Mac Users, Download the Skitch Beta Screen Capture Tool Immediately!
A. Tool bar -- Pencil, line, circle, rectangle, paint fill, eraser, text, and arrow tools
B. Brush size -- Resize the line thickness of the pencil, line, circle, and rectangle tools
C. Photos -- Easily access your iPhoto library or images stored elsewhere on your computer
D. Image Resizer -- Awesome! Easily resize your finished image by simply resizing the display window
E. File name & format -- Autonaming feature to easily name and save files. Use the 'drag me' link to drag a copy of your new file to the desktop
F. Webpost -- Click once to automatically upload image to your MySkitch online image gallery. Click once more to quickly share with friends or post to a website or blog
G. Color bar -- Choose your colors for the pencil, lines, circles, arrows, text, etc.
H. Snap -- Click to choose an area of the screen you want to copy into Skitch for editing
Skitch is one of the coolest tools for bloggers I've seen come along in a while. It's developed by Plasq, makers of the awesome ComicLife program I use to make many of the political cartoons and illustrations on Pollyticks.com.
Skitch is a screen capture tool that lets you capture areas of the screen you're looking at, whether they're application windows or images online, and then easily add text effects, arrows, captions, and other effects without the need for complex image editing programs like Photoshop. What's more, Skitch then lets you upload your image to your own online storage area (called MySkitch) where it's easy to share with friends or embed in a website or blog.
For now Skitch is in beta testing, and this little overview is of the free beta version, but I urge anyone to head on over to Plasq's website to sign up for the beta because this application is too helpful to wait for. The final retail version of Skitch is due soon and should cost around $20, but don't delay. See if you can download a copy of the free beta test version before they close the beta program to new testers.
What used to take 3-5 minutes using Photoshop, where I'd copy an area of the screen to the clipboard using the Mac shortcut keys (Apple+Ctrl+SHIFT+4) and then paste them into Photoshop for editing, now takes less than 1 minute to do using Skitch. On top of that, the results look great!
Among some of my favorite features are the easy resize tool (D above). You know how in Photoshop or other image editing programs, when you want to resize an image so it fits within the columns on your blog, or when you want to shrink a huge picture to send by email, it's a tricky process of balancing DPI (dots per inch) with the horizontal and vertical resolution, ala 640x480? Well, in Skitch, all you need to do is position your mouse pointer over the corners of the active window, click and drag the window to your desired size. That's it. Your image has officially been resized.
I also like the vector smoothing effect on the drawing tool (the pencil). When you draw shapes and symbols using the pencil tool in Skitch, the program automatically smoothes your lines, giving them a professional look. Trust me, it looks a lot better than the shaky lines I get when I usually try to draw something with a mouse.
TAGS: Tutorial, Skitch, Screen Capture, Image Editing, Photoshop, Digital Photography, Software, Review, Blogging, Tools, Tips
- June 23, 2007
Comments
Hi endless,
Skitch only sent me the one invitation, which I used to install the program. Don't know what to tell you. Maybe just add plasq.com to your list of sites to visit often and keep an eye out for the final release.
I'm betting it'll be released sometime this summer, so it shouldn't be long now. If I hear something I'll let you know.
Skitch only sent me the one invitation, which I used to install the program. Don't know what to tell you. Maybe just add plasq.com to your list of sites to visit often and keep an eye out for the final release.
I'm betting it'll be released sometime this summer, so it shouldn't be long now. If I hear something I'll let you know.
Thanks Maria,
That looks like a good option for Windows users (so far Skitch is only available for Mac).
Another trick I learned for Windows is if you press and hold the ALT key while tapping the SCRN PRT (Screen Print) key on the keyboard it will take a snapshot of just the active window instead of the entire screen.
That looks like a good option for Windows users (so far Skitch is only available for Mac).
Another trick I learned for Windows is if you press and hold the ALT key while tapping the SCRN PRT (Screen Print) key on the keyboard it will take a snapshot of just the active window instead of the entire screen.
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