Snagit, Camtasia Studio Review

Most computer users know that they can take a screenshot of the screen with a tap on the print key on their keyboard. And while that's sometimes all they need, it is often not the most comfortable or practicable solution. This is especially true if you only need a screenshot of a program window or part of the desktop. With print, you'd have to load the screenshot in an image editor to cut, edit and save it before you can add it to your content.
Screen capturing applications like SnagIt improve the process significantly. The program hijacks the print key functionality to provide users with powerful screen taking options. It is still possible to take a screenshot of the whole page, but also of a single window, a region on the screen, free hand, of scrolling windows or menus that are often hard to capture due to their auto closing. But SnagIt's functionality does not end here. Techsmith have added text and video capturing capabilities and many specialized modes and options to the program as well.
All-in-one is the main screenshot taking mode as it allows you to take all kinds of screenshots without switching to a specific capturing profile. You can use it to capture the whole screen, a window or a region. Sometimes though you may want to switch to another capturing mode which you can do in the main program window.
You can pick a mode from the profiles offered in the main interface, or from the Input dropdown menu presented under Profile Settings. Specialized modes, for instance to capture DirectX, full screen DOS or custom scrolling regions are available for selection. Output settings, effects and options are configured here as well. You can save screenshots directly to the system or on an ftp server, send it to the printer, attach it to an email, save it in the Clipboard or open it in the built-in editor.
Effects let you add borders, edge effects, captions or watermarks, or change the screenshot's dpi settings.
Options finally can be used to hide or display the mouse cursor on the screen, configure timed captures or preview the image in the editor.
New capturing profiles can be saved in the program. They appear under Profiles for quick selection.
Once configured, you take screenshots as fast as you would with the operating system's default print key feature.
Snagit Editor can be used to edit screenshots before they are saved to the system. The program supports basic image editing options that include cropping, resizing or cutting images, adding text or lines, but also specialized options that are highly useful in regards to screenshots. These include highlighting screen areas, blurring information, adding watermarks, and effects like shadows or borders.
SnagIt keeps track of all screenshots automatically in a library as long as they are not deleted on the system. This combined with the program's tagging improves the manageability of past screenshots.
The programs functionality does not end here though. You can install so called accessories that add functionality to the program. Accessories are available to instantly push screenshots to WordPress, Moveable Type or Type Pad blogs, to Skype, Flickr or Microsoft Office documents to optimize the workflow further.
SnagIt supports three additional capturing options. Text capture works like an OCR tool that reads text displayed in images or dialog boxes into text that you can copy and paste.
Web Capture allows you to capture all images that are displayed on a web page. You do however need to input the url directly to use the feature.
Video capture finally can be used to record screen activities. This is more or less a lightweight version of Techsmith's Camtasia screen recording and production software.
The module can record a single window, a region on the screen, or all of the desktop. It is optionally possible to include audio and the cursor movement in the video. Videos can only be saved as avi files.
Camtasia Studio
Camtasia Studio is to video recording what SnagIt is to screen capturing. The program is an all-in-one solution for all video capturing needs on the desktop. It supports recording video and audio off the screen. Options are provided to create full screen recordings, recordings of individual windows, regions of the screen or directly from a connected web cam.
Camtasia Recorder is the small frontend program that you can use to start captures with a single-click of the mouse.
The most important configuration options are listed in the program window. You can select the video and audio source, and configure the recordings in detail. One interesting option is the lock to application feature. This basically links a window to the recording with the effect that recording dimensions are automatically applied to the window (the window is automatically resized by Camtasia). That's useful if you want to record in a specific resolution.
Recorded videos are played in a preview window automatically once the capturing is stopped. Here it is possible to delete the video, save it as an avi file directly or send it to Camtasia Studio.
You can change the editing dimensions on the first screen in Camtasia Studio or keep the original size of the recording. Once done you can start editing and producing the video.
This includes adding additional clips to the video, cutting or splitting videos, adding callouts that highlight areas in the video, or making changes to the audio recording (volume leveling, voice optimization).
Additional features allow you to add captions, use the picture in picture option to display a smaller video in the video that you have recorded, record audio, transition effects, and to add title clips to the video.
Especially the option to record audio directly from within the editor is useful for users who like to create screencasts or tutorial videos. Instead of having to talk and demonstrate at the same time, it is now possible to capture the video first, and add the audio later on in the processing phase.
Feature Overview
- Record - Create video recordings of the screen, or part of it.
- Save videos in different formats and for different platforms (YouTube, Screencast.com, MP4, FLV, SWF, M4V, Avi, Silverlight comaptible WMV, Mov, RM, Animated Gif or MP3 audio only)
- PowerPoint plug-in
- SmartFocus - Keeps track of the action on the screen.
