Features Overview
Why use it?
Description
Installation
What's New
Capture Methods
Slide Strip
Auto Save Features
Annotations
Leader Lines
Cropping
Transparency
Changing Image Color
Capture Shapes
Tool Strip Buttons
Context Menu
Image Editing Tools
Slide Show Tool

Capture View 5.6

Take a high quality screen capture of anything on your PC screen!

Rated five stars by users and reviewers a like. Editors write that it is "The definitive screen capture tool..." and that "...best of all, it's completely free!" CNET editors write, "Capture View is the most versatile and capable screen capture tool we've ever used. The fact that it's free makes it a no-brainer; it blows the competition off the screen."

"This is a really cool program, its like looking through a picture window when you take and want to take a screen shot. Plus it allows you to take and adjust the size of the screen shot you want to take by stretching the window to any size you desire from full screen to a thumbnail size. In my opinion this is a fantastic program. Have tried a few others and still use 1 of them BUT I think I just found my NEW favorite screen capture Program. Many thanks to the developers of this software and will recommend this program to anyone looking for a EASY and simple screen shot program. And can't believe such slick program is free get now and you won't be disappointed with all the cool things you can do with it."

Why use a Screen Capture Program?

Tired of the print screen button? Everybody is! Now there is something better!

Customers are finding new ways to use it every day. Do you have an idea or vision that you need to communicate but can't find the words to do it justice? Take a screen capture, add some text, paste it into an email, and send it on its way. It's that easy! Stop using the old print screen button and start using the only screen capture program you will ever need.

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Capture, edit, display, manage and share high quality screen captures using Capture View. You can use a screen capture to organize images, speed up the creation of presentations, web pages, emails instructional documents, brochures, catalogs, repair manuals, engineering documents. You can use it to improve communications, teach, even answer questions. You can use it to perform basic image editing, view slide show presentations, browse photos, and much more. The list goes on and on!

Capture View is a unique software program. The main window is transparent. It is like looking through a camera lens. Anything displayed on your computer screen, whether it be an application window, document, image or icon, can be captured! When the screen capture button is selected, a snap shot or capture will be taken similar to the way a camera would work. All screen captures, in addition to be automatically saved, are automatically copied to your computers "clipboard" and made available to all your applications for immediate use.

Take a Screen Capture of anything and everything on your PC screen! Screen Capture desktops, custom or default regions, running apps whether shown, partially shown, completely hidden, even minimized. Screen Capture virtual screens, even those hard to capture menus, pop-ups, and pull downs. Screen Capture images in grayscale or color. All captures are automatically saved as well as sent to the clipboard for immediate use in other applications.

Capture View has a simple, easy-to-use and intuitive interface. Select your capture method, click the capture button. It is that simple! An additional capture button is located on the system tray allowing you to take snap shots even when Capture View is not shown. You can even use a keyboard hot key Alt+Q to take captures and snapshots. Check out the timer delay! If you need to capture a contextual menu or other difficult item, simply set the timer delay, click the capture button, go to the application that has the menu or item you wish to capture and bring it up. Then you wait. After the designated delay, Capture View will automatically take a snap shot. Choose from numerous image formats: png, bmp, jpg, tiff, gif.

Do you need more advanced editing? Just double click the capture image and it will open in your default image editor. Capture View has several image display tools: the Slide Show Tool/Photo Browser, Wallpaper Tool, and the handy slide strip. Capture View includes a powerful Batch Processing Tool for automatically resizing and watermarking entire folders with one click of the mouse.

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What's new in Capture View 5.6!

Oops! I had a few bugs in the last release.

Well, I had to fix a few bugs in the last release. The grayscale and timer captures did not work. They are both working as designed now. Also, several of the image edit menu items, such as inverting the image colors and turning them semi-transparent, were not working correctly. They have also been fixed.

I have also added the ability to perform image edits, such as transparency or grayscale conversions, after annotation boxes have been added. Previous versions were not able to do so.

What's new in Capture View 5.5!

There is so much still left to improve. Please consider donating in order to help improve Capture View. Don't forget to also share your thoughts on Capture View's facebook page. I need your input to make Capture View better. Thanks.

