Snagit: PC + Mac
Background :
Snagit is probably the one that I used to use the most when I had a PC. Then I got a Mac and Snag It wasn’t around. So I started looking for options. But then Snag It came back to the Mac and it came back as a Mac application. Which was cool. I ignored it for a while. Maybe a year or two. I had fallen out of love with it. So why go back? Well mostly for the ability to do critiques.
Pros:
About the best thing Snagit does is it’s awesome for critiques. Like most screen capture software, it takes all kinds of screen shots (including full pages, partial pages etc). But where it rocks is the ability to use numbering and use text blocks to indicate what needs to be fixed, changed etc. In that department it’s really cool. And of course it has all sorts of bells and whistles, but one of the really good tools is the way it stores everything in a specific folder (where you can tag files). The files are also vector based, so that means you can go back later and make changes to any comments, or tweak any mark ups you’ve made. That’s pretty cool, because it leaves the original screenshot untouched. And you can make these changes.
Cons:
It’s got a lousy naming system. It puts everything in a folder, so it’s all very pretty and accessible, but doesn’t allow you to name anything easily. To rename a file, you have to open in Finder (on the Mac) and then rename. That’s klutzy. But I accept that klutziness for now, because it does everything else so well.
The other con is that it’s been designed with some of the baggage of the PC, so some of icons aren’t as cool as they should be. I use these icons like arrows, etc for my critiques, and Little Snapper has the sexiest icons (Snag It has way more than little snapper) but hey, I do like sexy arrows and stuff.
Hidden stuff:
I never realised it before, but Snagit also has an FTP upload system. Or email system. I knew about the email, but never used the FTP before. That’s obviously a mistake. Trying to do critiques on a file, then exporting it to the desktop, then opening up an FTP program, then putting it up, then cutting and pasting the link. Ugh! Lots of work as you can see. So having an FTP system sitting there for you is really, really cool. Of course the name is all klutzy (as mentioned before) so you have to rename and you still need to know the URL of where the file is going (In this regard, Little Snapper is way cooler, but we’ll get to it shortly).
In short:
- Snag It is way cool for critiques. It’s cool for some bells and whistles and I really like the numbering etc it allows me to put in.
- Finding the FTP was great. But it’s still no way as cool FTPing as Little Snapper.
- The naming system is ugh. You can work around it, and it takes another 25 seconds. But that’s 25 seconds of silliness I’d rather not have.
- The vector stuff, the way it stores everything is very nice indeed. And makes things easy to find.
