Tools for taking screenshots

Screen capture is one of the most effective ways to share what's happening on your monitor screen. For technical users such as QA engineers, this allows better communication between the project participants.

Most operating systems have a built-in basic screen capture functionality. However, for professional work, especially when it comes to checking the quality of a software product, it is necessary to use special tools for making screenshots.

We offer you a selection of tools for easy screenshotting:

Snagit

A program for taking screenshots from the monitor screen. Moreover, Snagit can take not only static graphic screenshots of the selected area, but record a video showing what is happening on the screen, as well as capturing a picture from applications using Direct X, DirectDraw, and Direct 3D.

Advantages:

1. Simple and easy-to-understand interface;
2. A large number of filters and other processing tools;
3. Useful unique features such as scrolling screen, recognition of protected images and text;
4. Built-in image and video editor.

Disadvantages:

1. Slower than Jing and FastStone Capture;
2. Registration and purchase of the program are required, but there is a trial version of the product.

Where can I download it? - https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html

Movavi Screen Capture

A simple and convenient program for taking screenshots of the monitor screen, as well as recording video. Consists of an application for recording video from the screen and a video editor.

Advantages:

1. Simple and intuitive controls;
2. A huge number of screenshot editing tools;
3. Ability to record video from desktop and webcam;
4. Parallel recording of the audio from devices and sounds of applications;
5. Delayed screen recording;
6. Ability to perform recording of 60 frames per second which is useful in games, for smoother dynamics.

Disadvantages:

1. Windows XP lacks support for recording audio from multiple sources;
2. Watermark is shown in the free version;
3. The productivity of the program is not stable due to the lack of power in the system.

Where can I download it? - https://www.movavi.ru/screen-capture/

TechSmith Capture

an easy and free tool for fast screenshots creating  and recording video from the screen, which makes it possible to quickly upload a newly created snapshot or recorded video to the Internet and immediately share a link to this image with a friend, work colleague, or client. In this program, everything is arranged very simply. When you turn on the program then the sun icon appears on top. By hovering over it, you can proceed to create a screenshot or record a video from the screen, access previously saved snapshots, and also go to the program settings. 

Advantages:

1. High speed of the program;
2. Small size of video recorded from the screen;
3. Close integration with other software products and services from TechSmith (Camtasia Studio, Snagit, ScreenCast.com);
4. Simplicity and speed.

Disadvantages:

1. 5 minutes video recording limit, video format is swf;
2. Only one format is available for saving screenshots and it's PNG.

Where can I download it? - https://www.techsmith.com/jing-tool.html

FastStone Capture

A fast, easy and at the same time a very functional tool for creating screenshots. In this program you can create screenshots in one click (if you need a quick snapshot) or in two clicks (if the accuracy of the selection of the area for the snapshot is important). Also, it is possible to automatically add a signature with system information, several options for edge effects, and a watermark to each image.

Advantages:

1. A working tool for creating a screenshot of a vertical scroll window;
2. High-quality video while capturing;
3. A good video editor that allows you to insert arrows, frames and text comments into the video to complement the information content of the video taken from the screen;
4. Ability to set keyboard shortcuts for most of the actions available in the program.

Disadvantages:

1. The captured video file is saved in .wmv format 

Monosnap

An absolutely free program for taking screenshots with its own cloud storage and a simple editor. Screen capture is instant. Keyboard shortcuts help with it. Processing (draw and label arrows, other shapes, crop, resize, blur the area) takes a few seconds since all the tools are close. Just press one button after finishing and the picture is already uploaded to the Monosnap server or your FTP.

Advantages:

1. The ability to take a screenshot in games;
2. Sending videos to YouTube;
3. Availability of instructions for beginners on the official website;
4. There is a Mac OS version of Monosnap;
5. Uploading data to FTP, SFTP, WebDav server;
6. Integration of the utility into the Windows context menu.

Disadvantages:

1. A very narrow range of tools while working with video.

Where can I download it? - https://monosnap.com/welcome