Finally! a new version of Capture View. It has been a long time since I last updated it. Installation of the new version is simple and straight forward. No need to uninstall the old version. Just unzip the downloaded file and run the setup file. It's that easy. I have fixed several installation issues, including an updated desktop shortcut icon and a Capture View entry in your user program list.

Now to what is new in this version.

1. The major change in this version is the ability to attach leaders and leader arrows to annotation and highlight boxes. Follow these steps. After you have captured an image, create a text box or highlight box. You then right click the annotation box and select 'Add Leader' from the context menu. Currently you can only add a leader to the left or to the right side of the box. Once the leader(s) are created be sure to select the 'Save Image Edit' button on the main toolbar. You can select the leader arrows and reposition them. You can also move the box around and the leaders will dynamically update.

2. You will also notice the addition of a donation button on Capture Views main toolbar. I simply cannot support Capture View anymore without a few donations from those of you who use it. There is a long list of updates and new features planned that simply cannot be implemented in a timely manner. Donations will help.

3. I also made extensive 'under the hood' changes to the main toolbar in this version which will be the foundation for a toolbar that the user will be able to customize in future releases. I have also removed several buttons from the toolbar. These buttons can now be found either in the 'File' menu or in the 'Context Menu'.

4. A few other minor changes were made to some of the menu items and, of course, a few bugs were also fixed.

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Capture Methods

The default capture method and the one most commonly used is the 'Window' capture method.

The screen capture button is similar to a camera's button. When selected, a snap shot or capture will be taken using the selected method. The screen capture button can be set to take snap shots using any of several available methods. Two useful ways of taking captures is through the use of the timer function and the keyboard hot key Alt+Q.

1. Alt+Q Hot Key: The keyboard hot key (Alt+Q) can be used to take screen captures without the need for Capture View to be visible. When the key combination is selected on the keyboard, a screenshot is made using the currently selected capture method and automatically saved to the clipboard as well as to the selected Auto Save folder on Capture Views main toolbar.

2. Active Application: When the screen capture button is set to Active Application a capture will be made of whatever application has focus. This capture method can only be taken through the use of the keyboard hot key Alt+Q

3. Window Capture: This is the default capture method. All screen captures will be of whatever is currently visible in the transparent area of Capture View's main window.

4. Desktop Capture: all screen captures will be of the entire desktop excluding the taskbar.

5. Screen Capture: all screen captures will be of whatever is viewable on your computer screen including the taskbar.

6. Virtual Desktop Capture: if a second monitor is attached, all screen captures will be of screen of the second monitor.

7. Application Method: all screen captures will be of the selected application, even if it is partially displayed or completely minimized.

8. Default Window Method: all screen captures will be of whatever is currently viewable in the users predifined region of the desktop.

9. Directory Capture: When the Directory option is selected a screen capture will be made of the selected folder or directory. All the contents will be copied as a list to the clipboard and made available to other applications.

10. Web Page Captures: There are two methods available for capturing web pages--the default method and the alternate method. The alternate method is this most reliable and will capture all web pages. The default method is simpiler, but does not successfully capture some websites such as Yahoo and Ebay. The choice of capture methods is yours, simply select the method you want from the type pull down. Both methods will take captures of the full length web page without the need for an open browser or the need to scroll down the page.

In order to take a capture, first select one of the two web page methods from the type pull down. After selecting a method, the web page address pull down box and the web address management button will appear in the toolbar. At this point you can either paste directly into the pull down a web page address, or select a saved address from the pull down. Then you simply hit the capture button. Keep in mind, if you use the default method, you may have some pages that do not successfully capture. If so, use the alternate method.

You can also save web addresses. This allows you to simply select an address from a list of saved addresses for future captures. After selecting one of the two available web page capture methods, the web address management button will appear. Select the button and you will be presented with a window where you can add and delete web addresses from your saved list.

11. Gray Scale: all screen captures will automatically be converted to gray scale.

12. Timer Delay Feature: all screen captures, regardless of method, will be taken on a timer delay. Useful for menus, pop-ups and pull downs.