- Import media - import video clips, music animations into a project
- Speech to text feature to add captioning automatically. Option to import or export captioning files.
- Effects like transitions, title clips, cursor effects or callouts
Videos can be saved in various formats. Camtasia Studio supports saving videos for Blogs, YouTube, HD and DVD and mobile devices such as iPhones. Presets can be edited or created, which works similar to SnagIts profile feature.
Camtasia MenuMaker can be used to create menus to launch created videos automatically. This can be handy for video DVDs for instance.
Camtasia Theater finally allows you to combine multiple Camtasia Studio produced Flash files into a single web menu.
Verdict
SnagIt is a professional screen capturing software that leaves little to be desired. Workflows can be automated and optimized to an extend that the majority of comparable tools do not support.
Camtasia Studio can be used to create professional video screencasts, tutorials and demonstrations, and handles everything from the first second of recording to editing and production.
Both programs, despite their professional grade functionality, are easy to use and handle. Techsmith offers video instructions on their website for both programs.
Unrestricted 30-day trial versions are available for both programs on the developer website.
Giveaway
We have 4 SnagIt licenses and 2 Camtasia Studio licenses for this giveaway. Leave a comment below and let us know what you like to do with the programs if you win a license. Winners are then drawn from all comments.






@Martin Brinkmann: with all due respect, this is now such a basic function, esp. for people reading your articles, that this article is like explaining to the readers how to calculate 1+1.
Yes, I have to agree with this. I can’t imagine that there are many spreadsheet users who are computer literate enough to even casually read ghacks, but don’t know how to use a SUM function.
@Klass Vaak & Herman Cost
Ever thought that people might google it so this artice might show up in the search results. So..no it’s not useless. I think it’s a good strategy explaining stuff even if it’s just basic things. Every day there is a new user on the internet searching for this kind of tutorial.
@Malte: you make a good point, in principle. Nevertheless, nowadays telling people how to do a sum calculation, the simplest of the simple, in a spreadsheet is like teaching grandma to suck eggs.
If say an elderly person would be sitting in front of a spreadsheet wondering how to sum a number of cells, that person is unlikely to look it up on internet, but would ask one of her/his children.
And in any case, Ghacks is not a spreadsheet tricks and tips site, so it would not show up high in the ranking in a Google search.
I`m an elderly person. 71.
My experience in computers spans 50 years, focused on Unix internals, advanced degrees.
I look to the internet for answers, since my children hate me and wouldnt tell me “jack”, even if they knew the answer.
I dont know how to “suck eggs in principle”, or anything else for that matter. I’m retired and not interested in learning. Some other guy learned “the theory of sucking things.”
Never needed spreadsheets, always too darn busy. Thanks for this info. Now I know how to sum two cells.
Everyone starts somewhere.
I am an elderly person and I can use sum, sumif, sumifs and so on. My kids come to me for knowledge on how to use excel and other programs ;)
But then, I was in IT my entire career before I retired :)
There are basic sites, and there are advanced sites. GHacks used to be more for people with technical knowledge. You can’t be everything to everyone though that seems to be the trend these days. Since it’s all about clicks and click bait the wider the topics the more you can remain “relevant”…
However, that mentality tends to alienate the more technical people. I find myself spending less time here every month. It won’t be long before I stop coming here altogether.
I have no mobile or wireless technology.
Anything google or apple is insidious to me. And that accounts now for most of the content here.
As to this article. Avast, and all of their products are untrustworthy. There has been much controversy and negativity regarding their products. I would think a reputable site would be more careful in what they publish… err, sorry, advertise.
@Klaas Vaak: In Martin’s defense, it’s the day after Christmas, and some eggnog recipes pack a *real wallop*. Maybe we’re lucky he could type at all. ;-) More seriously, I don’t use Calc super-often, I typically type in the =SUM() function manually, and I’d actually *forgotten* where the Σ button is located in Calc. (The last time I was a heavy spreadsheet user, it was in an older version of Excel and I’m pretty sure the Σ button was somewhere on one of the “regular” toolbars.) So, the article actually did have a small payoff for me. Plus, there might be other intermediate or advanced users of other types of programs (graphics, audio, video, word-processing) who have never used a spreadsheet in their lives. It’s kind of hard to imagine, I know, but it’s possible.
You were not born with the knowledge you have now. You once had to learn too.
So get down off your high horse, grow up and show a little respect for others who need details.
Overall LO has become a good SW, what prevents me to use it is:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Development/Calc/XMLSource
“it will not store the information about the data source once the data is imported”
Until that functionality is implemented I’m forced to use M$ Office (2003).
