Screenshots come in handy to show something that’d be harder to explain in words. You may have spotted them in tutorials, software reviews, tech support troubleshooting, or when you want to share your screen image and save snippets that you can’t easily print.
- Screencast-O-Matic is one of the best screen recording software for mac that not only comes as a screencasting tool but also a video editor. In a fast, free and easy way, you will be able to capture the screen, include the webcam and voice narration if need be.
- For free, open-source software, VLC does a decent job of screen recording. QuickCast If you don’t need a heavy-duty screen recorder and only need something to record short, three- to five-minute screen recordings, then you may want to check out QuickCast.
- Best Free Screen Capture & Video Recording Software TinyTake is a free screen capture & video recording software for Microsoft Windows & Mac. With TinyTake, you can capture images and videos of your computer screen, add comments and share them with others in minutes. TinyTake is built by MangoApps and is available for free.
While you can take a screenshot on your computer using the native screen capturing tools and keyboard shortcuts, a time comes when your requirements get more advanced. That’s when you turn to specialized screen capturing tools.
Debut is a video capture and screencast program from NCH Software, available for both Windows and Mac.It has two versions, Professional and Home (the Home version is free). In order to provide users with additional capabilities often required for video editing and presentation, Debut integrates with other software developed by NCH Software such as – VideoPad Video Editor and Movie Maker.
Most free screenshot tools are available for Windows. That's why we are going an extra mile to get a few good ones for Mac owners as well.
We have compiled the five free screenshot tools you can use to get you started.
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How to Easily Take Screenshots and Video Recordings of Your Desktop Using Snip
Read More1. Skitch
This screenshot tool from the folks at Evernote performs screen capture and markup among other tasks, and edit the image too.
You can annotate screenshots with arrows, shapes, text, and stamps, perform basic cropping without using an external image editor, and save them in eight formats, which includes PNG, JPEG, GIF, and more.
Also included is the camera mode feature for taking selfies with your webcam, and then dress it up with a host of editing tools including call-outs, highlights, pixellation to blur personal information and more.
After that, you can share your creations via social media accounts, AirDrop, FTP, or Notes.
Skitch isn't without its drawbacks, though. From my time with this tool, I've found that I can't open more than one image at a time to annotate or edit.
For Mac, it's also not possible to save snaps to the local drive; the export command is used instead.
2. Monosnap
This free screen capturing program only lets you snap full screen or a selected area, and it comes with a few good enhancements. So what if may not have capture options as robust as Skitch? It's still mighty useful.
The few of the coolest features are a timer, auto upload selection that captures screenshots and sends them automatically to FTP or cloud storage, screen recording captures, and selfie mode.
Its powerful editor lets you annotate your image using text, lines, arrows, cropping, drawings, and even redact personal or sensitive information. If you want a sneak peek of your snaps, the Preview feature lets you do that with the click of a button.
You can also rename your snaps and keep them in order before saving them as JPG or PNG files, and share them if you want on social media.
Mac Screen Grab Command
Monosnap is available for Windows and Mac, or you can download the Chrome extension and use it in your browser.
Download MonosnapAlso on Guiding Tech
#screenshots
Click here to see our screenshots articles page3. ShareX
ShareX is a free screenshot tool (for Windows), but it isn’t as simple as using the native options for Windows or Mac. If you’re able to work your way around its interface though, you’ll find an extensive array of useful tools buried somewhere in its slightly messy interface.
Besides the different capture techniques like choosing specific regions, windows, or monitors, you can select from a variety of shapes and capture the particular area you want.
Once you’re done, you can edit using the in-house image editor. Apart from that, the editor lets you annotate, pixelate, add text, shapes, and more to your snap.
The “Scrolling Capture” option so you can screenshot a long document in any application, or capture any web address using the Webpage Capture tool.
ShareX also lets you add watermarks, blur personal or sensitive information, copy, upload, and even shorten and share the links to the images wherever you want.
It integrates with a spread of cloud storage services, and online services like Flickr, Imgur, and more than 80 other destinations.
Download ShareX4. Lightshot
Like Monosnap, this tool lives in your system tray until you’re ready to use it.
The app packs a miniature editor for adding notes, annotations, and highlights to your snaps. After that, you can upload them to printscm.com where you can backup and share them via links.
Monosnap is an easy to use, and lightweight but is heavily loaded. The only drawback I found is that all screenshots uploaded to the cloud are open to the public. So it’s easy for others whom you shared links with to access your snaps with a few tweaks to the URL.
Download Lightshot5. Nimbus Capture: Screenshot
Nimbus Capture is a free, browser-based screenshot tool you can use on Chrome or Firefox, but also as an application for Windows and Mac.
It can capture fullscreen, an entire webpage, or selected region depending on what you want. Like other tools listed here, Nimbus Capture also offers annotation and editing tools. Also, you get a special markup tools like number stamps which can be useful for tech support tutorials or other things.
After editing the screenshots, you can print them or save to your clipboard, drive, or cloud storage for easy sharing.
A desktop version is available that offers screencasting for video recording based on the desired section of your screen, which you can access from your iOS device or the web.