13. Hide Main Window: When selected the main window will be completely hidden, including from the windows task bar. The only way to take captures while the main window is hidden is through the system tray icon or the hot key. You can unhide Capture View by right clicking the system tray icon and unchecking this menu item.

The next group of options are not really Capture Methods but rather additional image processing performed automatically after the capture is taken.

1. Change Background Color: See the section below on 'Changing Image Colors' for an explanation of this option.

2. Transparent Background: See the section below on 'Transparency' for an explanation of this option.

3. Semi-Transparent Background: See the section below on 'Transparency' for an explanation of this option.

4. Semi-Transparent Image: See the section below on 'Transparency' for an explanation of this option.

5. Transparent and Semi-Transparent: See the section below on 'Transparency' for an explanation of this option.

6. Invert Image Color: See the section below on 'Changing Image Colors' for an explanation of this option.

7. White to Black: See the section below on 'Changing Image Colors' for an explanation of this option.

8. Keep Black Only: See the section below on 'Changing Image Colors' for an explanation of this option.

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Slide Strip

Use the slide strip to quickly review and search for previous screen captures.

Each time a screen capture is taken a slide is created and put into the slide strip. You can open and close the slide strip by selecting the 'slide strip' button on the main toolbar.

Once the slide strip is open, you can scroll through previous Screen Shots. Selecting a slide with the mouse will load that image and automatically copy the selected slide image to the clipboard. You can modify the image or add annotations to it, just be sure to select the 'Save Image Edits' button on the toolbar if you want to save your changes.

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Auto Save Features

Auto Save folders are a great way to perserve and organize your screen captures. For example, a great way to organize your screen captures is to create seperate Auto Save Folders for each project. Use them whenever you can!

Let's discuss the Auto Save Folders. The default Auto Save folder is called 'Temp'. This folder and any folders you create are located in your 'My Documents' folder under 'Capture View\Resources'. If the 'Temp' folder is selected all your captures will be 'TEMPORARILY' save to this folder. I stress the word 'TEMPORARILY'. When Capture View closes all captures stored in the 'Temp' folder will be deleted! So if you want to save your screen shots for later, create a permanent folder and make sure it is selected in the drop down before you start taking snap shots.

1. How do you create Auto Save Folders. You can either select the Auto Save Options button and then select 'Manage Auto Save Folders' or you can select the Auto Save Folder pull down and then pick 'Add New Folder'. This will bring up a small window where you can create or delete Auto Save Folders.

2. Delete Temp Files on Close. As mentioned previously, all captures stored in the 'Temp' folder will be automatically deleted when Capture View closes. You can disable this behavior by unchecking the Auto Save Option 'Delete Temp Files on Close'.

3. You can change the image extension that Auto Save will use to save your captures. The default is '.PNG' and this can be found in the Auto Save Options.

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Annotations

Quickly annotate your captures with text, highlight boxes, and leaders. This is a great way to communicate ideas and thoughts with others.

Please read this section carefully, there is a lot to discuss. In this section we will discuss how to create annotations, highlight boxes, and leaders. Annotations are simply a highlight box with text.

Known Bug...While working with boxes and leaders you may come accross a situation where the two boxes or leaders will viusal clip each other so that it appears the box or leader is no longer visible. DON'T worry though, when the 'Save Image Edits' button is selected on the toolbar the image will be correctly generated. The clipped portions of the boxes or leaders will show in the processed image.

1. Creating Boxes: First you create a capture. Once a screen capture is made, create a box by left clicking the image with your mouse and dragging. As you drag a visual representation of the box will be shown, and when you release the mouse button the box will be created.

2. Saving Your Boxes: Make sure you save your annotations. Boxes and annotations can be save and then at a later date pulled up and modified. So, after changing annotations or adding boxes select the 'Save Image Edit' button on the main toolbar. Changes to annotations are not automatically saved, so you must select this button.

3. Adding Text to Your Boxes: You add text to boxes by opening the 'Panel Properties' window, and entering your text. You can open the 'Panel Properties' window several different ways. The easiest is to make sure the mouse is over the box you want to add text to and that the box has focus. Then simply start typing. This will cause the 'Panel Properties' window to automatically open. You can also right click the box and select the 'Panel Properties' menu item. The third way is to select the small black arrow in the upper right of the box. This will open the properties window.

