A
Beginner's Guide to Screen Capture Software
What
are they?
SnagIt is an application that allows you to take a "snapshot"
of a computer screen. Screen captures make great visual aids
for presentations and web sites and are also valuable for instructional
purposes. Camtasia is another screen capture program that also
serves as an AVI video creator. Both programs are simple to
use and easy to learn.
SnagIt
In the upper left-hand corner lies the heart of the SnagIt application.
The red "capture" button is almost all you need to
know to start making screen captures. When the program opens,
it is automatically set to "image capture." This will
include everything you see on the screen, including the top
and bottom toolbars.
Capturing
an image
- Make
the screen look exactly as you would like the capture to look.
- Press
the red "capture" button on the SnagIt window.
- A new
window will open with a preview of your screen capture.
- At this
point, you can modify the image or format it for different
output destinations (printer, disk, e-mail, etc.).
Modifying
the image
- In the
preview window, select "SnagIt Studio" under the
"File" menu. Your image will open inside the SnagIt
Studio window.
- From
the menu on the left, you can select a variety of characters
and symbols to put on your image. Select the symbol you wish
to use and click the right mouse button. Select "copy,"
click on your image and paste the symbol. After pasting the
symbol, you can manipulate the size and location of the symbol
on the image.
- The
studio also features a built-in draw program so you can create
custom designs on your image or modify elements of the image.
Output
options
- As well
as sending your image to the printer, you have the option
of saving as a BMP file, or as a Web document. You can also
send it straight to the SnagIt Studio. You can also collect
a series of files created with SnagIt and incorporate them
into a video presentation. SnagIt has a studio feature that
allows you to annotate and label the screen shots you have
taken.
Other SnagIt
options include "text capture," for capturing text
in ASCII format. This can be used as a replacement for cutting
and pasting from one application to another. "Web capture"
can be used to collect all the images from a website. SnagIt
allows you to choose how much of the screen you wish to capture.
If you don't want toolbars to be visible in your capture, select
the "window capture" option. There is also an option
to make the mouse cursor invisible.
Camtasia
Like SnagIt, Camtasia is a screen capture program, but deals
with video as well as still images. Camtasia is divided into
three main functions: the recorder, the player and the producer.
You can capture video streamed from the web, or create your
own AVI format video from the action on your computer screen.
After recording, you can use Camtasia's producer feature to
edit and annotate your video.
Recording
and playback
- Click
"Record" on the Camtasia interface. You can record
the entire screen or a smaller area. If using the viewfinder,
position the window wherever the action will be taking place
on screen. When the viewfinder begins flashing, start whatever
actions you wish to capture. When you are finished, click
the "stop" button.
- When
you finish recording, the "Save As" dialog box will
automatically appear. Camtasia videos can be played back in
QuickTime, RealVideo or Windows Media formats.
Camtasia
Producer
- This
editing suite allows you to put together presentations with
the videos you made, as well as dub sound using the DubIt
application (included with Camtasia).
- To create
a new movie, choose "Produce Movie" from the File
menu. Give your project a name and click OK to return to the
work area.
- At the
top of the screen, you will see a black area with silhouettes
of film frames. Drag the AVI clips you created beforehand
into these areas from the thumbnail display area below. This
is the "storyboard."
- To edit
a clip, drag it into the display area on the lower right side
of the screen. Advance the cursor along the time strip below
to the point at which you wish to cut. Highlight the area
to be cut, and then choose "Remove from Movie" from
the Edit menu. When you are finished cutting from the clip,
choose "Add to Storyboard" from the File menu.
- When
you finish editing your movie, click "Produce Movie"
again. Camtasia will render the movie, creating the final
product.
For
free trial versions and product information about either program,
visit the company
web site.
