Greenshot for Windows

Free screenshot tool

Greenshot is a light-weight open-source screenshot tool that allows users to capture fully or a selection of your window. More than that, it supports the complete capture of web pages from Internet Explorer. A free utility app, it also allows you to annotate, highlight, and obfuscate parts of the screenshots. It is also easy to save screenshots as the program allows saving or exporting of captured screens. 

Greenshot at a glance

Most computers have their built-in screen capture app. However, its function is pretty much basic. If you want to do some editing, you need to copy the captured image to an image editor. Greenshot aims to solve this by providing you with the necessary tools that you need. Using the app is effortless. It just takes a few minutes to install and launch it. The app has four preset hotkey combinations that you can use to capture images.

You can use the Impr keys to capture and share, the Shift + Impr to select the region, Alt + Print for recording active window, and Ctrl + Impr to capture the full screen. All of these hotkeys are configurable, so you have the option to customize them. To capture your screens, you only need to choose the area, hold down the mouse button, and drag the active area.

The image you selected turns green momentarily to let you know which areas are to be captured. Then, the app produces a camera shutter sound, indicating that your image is captured. Once you have taken the shot, you can embellish it with arrows, text, and whatnot. Greenshot allows you to preset your screenshots in various formats, including JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG. You will also have the option to configure the app to save your images directly to the clipboard or send them to the printer. 

Plugins and features

As mentioned, Greenshot comes with a built-in image editor. In this feature, you can add effects, texts, and objects to your captured images. There is also an option to resize, crop, and rotate them. Additionally, the image editor also lets you draw freehand on them. However, what makes Greenshot ahead of its competitors is its support for various plugins. From the app's installation wizard, you can choose from a variety of plugins to install.

Among those you can install are Office programs and photo sites like Picasa and Flickr. Doing so will enable you to easily export your captured images. Greenshot also boasts an extensive and impressive settings menu. You can set the app to open when the Windows start. You can also set it to stick to the system tray when not in use. More than that, you can choose to set a variety of hotkeys for specific jobs. 

In addition, there are features such as the Destination tab and the Export tab. The destination tab lets you configure the destination of your captured image. You can stick to the default setting or designate specific options, such as saving directly to your storage, open the file in the image editor, or export them to your Office apps. The Expert tab, on the other hand, enables options like checking for unstable updates or specifying printer footer patterns. 

Impressive tool

Considering things, Greenshot is an efficient app that you can use to create screenshots. The app is easy enough to understand, so you don’t need to spend considerable time learning how it works. Moreover, its controls are configurable, allowing you to personalize them. It also supports plugins and comes with built-in features, so you can edit your screenshots. All in all, it is a pretty impressive tool that you can use for free.