Snagit

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on September 11, 2012

Calling TechSmith's SnagIt a screen capture tool is a bit like calling a Swiss Army Knife a knife. Yes, it's first and foremost a screen capture tool, and a very good one at that. But SnagIt offers a lot more than free gadgets that also capture screen images. In fact, it's much more of a graphics toolkit optimized for capturing and using onscreen images and information than a screen grabber. SnagIt is advanced enough to enhance productivity for business users and other professionals, but it's also easy for home users to start right up with. If you regularly copy images, Web pages, and screen views to save, embed, share, and use in other ways, SnagIt is well worth trying. It's free to use for 30 days.

The first thing we realized when we downloaded and opened SnagIt is that it offers a lot of options, even during setup. SnagIt includes specific add-ons and output tools for each Office application; choosing the custom installation option let us keep from installing features we don't use. A Disk Cost counter tracked the space SnagIt used, too. The next thing we noticed is that SnagIt comes with lots of help, especially when you click "I'm New to SnagIt" when the setup wizard finishes. A video tutorial, online manual, and simple yet intuitive interface make SnagIt easy to pick up. SnagIt not only offers multiple ways to capture screen images, Web pages, and other data and elements but also to use your captures, such as the built-in SnagIt Editor, OneClick operations, SnagIt Printer, and various output profiles. There's even a freehand option that lets you draw your selection. A system tray menu let us quickly access SnagIt's features and settings.

There's an old cartoon in which a wee lad has just downed five or six ice cream sodas. He says to the man behind the counter, "And now I want to thank you very, very much." The look on the guy's face sums up how software makers feel about the sweat of their brow. SnagIt offers a lot more than just a vastly superior screen capture tool. It's worth the price.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Snagit 11.0.

SnagIt 9:

Publisher's Description

From TechSmith:

Snagit - The ultimate screen capture tool. Snagit gives you all the tools you need to create engaging images and videos. Snag any image and enhance it with effects or create a quick video of your computer screen with no time restrictions. Then share your creations instantly with anyone. With Snagit's quick and easy screen capture process, you can snag anything - your entire desktop, a region, a window, or long webpages - all with a single click. Capture any image you want straight off your computer screen, and enhance with callouts, blur, and other effects to turn a simple screen shot into an eye-catching visual. Snagit lets you instantly show off your creations to anyone. With the Screencast.com output you can upload, manage, view and share all of your images and videos. Snagit also gives you the freedom to share to YouTube, your website, blog, or anywhere you like. With Snagit, it doesn't take much to explain a concept or an idea - your visuals do all the talking. And the more you use it, the more reasons you'll find to use it and love it.

What's new in this version: Version 11.2.0.101:

Redesigned OneClick
Redesigned the Snagit Message Center
Added support for two-factor authentication in the YouTube output
Added additional Japanese file name components for automatic file naming
Re-added support for resizing multiple images through batch conversion
Improved the performance of scrolling captures in Microsoft Outlook emails
Fixed a bug where Snagit Editor would crash after uploading a video to You... See all new features