• Updated the default shadow settings for Windows Vista
• Added ability to capture skinned popup menus of some applications
• Fixed tray icon size at high DPI (such as 120 DPI on Vista)
• Some language files were updated

Quick download links:

• WinSnap 2.1.3 Installer
• WinSnap 2.1.3 Portable Edition
• Other downloads

Download - hstart.zip (23 KB)

Here are a few real-world examples of using Hstart:

• Example 1: Automate your daily backups
• Example 2: Optimize images with PNGOUT
• Example 3: Code Signing with one click

Hstart executable, readme and examples:

Download - hstart.zip (14 KB)

• Added "Rounded corners on top" advanced style (AdvConfig.exe)
  It is added for better compatibility with Elegance, Leo (an OSX-like style for XP and Vista) and some other WindowBlinds 6 styles (see forum for more details).
• Added quick profiles for popular WindowBlinds styles (AdvConfig.exe)
  Now you can choose one of predefined templates to switch between various WindowBlinds styles quickly:

• Menu capture mode was removed (use the Object mode instead)
  It is now possible to select multiple pulldown menus using the Object capture mode. Hold CTRL or SHIFT to select multiple menus and other objects.

Old capture modes

New capture modes

• Several new UI and usability improvements...

Quick download links:

• WinSnap 2.1.1 Installer
• WinSnap 2.1.1 Portable Edition
• Other downloads

• User-friendly quote processing
  Hstart v2.0 uses its own algorithm to parse complex command line arguments. It enumerates all the opening/closing quotation marks and handles embedded quotes in a more user-friendly manner. (Learn more)

• Test mode
  The /TEST command line switch allows you to see what parameters are passed to Hstart and how they are processed:

• Message after command execution
  Hstart allows you to run console applications completely hidden, and now there is a simple way to tell the user whether the command is executed correctly or not:

• Run applications from the Windows Shell
  Essentially, the new /SHELL command line switch works in the same way as the Windows Run dialog: the given parameters are passed to the Windows Shell to be handled rather than by calling the application directly. This makes it possible for the Shell to select an appropriate program to run for a given filename.

• UAC privilege elevation under Windows Vista
  Especially for Windows Vista users, Hstart v2.0 provides two new command line switches: /RUNAS and /UAC.

For more information, please read:

• What is new in Hstart v2.0

Here are a few real-world examples of using Hstart:

• Example 1: Automate your daily backups
• Example 2: Optimize images with PNGOUT
• Example 3: Code Signing with one click

More examples coming soon... Please visit our support forums to report any bugs and suggest new features.

• Full support of WindowBlinds 6 visual styles
  Now you can configure WinSnap to work with any custom visual styles including modern WindowBlinds 6 skins with rounded corners and per-pixel transparency (see forum for more details). Run AdvConfig.exe to open the settings dialog:

• Multi-Region capture mode
  Hold CTRL or SHIFT to select multiple screen regions. It works in the same way as the Multi-Object capture mode. Here is a simple example:

• Several other improvements on the Region capture mode.
• Fixed an issue with auto-save filename in external tools.
• Some other minor improvements and bugfixes.

Quick download links:

• WinSnap 2.1.0 Installer
• WinSnap 2.1.0 Portable Edition
• Other downloads

Visual Subst is a little utility to manage virtual drives in a GUI way. (Learn more)

If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows XP or Vista, you may want to use native x64 executables because they work a bit faster on x64 platform. You can download the first release of WinSnap 64-bit edition at:

• WinSnap 64-bit edition (AMD64/EM64T)

A simple 64-bit installer (MSI) will be also available soon.

• Usual compatibility improvements with Windows Vista.
• Added ability to capture Firefox popup menus in the Object/Menu mode.
• Fixed a minor issue with capturing transparent cursor.
• Added -EXIT command line option.

Further WinSnap editions:

• WinSnap for U3 smart drives (portable)
• WinSnap 64-bit edition (AMD64/EM64T)

If you are interested in these editions of WinSnap, please leave a message on the forum or send an email to alexander [at] ntwind [dot] com.