@SpywareFan: an interesting alternative for M$ Office is Softmaker’s FreeOffice.
@Klaas Vaak
I have the Softmaker’s Free Office Suite in my computer – – and I LOVE IT!
intelligencia
In the FreeOffice manuals there is no reference to XML data mapping functions.
Another vote for Softmaker’s Free Office, a very nice alternative to MS Office.
Yes, I use functions in Calc: Average, Min and Max. I use the mouse to select the cells.
I don’t usually have to use Sum.
Thanks for the info, and could we have more tips for LibreOffice?
I find that the documentation does not keep up with the changes in LibreOffice.
Also, it is hard to find info in the help documentation.
Thanks Martin for all your great work you put in to make our live easier. Have a nice and healthy 2021.
To all those complaining about this being a simple ‘101’ function: it’s Martin’s blog, he can write a deep-dive review of Windows Calculator if he so wishes. Do you pay his salary or something?
@ShintoPlasm: yes, it is Martin’s blog, but it is a public blog with a comments section, which means he invites people to comment. And having been an avid reader for several years now, I am pretty sure Martin does not expect commenters to agree with him all the time.
You do not help him with agreeing with everything willy-nilly and “honouring” him with praise. Martin, like everyone else in the world, is not perfect, therefore he can only learn from constructive criticism.
Unfortunately you look at constructive criticism as a complaint. I do not agree with you on that and will keep making constructive criticism because I believe in keeping this website one of the best ones – refraining from constructive criticism won’t do that.
Absolutely. People could rather than leaving constructive criticism just stop visiting the site. How is that in the best interest of the site’s authors?
A new way to sum with the latest version is to place the cursor under the numbers to be summed, then press Alt-=, then ENTER.
The SUM function doesn’t work. It just keeps putting the same total no matter what figures I enter.
I would like to know how to make the sum function work. I know how it should work and it works in excel. But when I put the sum function in, it will not make changes when I edit and change the data, the total remains the same
Ditto, Marty. Everyone starts somewhere. Thanks.
Instead of being snarky, maybe you could be helpful. I’d like to add two numbers in a cell;
In Excel, it would be
=5+6
I try that in this piece of crap software, and get a message “Invalid value.”
I used Excel a lot when I was working. Retired now seven years. Excel was great, especially for macros. I now use LibreOffice, which works similarly but the macros are difficult in comparrison to Excel. I couldn’t find anything on macros for Free Office, which was disappointing, so I uninstalled it. I find Zoho to be the most similar to Excel but there you’re stuck with your spreadsheets in the cloud which I didn’t like.
Um… When was this article posted? The date says today (August 23, 2023), but I’m seeing comments from 3 years ago.
I was going to amuse myself and check out the comments for this Avast AV sponsored post since there were so many comments. I thought it funny since they have an article bashing the product in 2019.
What do I see when I go to the comments? Ghacks pulled an “Amazon” and replaced an article on Excel SUM functions with a sponsored post to make it look like a good article.
Anyone and everyone who even has a clue about tech knows that Avast is utter garbage and focuses on spying on you and spamming you with ads these days. Just check out the bad article from 2019 on this very site! If you run Windows 10/11, you already have better antivirus than Avast built-in to Windows.
@graham
surely more importantly is why an ad for dodgy anti-virus has the whole thread on office suites instead.. something in the db is messed up.
On a slight tangent, does foobar2000 have a built in lyrics plug in? I mostly used Linux and Deadbeef, the closest alternative to Foobar there has a very old(and kinda broke) plug in.
If you want news then add this line in uBlock Origin:
ghacks.net##.hentry,.home-posts,.home-category-post:not(:has-text(/Martin Brinkmann|Mike Turcotte|Ashwin/))
@News filter,
> ghacks.net##.hentry,.home-posts,.home-category-post:not(:has-text(/Martin Brinkmann|Mike Turcotte|Ashwin/))
Thanks for the useful information.
Added line to My filters in uBlock Origin.
Magnificently,
I was able to clean up “all articles” by other authors on the Ghacks site.
It’s refreshing to be able to see only useful articles (instead of being buried among inferior articles) by clearing out the obtrusive articles.
Important note: changing policies through the program doesn’t save them automatically. You need to hit Ctrl+S (or go to File > Sve Policies)
What silly click bait article. Even the actual article is ridiculous.
“The launch of HarmonyOS for PC could pose a serious threat to Windows.”
Who cares what people in China use.
Don’t do drugs before working maybe.
What’s next? Look up the biggest Android fork in China and write pointless long article about it how it’ll take over Google’s Android.
HarmonyOS and Excel comments are mixed up.