You can change the font type, style, size, and color in the properties panel. You text can also be aligned both horizontally and vertically in the box by using the properties panel.

4. Moving Boxes: Move a box by left clicking inside the box and while holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse. The box will move with the mouse.

5. Resizing Boxes: Resize a box by left clicking on one of the resizing symbols and, while holding the left mouse button down, drag the mouse. When the mouse button is released, the box will be resized.

6. Deleting Boxes: Boxes can be deleted in two ways. The first is by pressing the keyboard 'Delete' key while the box is selected. The second way is by right clicking the box and selecting 'Delete' from the context menu.

7. Changing Box Shapes: Box shapes can be changed two ways. The first way is by selecting or activating the box and then pressing one of the shortcut keys ('R' = Rectangle with rounded corners, 'T' = Rectangle with square corners, 'C' = Circle, 'E' = Ellipse). The second way is by using the properties panel.

8. Changing Box Transparency: Box opacity (transparency) can be adjusted from totally transparent to no transparency at all. You can adjust the transparency in two ways. First, make sure the box is selected and then press the up and down arrow keys to adjust the opacity. The second way is to right click the box and pull up the properties panel.

9. Rounded Corners (Rectangular Boxes): Rounded corners can be adjusted by selecting the box and pressing the left or right arrow keys, or through the properties panel for that box.

10. Borders: Borders can be added to or removed from boxes either by making sure the box is selected and using the shortcut key 'B' or by right clicking the box and checking or unchecking border on the context menu.

11. Box Background Color: Background color can be adjusted using the properties panel.

12. Text Transparency: This is a great way to make watermarks. The text can be made varying degrees of transparent through the properties panel. All you would then need to do in order to make a watermark is to turn the box borders off and set the box transprency so that only the text is visible.

13. Box Shortcut Keys: 'D' = delete box, 'R' = change shape to rectangle with rounded corners, 'T' = change shape to rectangle with square corners, 'C' = change shape to circle, 'E' = change shape to ellipse, 'B' = toggle box borders on and off, 'Up Arrow' = increase transparency, 'Down Arrow' = decrease transparency, 'Right Arrow' = increase corner radius, 'Left Arrow' = decrease corner radius.

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Leaders

Adding leaders can make sharing ideas and communicating easier. All of the leaders in the above images were made using Capture View.

1. Adding Leaders to Boxes: After you have captured an image, create a text box or highlight box. You then right click the annotation box and select 'Add Leader' from the context menu. Currently you can only add a leader to the left or to the right side of the box. Once the leader(s) are created be sure to select the 'Save Image Edit' button on the main toolbar. You can select the leader arrows and reposition them. You can also move the box around and the leaders will dynamically update.

Although not shown here, one common way of using leaders is to attach a leader to a box and then hide the box border and make the box background transparent. All that would remain is the text with a leader attached to it.

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Cropping

Cropping images has never been easier. You can crop an image into one of four shapes: Circle, Ellipse, Rectangle, and a Rectangle with corners.

In order to crop a screen capture, first take a screen capture of the general area that you want. Then create a box (see above on how to create boxes). Once the box is made you can then change the shape and size of the box to the area you want cropped. Once all this is done, simply select the crop capture icon in the upper left corner of the box.

Once the crop capture is take an image of the crop in the shape you chose is placed onto your clipboard as well as placed onto the slide strip. You can move the cropped image around by simply moving the box that it is in.

At this point you can also save the cropped image into the larger captured image by selecting the 'Save Image Edits' button on the main toolbar. You can create intersting composited images this way.

Using the box transparency you can also make the cropped image transparent as well. Notice the images here. The cropped image can be saved seperatly, or as a composited image. Also notice that some of the composited cropped images are transparent.

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Transparency

Transparency and Opacity is a great way to improve the look of your presentations. The below image created in Capture View is a great example. Here we have a semi-transparent image overlayed on top of a normal image.

