Shotty : Tiny Little But Amazing Screenshot Utility For Windows
Whether it’s Windows’ Snipping Tool or just the PrintScreen key and copying and pasting it into paintshop, some people seem content using the old fashioned screen capturing tools that come built into Windows when they want to create a screenshot of what’s on their screen. But these built-in Windows apps are very limited for those who expect more options. If you’re looking for a good free app with extra features that gives you the versatility and options needed to make quality screenshots, Shotty is definitely a must-have screen capture tool in your Windows arsenal.
Shotty editing tools can be utilized by either using a hotkey feature on your keyboard or clicking on the icon in the Windows system tray. The latter is also where you can right click the icon to open the context menu that gives you many ways to configure Shotty’s settings.
One of the most noteworthy features Shotty offers is that it works with the Aero Glass effects in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, which allows the user to take screenshots in HQ. It also provides the option of taking shots of the entire screen or selected regions, and even has a time delay option.
Other features include:
• Textmark – allows you to highlight regions on your screenshot by selecting both the color and area you want highlighted on your screen.
• Diffuser – gives you the option of blurring out detailed regions, which might include images or text with sensitive information or inappropriate content.
• Text – allows you to insert text into a region of your screenshot in a variety of fonts and styles, including the ability to blur the color around the text to increase clarity and contrast to the text.
• Crop – no option would be complete in the editing process without the ability to precisely crop the areas you want from those you don’t want.
Each screenshot is automatically loaded into an image editor for simple customization, where you can add text annotations, draw rectangles, use the diffuser to hide content, add textmarks, crop parts of your screenshot and then save it to your desktop or clipboard to add to other applications. Shotty makes it possible to save it as a jpg, bmp, gif, tiff or png file or print it as a hardcopy from a connected printer.
Shotty 2.0 now displays Html, Urls and BBCode links in the program window that allow further proxy configurations so you can quickly and easily upload your screenshots to various image Web hosts to share with your family or friends or attach to your own webpage. Shotty also includes an autosave feature that can be preconfigured to save in any directory you choose for faster and more efficient saving. Other options allow you to add watermarks to your screenshot from the image editor and the access to the history of previously uploaded content from the context menu, where you can further configure updates, automatically or manually, and even send feedback.
The program requires Microsoft Framework 2.0, which can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. With its detailed and support of high-def quality captures, as well as its easy use, Shotty is a great free application for your screenshot needs that far exceeds the built-in screenshot programs that are included with Windows and is one of the most notable screenshot capture solutions currently on the freeware market.