• Bulgarian
• Czech
• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional)
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Spanish

• Included new translations: Arabic, Armenian, Finnish (17+ now).
• New file auto-naming options (%NUM2%, %NUM3%, etc).
• Popup menus are now supported in Multi-Object selection mode.
• Updated the help file (included in full version).
• Some other minor improvements.

Drop shadow effect like in Windows Vista:

The most appropriate values are:

• Distance: 6 px
• Size: 16 px
• Opacity: 80%

If the file has no valid digital signature, you cannot be certain that the file is actually from the source it claims to be from, or that it has not been tampered with.

Signed code is not necessarily safe code, but a digital signature does provide accountability – something that is often missing in a world of anonymously distributed software.

Ensure that you are using the original software: Verify digital signatures!

Other changes in v2.0.3:

• Included many new translations: Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Turkish
• Improvements on the registration mechanism.
• Fixed bug with underlined letters in the main menu.
• Several cosmetic changes in UI.

This is just a minor update containing a few small improvements. Yesterday, I bought a Code Signing Certificate, and Visual Subst v1.0.5 is the first digitally signed release. I will write an article explaining the benefits of using digital signatures soon.

• Portable Edition (to run WinSnap from a USB stick).
• Restoring main window size and position now work correctly.
• Some issues on multi-monitor setup were fixed.
• Conflict with CursorXP (Multi-Object capture mode) was resolved.
• Unnecessary watermarks in trial mode were removed.
• Some other small bugfixes and improvements.

Since version 2.0 WinSnap is a shareware program and you must purchase a license if you wish to continue using it. Though, if you do not need new features, you may still use old version 1.1 which is completely free for personal use.

WinSnap v2.0 Ultimate is the first release with full Windows Vista support. It was especially designed to capture the new Aero theme and can handle all possible issues with rounded corners and shadows.

WinSnap can draw a drop shadow effect which is very similar to the new Windows Vista UI. There is no need to place certain windows over a white background and then crop a fullscreen image.

I have rewritten all image processing algorithms to provide full alpha-channel support. Now you can save your screenshots as transparent PNG or TIFF. It allows really easy image compositing, and it is very useful when placing your screenshots on multi-colour backgrounds.

The third "big feature" is the Multi-Object capture mode which allows you to select multiple windows (and controls) on the screen and easy combine them into one screenshot image. Use Ctrl + left-click or mouse middle-click to do it.

WinSnap v2.0 contains a configurable External Tools menu, Fixed-Size Region capture mode, and many other small improvements and core optimization.

You may find some tutorials and examples of usage here:

• Aero Glass capturing with shadows and transparencies
• What is image transparency and alpha-channel
• How to capture multiple windows on the screen
• Work faster with configurable External Tools

WinSnap v2.0 makes screenshots even better!

23.11. Managing and Switching Tasks with TaskSwitchXP

«It's amazing how dependent we become on the simple Alt-Tab or Alt-Shift-Tab keystrokes in our daily workflow. Task switching is a critical part of getting around in the Windows multitasking environment. Unfortunately, Alt-Tab task switching isn't very helpful when you've got a lot of applications open, because the list of icons gets muddled and confusing. And what if you have several instances of the same application running—how do you tell which application icon refers to the instance you're looking for?»

Annotation: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596527549/

When using this /WAIT flag with multiple command lines (e.g. hstart /WAIT "command1" "command2"), Hstart starts command1 and command2 continuously and returns an unsuccessful code (non-NULL) if one of these processes return it.

Discussion at: http://www.ntwind.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129

Changes in v1.1.10 (January 31, 2007):

• New interface languages: Norwegian, Serbian, Portuguese (24+ now).
• Palette optimization for 8-bit GIF images.
• Issues with auto-save image format were fixed.

Today you may get a free license key for WinSnap at www.giveawayoftheday.com