Utility that uses OSX-like keyboard shortcuts for screen captures in Windows?

September 12, 2007 9:22 AM

Best utility for taking screen captures (of user-defined areas, not just of active windows) on WinXP.

There are a ton of posts about screen captures and screen shots. I've also found software like Window Clippings and SnagIt through Google. However, I'm not sure if I've found the *perfect* utility yet, and I want to know if it's out there.

In Mac OSX, I've set up my Keyboard Shortcuts so that with command-shift-4 I get crosshaired mouse which can be used to define an area of the screen and save it as a JPEG to my desktop. (Note - some command-line tweaking necessary to change the file type to JPEG from the default PNG.) Also, command-control-shift-4 copies the defined area to my clipboard.

This is the exact behavior I'm looking for in a Windows XP utility. Free would be nice, but low CPU usage is a priority - don't want an average system to freeze up when this is activated along with lots of other stuff running. The behavior I'm describing is all I'm currently looking for, so lots of other bells and whistles aren't going to sway me much.

Am I on the right path with SnagIt? It seems like a big piece of software for what I'm trying to do... maybe I've just been spoiled by Apple. TIA.

posted by pants to computers & internet (9 comments total)

SnagIt will do what you need but yes you are paying for a few extra bells and whistles. I would go with SnagIt as you might need the functionality in the future.
posted by doorsfan at 9:42 AM on September 12, 2007

I use Screengrab, which is a Firefox addon (and might be a Greasemonkey thing, I don't know) where you can do the whole web page (scrolling and all), the visible part, and a part that you can select. It's most definitely free and works on my WinXP without killing the computer.
posted by sperose at 10:05 AM on September 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Snippy.
posted by bigmusic at 10:36 AM on September 12, 2007

Check out MWSnap (freeware). It has an "Any area" capture mode that does what you've described.
posted by mattybonez at 10:40 AM on September 12, 2007

I like SnagIt, but I usually just use Irfanview.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 11:43 AM on September 12, 2007

I like the Hypersnap. It's almost certainly not the hippest bleeding-edge coolest, but I've been using successive versions for like a decade and am very used to it -- it does what I want it to do without hassles.
posted by aught at 12:40 PM on September 12, 2007

I swear by Gadwin ScreenPrint
Press PrintScreen, choose the area required with your mouse and press return. Optionally, a JPEG or PNG file is saved, the image is copied to your clipboard and/or the highlighted area is printed. It's low footprint, quite free and I use it all the time.
posted by seanyboy at 4:07 PM on September 12, 2007

Irfanview is free and works well. http://www.irfanview.com/
posted by wordwhiz at 6:06 PM on September 12, 2007

Thanks for Gadwin Screenprint. It's just customizable enough to replicate the behavior I was used to on OSX.
posted by pants at 12:30 PM on October 11, 2007