relevant listings, but some of these discussions did not even mention print preview. An even more serious problem with the Help file is that its instructions are sometimes inaccurate, as for example in the information it supplies about capturing a region of the page that extends beyond the visible screen. I mentioned this to someone from tech support, who thanked me for calling this to their attention.

Even when the information in the Help file is accurate, it is often not sufficiently detailed to be helpful. Apparently Snagit 10 offers substantial improvement over earlier versions in its handling of transparency, but I found the Help file's discussions about transparency vague and inadequate, as were the short videos. I then turned to the Snagit Forum. The Forum moderator was immensely helpful and patient, but finally even he was unable to help me figure out why the transparencies I made had white blotches on them. He suggested I write to Tech Support, and they responded with suggestions that worked. Had the information in the Help file been adequately detailed, I would not have had to spend so much time trying to find the information I needed to create a successful transparent capture.

Another reservation I have about Snagit is that it automatically saves every capture I make. It is possible but cumbersome to delete captures. To do so, I have to right click on the capture, choose Delete, and then move my mouse to a box to choose between two options--delete and move to the recycle bin or only remove the file from the Snagit Library. I much prefer the process found in another screen capture program I use, where the default when the program closes is to save only those captures I have specified that I want saved.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: Snagit describes the text mode capture as a capture of text with the formatting of that text. For the most part this was true, but I found several examples where a capture of a bullet list resulted in the text for each bullet to be off line from the bullet and the formatting corrupted to the extent that repair of the bullet list was impossible. Thus, the formatting of a bullet list was not captured as it was displayed.

It would be nice if the edit functions could be setup for a video capture, thus the freehand drawing could be used to point out the item being described.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: Like the lyric in a famous Sinatra song, I had regrets but too few to mention. There really are no serious weaknesses in the program and I would certainly have no regrets in purchasing Snagit. I found the GUI (Graphical User Interface) complicated and just a bit overwhelming at first glance, but the program is so feature laden that I am not sure how this could be improved. Besides, I am one of those who likes to be able to use a program immediately without consulting a help file or tutorial. If one takes a little time to access the help tools and tutorials available there should be few problems and in a short time it will seem quite simple. I would like to suggest that the Editor needs a better way to edit the history rather than to just keep clicking the undo button. It would be nice to have a way to clear all changes to the original image or the ability to selectively change earlier edits while preserving later ones.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: I really didn't find any significant weak points. Snagit appears to work exactly as advertised. Every operation I attempted seemed to work as expected when I did it correctly per the tutorial. . Without watching the videos, some of the functions and navigation to them is a bit obscure and not always intuitive.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: This is one of those rare programs for which I can find little to criticize. Snagit can be somewhat intimidating at first to the new user, so it requires more of a learning curve than some of the other programs that we review here. However, this "weakness" is compensated by the excellent video tutorials, the care in designing the GUI (the windows and screens in which we work with Snagit), the ease and variety of capture profiles, the plethora of editing tools, the ability to customize it to one's own needs and the range of ways to store, publish and share one's work.


Other Comments.

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: Students and employees at an accredited non-profit K-12 school, college, or university can qualify for a 24% educational discount on Snagit, making the price $37.95 rather than $49.95.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: If all a user wants is a simple screen capture program with no desire to edit that capture, then there are freeware programs that will meet one's needs. However, $49.95 for a program that performs all these functions that a freeware program can't is more than a reasonable price considering the performance of Snagit.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: This is truly a professional level screen capture tool and if all that is needed is the occasional screen capture of a picture from the Web for email, Snagit is probably more than is needed. On the other hand, if the ultimate for screen captures is desired, there is none better than Snagit and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It is reported that 99% of the Fortune 500 companies use this program. That may be its best recommendation of all.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: I found to be a very powerful and versatile program. As with any other feature rich application, using it for the first time and getting the expected results can be a daunting task. Working out what Snagit is capable of doing or not doing is made considerably easier by taking the time to watch the video and screen cast tutorials available on Techsmith's Web site.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: Unfortunately, at present, my main need for screen captures is limited to attempting to illustrate a difficulty or problem that I am having with one or another of the programs that we may be reviewing. I don't need impressive output to show as PowerPoint presentations, publish examples on the Web or create illustrated documents for distribution.

In spite of these rather simple needs, I am using some of the more interesting editing features, and, as my confidence grows, I am finding that I can probably use it to clarify points that I make in other documents that I normally simply type and send. I would recommend downloading the program for a 30-day trial. I am certainly happy that I have come to know this excellent program.


Will you continue to use it?

Reviewer 1 - Name Withheld By Request: Yes, when I need a feature not offered by the faster, easier-to-use screen capture program that I prefer.

Reviewer 2 - Dana Cardwell: Yes, it has earned a place on my Desktop.

Reviewer 3 - Mark Snyder: Absolutely. It has always been one of my must-have programs.

Reviewer 4 - Dana Bostick: Absolutely! It is very useful and easy to use once the process is grasped.

Reviewer 5 - Peter Royle: Yes. It has become my capture program of choice.

OPERATING SYSTEMS USED IN THIS REVIEW
Windows XP Pro, XP Home, Media Center Edition
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