In search of a screen capture (and editing) tool for Mac

July 17 2008 03:00:12 PM Add/Read Comments [17]
As someone who creates a lot of graphically rich content (blog posts, emails, slides, etc), for years two of the main tools on my laptop have been Snagit and Camtasia.   This week I made the switch to Mac, and have really been struggling to find tools to get me back to what I was able to do before.

The screen capture tools that have been suggested to me include Skitch, Jing, SnapPro X, SnapNDrag, Screenflow, and a few more.  Yes, these do basic screen, menu, and even video capture, but I've yet to find one that has the editing tools I am used to.   Skitch it close, as it allows me to add text, arrows, resize images (but it is random, I can't do consistent %'s)

The things I miss so far are:
- The ability to capture a scrolling window (meaning all the content on a screen, even when scroll bars are shown)
- Edge and border effects (like the torn paper one I use all the time)
- An post capture editor that allows me to select part of an image, move it around, copy it, etc.

The tools above may do these things, and it is just a case of me not being as familiar with them as I am with SnagIt.   If anyone can offer some help, I'd appreciate it.
  1. Ben Poole
    1 | 7/17/2008 4:02:23 PM

    I use SnapNDrag and parcel editing off to ImageWell. Nice n easy. One thing I've not needed, but can understand, is the scrolling page thing. I think CaptureMe does that, but I wouldn't swear to it.

    WRT other tools, SnapNDrag has support for some companion products which allow cropping, framing, etc., directly from SnapNDrag. Jing offers a load of editing features too.

  2. Gregg Eldred
    2 | 7/17/2008 4:06:50 PM

    You should have titled this post "It's impossible to take useful screencaptures on a Mac" like Adam suggested. :-)

  3. Ben Poole
    3 | 7/17/2008 4:15:56 PM

    Snagit is definitely the best screen capture software I've seen. It will be interesting to see if a Mac version comes off:

    { Link }

  4. Adam Burrell
    4 | 7/17/2008 4:52:49 PM

    I'm a huge Snagit fan and have used it for years. While I haven't found anything comparable on the Mac yet, I do know that I've gotten some great mileage out of the native screen capture functionality. Have you explored that yet?

    Also, I know that you are mainly looking for individual images but if you ever need a great screencasting tool on your Mac, please look at ScreenFlow. Absolutely stunning. { Link }

  5. Adam Burrell
    5 | 7/17/2008 5:03:36 PM

    Here's a decent one named Constrictor { Link }

    The best I've seen for scrolling is SnapWeb. I haven't seen the new Leopard version but I imagine that it's going to give you most of what you want. { Link }

  6. MacDork
    6 | 7/17/2008 6:47:21 PM

    Try out Paparazzi -- it'll let you take a web page that's got a scroll bar and make a giant jpg out of it.

  7. skip
    7 | 7/18/2008 7:04:51 AM

    not sure what he uses, but Volker seems to have very crisp captures

  8. JNK
    8 | 7/18/2008 9:37:16 AM

    worth to mention captura will do the work too I use it all the time , ok it's under linux, but who cares ? and it's also available for MacOS

    http://www.hernansoft.com/screen_en_captura.html

    and free of course :-)

  9. Henry Ferlauto
    9 | 7/18/2008 10:41:04 AM

    If you want a Camtasia type replacement, check out Viewlet Builder from Qarbon ({ Link } They will have their latest version (6) out out for Mac soon. The previous version works on the Mac just fine.

  10. Ben Poole
    10 | 7/18/2008 11:05:39 AM

    @7 Last time I asked, Volker was using the same toolset as me, i.e. whatever for captures (Grab / SNapNDrag / AN Other) teamed with ImageWell for edits.

  11. Alan Lepofsky
    11 | 7/18/2008 1:04:56 PM

    Hi everyone. It is not the capture that is hard, there are tons of tools for that. It is the post-capture editing that I am struggling with. SnagIt rocked... I hope they come out with a Mac version soon!

  12. Tom P
    12 | 7/25/2008 2:48:19 PM

    I love SnagIt too. You might check out the Fireshot plugin for Firefox. (I'm guessing it works on Macs as well) It has an editor with many of the same features; just not in the same places.

  13. Alan Lepofsky
    13 | 7/25/2008 3:59:40 PM

    Damn, "FireShot is not available for MacOSX."

  14. Mike Dudding
    14 | 7/27/2008 11:37:32 PM

    Snapz Pro X works great for capturing screen object and is a decent screencsting tool. I have pretty much ditched it in favor of ScreenFlow. Hands down the easiest screen recording tool that I have used. Check out this review { Link }

  15. Joyce Davis
    15 | 7/29/2008 3:29:30 PM

    @Ben Poole Thanks for mentioning ImageWell! I just installed a trial version and it looks like it has most, if not all the functionality I'm looking for! It even has some additional features SnagIt lacked. (I also like how I can choose colors from a traditional, nerdy color palette OR from a....CRAYOLA box! That just makes me happy.) And it's only $20! Cool. I'll probably invest in ScreenFlow at some point, but for now, I think ImageWell is going to ease my PC to Mac transition considerably.

    @Alan Lepofsky Thanks for pointing me to this thread. Once again, you save the day. :-)

  16. Rob McDonagh
    16 | 9/17/2008 5:40:19 PM

    Hey Alan,

    This might be interesting for you. Still in "teaser" mode, but you may want to sign up to get notified when it's released:

    { Link }

  17. Alan Lepofsky
    17 | 9/29/2008 10:23:58 AM

    Thanks! I am looking forward to trying this out. I've emailed them a few times, talking about what features I hope they include. (basically, I need Snagit for Mac!!!)