Before we get into the how, let's talk about transparent images. Transparent images are normal images but with an 'alpha' channel. This alpha channel determines how transprent each pixel will be and is supported only in images using the '.PNG' format. Unfortunately, Microsoft's clipboard does not accept transparent images (at least in XP), so instead of an actual image file placed onto the clip board, Capture View places a file path instead. Most programs will paste the image in from the clipboard without any problem.

There are several things to keep in mind while using semi-transparency in Capture View. Similar to transparent images, semi-transparent images can only be supported using the .PNG file format. The .PNG file format is recognized by most all programs today. Also, although Capture View can display transparent images (allowing you to see through the image to what lies underneath Capture View), Capture View cannot display Semi-Transparent images. So, Capture View will represent the semi-transparent pixels with a specified transparency color. This color can be changed in the settings panel. In order to see the semi-transparent image you will need to open the file or paste it into another application such as Microsoft Power Point.

There are a variety of ways to make a captured image or a portion of a capture image transparent.

The most common way to create Transparency in screen captures is to use the eye dropper in the main toolbar. Before you can do this though, you have to first take a normal screen capture. Once you do, the eye dropper tool will be enabled.

REMEBER to save you transparent eye dropper changes using the 'Save Image Edits' button on the main toolbar. Otherwise you will loose all your changes. The changes are not put on the clipboard untill you hit this button

1. Transparent: Use the eye dropper to select a color in the captured image that you want to make transparent, for example the background color of the image below. All pixels with that color will be made transparent allowing you to 'see through' the image to what is underneath. This is useful, for example when creating presentations and you want to overlay one image on top of another image. Look at the example below. The background color was made completely transparent using the eye dropper. This is how the above image was made.

2. Semi-Transparent Color: All screen shots will be made normally except that the selected eye dropper color will be made semi-transparent allowing you to both see the capture image as well as allowing you to see through the image to what lies underneath.

3. Semi-Transparent and Transparent: All screen shots will be made normally except that the selected eye dropper color will be made transparent while all remaining pixels will be made semi-transparent allowing you to both see the capture image as well as allowing you to see through the image to what lies underneath.

4. Semi-Transparent Image: All screen shots will be made normally except that the entire image (all pixels) will be made semi-transparent allowing you to both see the capture image as well as allowing you to see through the image to what lies underneath.

5. Remaining Pixels Semi-Transparent: All pixels in the screen capture that are not already transparent or semi-transparent will be made semi-transparent.

6. Changing Opacity Level: The Opacity Level drop down allows you to change the 'Semi-Transparency' value. This tells you how transparent each pixel will be when using the eye dropper.

All of the above eye dropper features can be done automatically at the time of the capture using the Capture Methods listed in the above section on 'Catpure Methods'.

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Changing Image Color

Like transparency, changing color is a great way to improve the look of your presentations. The below image created in Capture View is a great example. The shown background is changed to gray.

Changing image color using the eye dropper works much the same way as the transparency dropper.

The most common way to create color changes in screen captures is to use the eye dropper in the main toolbar. Before you can do this though, you have to first take a normal screen capture. Once you do, the eye dropper tool will be enabled.

Unlike the transparent eye dropper though, you have to select a color that the eye dropper will use as a replacement color. The default is white. You can change this on the main toolbar.

REMEBER to save you color eye dropper changes using the 'Save Image Edits' button on the main toolbar. Otherwise you will loose all your changes. The changes are not put on the clipboard untill you hit this button

1. Color: all screen captures will be made normally, except that the target color will be made white or any other color that you select. See the below example where the background color was changed to gray.

2. Invert Image Color: All screen captures will be made normally except that all colors in the image will be inverted.

3. White to Black: All white pixels in the screen capture will be turned black while all the remaining colors will be turned white.

4. Keep only Black: All color pixels except for black will be turned white. Below is an example of a screen capture with the 'Keep only Black' option.

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Capture Shapes

You can easily change the shape of your screen captures from circular to elliptical to square.

In order to create a screen capture that is in a different shape than the standard rectangle you need to first take a normal snap shot. Once this is done use a box to crop the image into the shape you want. See the above section on 'Cropping' for how to do this.