What's New in WinSnap
Below is the list of the latest news and blog posts on WinSnap. You can subscribe to the NTWind News by email or RSS to stay up-to-date with our products and services.
WinSnap 4.0 Released - The Big Update
The new major version of WinSnap is officially released and available for download. This is probably the most significant update since version 1.0. There are a lot of new features and UI enhancements, but I tried to keep it simple and elegant as first version.
Changelog for WinSnap v4.0.1 (January 24, 2012):
- New major version of WinSnap with reworked UI
- Built-in image editor: arrows, rectangles, text annotations
- Capture native Aero shadows in Window and Application modes
- In-place color effects: grayscale, darken, lighten, sepia, invert
- Copy/paste images with transparency to Office 2010 and other apps
- Advanced file commands: open location, copy path, delete, rename
- Close to tray, minimize to tray, always on top commands
- Improved region selection: larger magnifier, crossing lines
- No support for Windows 2000, minimum - XP, recommended - Win7
- Tons of other improvements and fixes
Changelog for WinSnap v4.0.2 (January 27, 2012):
- Fixed showing/restoring the main window after capture
- Fixed sharpness of printed images and print resolution
- Fixed restoring of auto-save and auto-copy options at startup
- Fixed issue with watermark position on the bottom-left
- Fixed issue with 1px outline when shadow is disabled
- Fixed closing of tray menu on losing focus and ESC
- Fixed background color of copied to clipboard images
- Fixed non-default format selection in Save dialog
- Many minor improvements and bug fixes
Download WinSnap v4.0.2 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 26-Jan-12 15:30
WinSnap 4 - Open Development Process
I want you to get involved in an open development process of WinSnap 4. Please note it’s not the release, it’s the most active development phase when I’m mainly working on the killer features that will make WinSnap 4 stand out. I’m considering the usage scenarios, reworking the user interface, rethinking everything, and of course fixing bugs. All features I’m showing here are subjects to change!
Capture Native Aero Shadows
As promised, WinSnap 4 has an option to capture native window and menu shadows under Windows 7 and Vista. It actually works like “capture native shadows when possible”. When it’s not possible to capture native shadows, WinSnap adds its own shadow effect.
The difference is noticeable in inactive window shadows and menu shadows.
Arrows, Rectangles and Annotations
The main advantage of WinSnap 4 will be ability to quickly edit and annotate screenshots.
The look-n-feel of the drawing objects will be improved in the future releases. Currently it’s just the basic concept.
In-Place Color Effects
Color effects can be applied to the captured images: darken, lighten, grayscale and inverted colors. It’s supposed to be used in combination with rectangular and ellipse selections when you want to highlight an area on the screenshot.
Smart Image Crop
Now you can crop a part of your screenshot in WinSnap. It looks like the standard “Crop” tool that any image editor has, but WinSnap takes into account the window form and shadow. Note the difference when you crop screenshots with native Aero shadows.
Both screenshots are cropped with WinSnap, left screenshot has a native Aero shadow.
Copy/Paste Images with Transparency
It works with Office 2010 applications (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) and with WinSnap itself. When you copy a screenshot to the clipboard, WinSnap preserves its transparent and semi-transparent areas and shadows.
Now you can copy/paste screenshots with transparency from WinSnap to PowerPoint presentations and Word documents, or copy/paste Office 2010 drawing objects, clip arts, charts and shapes from Word to WinSnap.
Minor Tweaks and Improvements
Since I’m reworking everything in WinSnap, there are lots of improvements in the UI and overall feeling. WinSnap 4 has a button on the taskbar, larger controls in the main window, improved region and object selection.
My favorite improvement is that cursor and watermark are recognized as image objects in WinSnap 4. It’s very useful sometimes, because you can move the cursor or watermark over the screenshot image.
Any Feedback is Welcome!
If you want to get involved in an open development process, download the latest ‘dev’ snapshot of WinSnap 4. Test it yourself for a while and post your comments, thoughts and suggestions on the forum. Many updates are coming soon!
Download the latest development snapshot →
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 10-Oct-11 15:09
WinSnap v3.5.7 - Support of Windows 8 Aero
This is probably the latest maintenance release of WinSnap 3.5. I'm planning to start alpha/beta-testing of WinSnap 4.0 within a week or two. This release adds test support for the rectangular Aero theme in Windows 8 Developer Preview.
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.7:
- Updated languages: German, Slovenian
- Added test support of Windows 8 Developer Preview
- Fixed issue with clearing Tools menu preferences after restart
- Fixed issue with "dwmapi.dll not found" error on Windows 2000/XP
Download WinSnap v3.5.7 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 02-Oct-11 06:33
WinSnap v3.5.6 - Language Files Update
New version of WinSnap was released today. It contains a few updated language files and an improved installer. WinSnap 3.5 is translated into more than 35 languages.
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.6:
- New languages: Georgian (35+ languages now!)
