It’s a common requirement to have to take a screenshot of something on your computer in order to illustrate a program or document something online. The easiest way to capture screenshots has been the PrintScreen key on your keyboard. However, it only takes the screenshot and copies it to the clipboard. You need an additional image editing program to actually edit and save the screenshot.
On the other hand, if you want to make a really visual tutorial of something you’re doing on your desktop, you might need to record the activity of your desktop. You may even want to add your voice to the background of it. None of this is possible by default in a Windows machine.
Today, I’ll talk about an interesting little software that does both the jobs in the easiest way. You can capture screenshots or record a screencast with your voice input in just two clicks!
Jing
Jing is a free software that helps you take better screenshots and screencasts. It does have a paid version, too, with additional features, but the free version allows you to do so much that you may actually never want to go for a pro account for personal purposes. Once installed and run, it always sits on your desktop, using very little computer resources.
As an added bonus, Jing not only takes a screenshot but also uploads it to its own server in the blink of an eye. So you never have to worry about uploading them somewhere on the internet.
Installing Jing
Click this link and download the Jing free version. Once done, run the installer.
Upon finishing the installation, Jing will show you an interactive video showing you the process of how Jing works on your desktop. Basically, this video covers everything you need to know about Jing.
Setting up an Account
You do need an account to log into Jing. If you’re using Jing for the first time, you should sign up first before Jing runs on your computer. Signing up is easy and does not require you to open your browser.
Jing on Desktop
Now that Jing is installed and you have just created an account for Jing, you will see a little sun on the top of your desktop. Hovering your mouse pointer on it reveals three options. You’ll be needing the first one to capture screenshots or record a screencast.
Taking a Screenshot
Whenver you want to take a screenshot or screencast, just click the first Capture button and drag-and-choose the region of the desktop that needs to be captured (either as video or image).
As an added bonus and a great time-saver, if you want to take a snap of or record activity of an application or anything else that is not maximized, hovering your mouse pointer on the window grays out the desktop and focuses on the current window area automatically without you having to drag and choose the area of that window.
When the region is selected, simply click the capture image button to take a screenshot of that area and directly go to the editing panel.
The first button here is the capture image button. Once clicked, the editing window will open up where you can highlight areas, add text, draw rectangles, draw angles and more.
Capturing Screencasts
Just after selecting the area to be recorded, click the second button to start recording the activity of that area. On the first run, you’ll be asked to set up your Mic in case you want your voice to be recorded as well. Before the recording continues, you’ll see a countdown to get yourself ready for the shot!
Sharing
Whenever your screenshot or screencast is ready, you can share them on the web. You can directly upload them to Jing’s server and the link will be copied to your clipboard so that you can send it to a friend in an instant.
Conclusion
Jing is a super simple application that makes taking screenshots and screeencasts pretty easy. I definitely recommend checking it out.