Download Nimbus CaptureAlso on Guiding Tech
3 Useful Chrome Extensions to Capture Screenshot of a Webpage
Read MoreTake Better Screenshots
Windows and Mac may have their native screenshot tools, but when you need more advanced features to annotate and edit your snaps, you can always choose any of the five listed here. The best part is they’re free to download and use, so you’re sure to find something that’ll fit your needs.
We’d love to hear your recommendations on other free screenshot tools you use that didn’t make it to our list. Tell us in a comment below.
Next up: Want to capture scrolling screenshots on your Mac? Here are some of the best apps to take scrolling screenshots on macOS.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 4 Amazing Tools to Capture Scrolling Screenshots on macOSAlso See#screenshots #macos
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Developer(s) | NCH Software |
---|---|
Stable release | 6.49 (Windows), 6.51 (Mac) / 23 October 2020; 14 days ago[1] (Windows), 5 November 2020; 1 day ago[1] (Mac) |
Operating system | Windows XP and later Mac OS X 10.4.4 and later |
Size | 1.67 MB |
Available in | English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese |
Type | video screen capture |
License | Trialware |
Website | www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html |
Debut is a video capture and screencast program from NCH Software, available for both Windows and Mac. It has two versions, Professional and Home (the Home version is free).[2][3]
In order to provide users with additional capabilities often required for video editing and presentation, Debut integrates with other software developed by NCH Software such as – VideoPad Video Editor and Movie Maker, Prism Video Converter and Express Burn CD and DVD Burner.
Interface[edit]
The UI for Debut is divided into 4 major elements.[4]CNET states the layout is logical, easy to grasp, and includes an extensive Web-based user manual.[5]
- Main Toolbar consists of options to select the capture method, schedule a recording, find and play recordings, and the ability to configure settings such as frame rate, hot-keys, output destination and format and many more.
- Recording Controls consists of options such as record, pause, stop, sound output, snapshot and the selection window that highlights the area marked for recording such as full screen, a selected area on the screen etc.
- Record As Section allows you configure the output format, encoder options, video options and the ability to add text captions, video effects, watermark and select the area of the screen for recording.
- Preview Area is very large and displays the preview of what is being recorded.
Input types[edit]
Debut can record video from an external recording device, computer screen, webcam and even streaming video. Toms Guide reviewed Debut as a 'one-stop recording tool' as it combines two applications – screen recording and video capture from webcams and external inputs.
Features[edit]
- User friendly, clean and easy to navigate interface[6] with a logical layout.[7]
- Ability to capture streaming video, a selection or all of a computer screen, webcam or video from an external device.[8]
- Video format support includes AVI, MP4, 3GP, FLV, MOV, LLV, WMV, ASF and many more.[8][9]
- Support for advanced features like time lapse video recording, add captions and text overlays, optionally record cursor motion, adjust colour and video effects prior to recording, and adjust resolution, frame rate and size.[10][11][12]
- Recording options include ability to record both video and audio, or just video alone, and the option to record audio from multiple inputs simultaneously.[13]
Controversy and criticism[edit]
NCH Software in the past had an option to download Ask and Chrome Toolbars when downloading any of their applications. These download options were checked by default, and generated malware warnings from companies like McAfee and Norton. NCH software unbundled these toolbars in July 2015, and are now certified safe by anti-virus companies like Norton and McAfee.[14][15][16]
A class action law suit was filed against NCH Software in April 2016 relating to security vulnerabilities in the 2015 version of the program. The case was later dismissed.[17]
Adobe Acrobat pdf reader app goes not responding whenever Debut software is opened.[18]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abhttp://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/versions.html Debut Video Capture Versions – NCH Software
- ^Chadwick, Danny. 'Debut Video Capture Pro Review – Pros, Cons and Verdict'. TopTenReviews. TopTenReviews. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^Nawrocki, Matthew (May 11, 2012). 'Review: NCH Software Debut Video Capture'. TechRepublic. TechRepublic. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^'Debut Video Capture Software'(PDF). NCH Software. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^'Debut Pro Video Screen Recorder'. Download.com. Download.com. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^'Debut Free Screen Recorder and Video Capture Software Download'. softpedia. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Debut Pro Edition review'. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^ ab'Debut Video Capture Software – Tech reviews, giveaways, news, discounts, coupons and downloads'. Tech reviews, giveaways, news, discounts, coupons and downloads. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Debut Video Capture: An Overview – Steve's Digicams'. steves-digicams.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Debut Pro Video Screen Recorder'. Download.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'5 Best Free Screen Recording Software for Windows'. The Windows Planet. 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Debut Video Capture Software 4.08 Download Free – VideoHelp'. videohelp.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Debut Video Capture Pro Review – Pros, Cons and Verdict'. TopTenReviews. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- ^'Is NCH Software Safe to Use?'. nch.com.au. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ^'Report for nchsoftware.com'. Norton Safe Web. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ^'www.nchsoftware.com – Website – McAfee Labs Threat Center'. mcafee.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ^'Dougherty v. NCH Software, Inc'. plainsite.org. PlainSite. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^https://nch.invisionzone.com/topic/28799-debut-video-capture-problem-with-adobe-acrobat-reader/.Missing or empty
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