Capture images and share them in a more stylish way

The PrtScr key is quite useful – it lets you capture the screen without any third-party app. But this simplicity also makes it quite limited.

If you want to get rid of those limitations, use, the PrtScr app instead. In spite of sharing the same name, this capturing tool has nothing to do with Windows standard capturing function. It offers extended functionality, such as the ability to capture user-defined areas or send the captured image by email straightaway, and also features a fairly complete settings menu where you can customize the keyboard shortcut to launch the program and the format in which to save captured images, among others.

When running, PrtScrt displays an icon in the system tray from where you can access the program’s tools. I loved the way images are displayed on the desktop right after capturing them – floating in a kind of smooth 3D animation.

On the downside, it took me a while to distinguish between its three main functions – and to find the help file as well, hidden in the “About” window. I also missed some editing tools, at least the most basic ones.

PrtScr lets you capture images in a stylish way and share them by email right away, but lacks documentation and also editing tools.

Sure, there are loads of free screen capture tools, but this is not another cheesy, spreadsheet-looking one. This one offers directness, ease of use, and does it with style. You may ask, what’s wrong with Microsoft’s own Snipping Tool? It’s great, but unfortunately restricted to the Windows Tablet PC Edition, and some versions of Vista. Also, Snipping Tool fails to capture overlay windows (those translucent windows mostly used by desktop gadgets).

See this program’s features:

• Accessible through Ptr Scr, Ctrl+Prt Scr, or custom hotkey
• Captures full screen, rectangle selection, freehand selection, or active window
• Can capture mouse cursor
• Supports multiple monitors
• Allows annotation over capture, with smooth, natural mouse drawing
• Saves capture straight to desktop or to any file, sends it as email, edits, prints or sends to clipboard
• Exports as JPG, BMP, or PNG (transparent or opaque)
• Can re-scale capture before exporting
• Can pre-fill capture title & comments with window title & browser URL