GTD Wannabe

SnagIt 9: Get it Now

I found out the other day (thanks Digital Inspiration) that Techsmith had released a new version of SnagIt.  There are few applications that I absolutely have to have as soon as they came out, but I like SnagIt so much I downloaded the free trial of the new version.

First, what is SnagIt?  For me, I use it all the time to take screen clippings.  Sure, I could use PrtSc and then Paint to crop the resulting image, but that’s slow and time-consuming.  I take a lot of screenshots – some for blogging, but most for my research.  SnagIt does this extremely well – you can set up different profiles, e.g, I use F11 to just take a quick region of the screen.  I use Shift+PrtSc to take a region and then open it in the SnagIt editor for further processing (i.e., edge effects, blurring, adding annotations, FTPing, saving as a file, etc.).  I have another profile that lets me take the exact same region of screen every single time – very useful for capturing images of a particular program’s output so I have a consistent look in my reports, etc. etc. etc.

Why do I love the new version so much?  Let me count the ways:

1. New interface.  The old one was functional.  This one is revamped to use the new “ribbon” concept popularized by Office 2007.  That’s not the reason I like it though – I like it because it’s pretty *and* functional.  I find it easier, and more intuitive, than the older version.
2. Tight integration.  Before, it was like SnagIt had a multiple personality problem.  There was the window that you got when you wanted to take a clipping.  A different one for the editor.  Some other kind of library thingy that I never ever went too.  Plus a bunch of different places to change your settings.  This version is more tight.  The editor and the new-looking library are basically in the same application.
3. Better library.  The fact that I can get to the library without jumping through hoops is one good thing.  Another is that it is actually very useful. Below, I included a screenshot of the library window (and if you want to figure out recursion, try taking a screenshot of SnagIt with itself.  Ugh.)  Anyway, along the bottom, you can see thumbnails of things you’ve clipped lately.  Along the right side, is a panel that right now is showing my computer’s folder structure, but which can also show clips by date, or even tag.  Tags! Not only can you tag a clip, but SnagIt also keeps information about which program you clipped it from, and if from the web, what the URL was.  What a great way to keep meta information about your clips, especially for bloggers.
4. Automatic saving.  SnagIt will now save all your clips for you.  So, if you know you want to save something, you can put it exactly where you want.  But, if you’re not sure you want it forever, but don’t really want to get rid of it yet, SnagIt will just hang onto it for you.  In the nifty library.  SnagIt could even replace your old clipboard management software, if you deal mostly with images.

I’m sure there will be other things that I love about SnagIt 9, but those are the things that have impressed me most during the first week of usage.  I know I’m going to be upgrading my license soon.  By the way, you can use the trial of version 9 without losing your older version.

For more information about this new version, you can check out the Digital Inspiration post.  Even better, head over to the SnagIt 9 What’s New page, where they walk you through the new goodness of this version.

SnagIt 9 will set you back $49.95 (USD) if you don’t have a previous version.  For myself, with an 8.x version, it will cost $24.95 to upgrade – but I can save 20%, i.e., upgrade for $19.95 if I do the switch before August 12.  I’m collecting my nickels right now :)