HarmonyOS is not an open-source OS, only partially components.
P.S.
What is happening with these comments from other articles?
this is funny. it looks like the same base article, comments and all has been repurposed and edited or something for 3 (or more) different articles.
started off as something for some office suite… and then it was some antivirus thing.. and now it’s some iffy os.
wtf is that writer doing? no one reads or comments on the ad articles and he has to reuse old ones to make it look like it’s getting traction? (though it shows up as 0 comments on the homepage, so that can’t be it?)
“HarmonyOS does not have Google. Huawei’s HarmonyOS is a proprietary operating system..”
vs
“HarmonyOS is open-source, which means that it can be customized by developers and manufacturers.”
Both are quotes from the article. So which one is it, open source or proprietary?
Without windows-based videogames able to run, it’ll stay niche.
Huawei better put serious money into a harmonyOS port of Wine, DXVK or Proton if it wants its machine being more than web browsing thin clients.
I won’t trust a foreign OS.
Deeply foreign, I meant. In so many ways.
“I won’t trust a foreign OS.”
You trust Microsoft Windows, Google Android and Apple operating systems just because they are from businesses in your country ? Talk about blind nationalism.
Do not forget also that there is a world outside of USA and that for most of human beings, your favorite operating systems are also of a foreign origin, and as hostile towards them as they are towards yourself.
HAHAHAHA – did you really say “it could pose a serious threat to Microsoft’s Windows operating system”?
It won’t run programs or real games, so it will be useless.
I mean, there are some people who apparently love using tablets and phones for everything, but mostly are people who will barely do anything with their brain in life.
I mean, even if Photoshop, and others are available for iPad, do people think iPad is a threat for windows? not really, maybe for useless consumers who will just, like with a phone, be happy and move on, but not for professional industries which are the ones who matter the most, because are the ones who generate more revenue, since they buy the most expensive hardware and software.
Nothing consumer computing related really makes much money, unless it is data from users that get sold for AI or Ads.
Who knows where this comment is going to wind up. It’s in response to the article about Huawei’s HarmonyOS (HOS) operating system.
Two places in the article it says HOS is open-source. One place the article says HOS is proprietary. Uh, I’m pretty sure it can’t be both. Which is it? If there’s some fine distinction, somebody needs to explain it.
After all of these issues with Ghacks articles and misplaced postings, I’m reminded of this
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/10/07/ghacks-has-a-new-owner-and-that-is-a-good-for-everyone/
@vanp,
Note: I replied to you on September 6, 2023 at Around 2:20 pm, but it was still remain blocked after more than half a day, so I replaced the quoted URI scheme: https:// with “>>” and reposted.
The current ghacks.net is owned by “Softonic International S.A.” (sold by Martin in October 2019), and due to the fate of M&A, ghacks.net has changed in quality.
>> ghacks.net/2023/09/02/microsoft-is-removing-wordpad-from-windows/#comment-4573130
Many Authors of bloggers and advertisers certified by Softonic have joined the site, and the site is full of articles aimed at advertising and clickbait.
>> ghacks.net/2023/08/31/in-windows-11-the-line-between-legitimate-and-adware-becomes-increasingly-blurred/#comment-4573117
As it stands, except for articles by Martin Brinkmann and Ashwin, they are low quality, unhelpful, and even vicious. It is better not to read those articles.
>> ghacks.net/2023/09/01/windows-11-development-overview-of-the-august-2023-changes/#comment-4573033
By the way, if you use an RSS reader, you can track exactly where your comments are (I’m an iPad user, so I use “Feedly Classic”, but for Windows I prefer the desktop app “RSS Guard”).
RSS Guard: Feed reader which supports RSS/ATOM/JSON and many web-based feed services.
>> github.com/martinrotter/rssguard#readme
Regarding “Huawei’s HarmonyOS” you asked about, the developer has stated that it is planning to open source, however the actual situation has been shelved (no such movement).
HarmonyOS – Wikipedia
>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HarmonyOS
Therefore, it is “proprietary software”.
Moreover, both the company and its production base are in China. China, Russia, Israel, etc. are “Authoritarian state” and products and companies based in those countries are under state control, and privacy policies can become “famous and innocent.” Those products should be avoided.
Correction of sentence
Before correction: “famous and innocent.”
After correction: “nominal name only titular.”
owl, thanks again for the great info.
HarmonyOS doesn’t run Windows apps. It is no threat to Windows.
I agree.. i bet it cant even run wallpaper engine, it probably has the worst compatibility with software.
iam vary satisfied this work
http://crackscoop.com
ah, wonderful, this message/article cross-posting hasn’t been fixed.
Ignore my comments.