- Updated languages: Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Persian
- Improved language selection in WinSnap installer
Download WinSnap v3.5.6 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 07-Sep-11 08:46
WinSnap v3.5.5 - 32-Bit + 64-Bit Unified Installer
New version of WinSnap was released recently, changelog:
- Updated languages: Chinese, Danish, Turkish, Ukrainian
- Unified installer for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of WinSnap
- "Check for Updates" was greatly improved (2 mouse clicks now)
- Shorter screen capture delay on Windows 7 and Vista
- Fixed close button bug in Image Options dialog
- Several other minor improvements and bug fixes
Download WinSnap v3.5.5 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 07-Mar-11 01:19
WinSnap v3.5.4 - Translated Into More Than 34 Languages
This maintenance release of WinSnap contains a few updated language files and a minor bug fix. Thanks to all friends and contributors - WinSnap is translated into 34+ languages now!
Visit the Language Files forum to download or submit updated translations for WinSnap.
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.4:
- New languages: Polish, Slovenian, Hebrew (34+ languages now!)
- Updated languages: German, Czech, Chinese, Armenian, Serbian
- Fixed an issue with tooltips on toolbar buttons when changing language
Download WinSnap v3.5.4 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 23-Nov-10 18:20
WinSnap v3.5.3 - Updated For Translation
I've revised the English language template file to add new text strings and option titles for version 3.5. Also this release contains a few minor improvements and bug fixes.
Updated Russian translation:
Visit the Language Files forum to download or submit updated translations for WinSnap.
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.3:
- Added option "Disable global hotkeys for taking screenshots"
- Revised English language template file (see Translation.txt)
- Updated Russian translation for version 3.5
- Some minor improvements and bug fixes
Download WinSnap v3.5.3 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 19-Oct-10 13:20
WinSnap v3.5.2 - Delayed Capture & Countdown Timer
Finally, after a long delay, I've released a new version of WinSnap. This release contains several new features that will allow you to take even better screenshots.
Improved Delayed Capture
I've totally reworked the delayed capture feature after receiving the users feedback on the previous version of WinSnap. There are 2 main improvements:
- added a simple countdown timer (you can turn it on/off)
- added ability to customize the delay (Settings, Capture tab)
Here is how the countdown looks like:
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Large Icon for Windows Vista/7
WinSnap now contains a 256x256 icon for better compatibility with Windows 7 and Vista:
I don't even think that anyone uses the "large icon" view in Windows Explorer. From the practical side, 256x256 icons are used by the system to generate smaller icons in high DPI mode. Just compare the two screenshots below.
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| Old versions in high DPI mode | WinSnap v3.5.2 in high DPI mode |
Capture Native Aero Shadows - Removed
This feature has been removed from version 3.x because it requires some significant changes in the UI. It should be introduced in WinSnap 4.0 by the end of this year. I'll share a detailed roadmap for WinSnap 4.0 soon!
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.2:
- Delayed capture feature was greatly improved
- Added ability to adjust timeout for delayed capture (Settings, Capture tab)
- Added a countdown timer feature for delayed capture (Settings, Capture tab)
- Added 256x256 icon for Windows Vista/7 to the EXE resources
- Some options in the Settings dialog were renamed/rearranged
- Various stability and performance improvements
Download WinSnap v3.5.2 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 06-Oct-10 09:07
WinSnap v3.5 Beta 1 - Options Toolbar & Delayed Capture
The main new feature of WinSnap 3.5 should be the ability to capture native Aero shadows and transparencies. I have almost implemented this feature, but I need more time to test it before releasing to the public (it affects many of the core algorithms).
The first Beta doesn't include the ability to capture native Aero shadows, but there are a number of other features you may want to check out.
New Options Toolbar
Now you can quickly enable/disable the capture preferences: "Include mouse cursor", "Clear window background on Vista/7" and other.
Delayed Capture
You may want to enable a 5-second delay before taking snapshots of applications with pulldown menus (for example).
Here is a quick example (taken using the Application capture mode):
Popup Menus Of QT Applications
Here is a popup menu of VLC Media Player captured with WinSnap v3.5:
Updated Settings Dialog
Trial Reminder Dialog
In The Next Beta
Coming soon to Windows 7 PC's... ;)
Changelog for WinSnap v3.5.1 Beta:
- New options toolbar for quick access to capture preferences
- New feature: delayed capture (5 seconds before taking snapshot)
- Updated trial reminder and enter license key dialogs
- Added ability to capture popup menus of QT applications (Object mode)
- Several fixes and improvements on the region selection mode
- Region selection is now 2 pixels wide
- Some other minor improvements and bug fixes
Download WinSnap v3.5.1 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 06-May-10 03:07
WinSnap v3.1.5 - Recommended Update
This is the first release of WinSnap in 2010. It supposedly addresses many issues of the previous versions, so I highly recommend to upgrade to this version as soon as possible.
New Translations - 32 Languages Now!
I'm very proud to let you know that WinSnap is translated into more than 32 world languages now. This version adds support for Armenian, Estonian, Persian and Vietnamese languages out of the box.
High DPI Mode - Fixes and Improvements
Before (old versions):
After (version 3.1.5):
Plus, there were a few issues with the settings dialogs - they are also fixed.
Print Images - Landscape Mode
Finally, WinSnap remembers the Page Orientation settings:
Automatic File Names - Reserved Characters
WinSnap now removes reserved characters (< > : " / \ | ? *) from filenames when using %TITLE% and %CLASS% variables. For example, the title below will be translated into "jawa.exe_4004 Properties.png":
Region Selection & Multiple Monitors
I have greatly improved the performance of the Region selection mode for multi-monitor systems - especially for 3 or more monitors.
Changelog for WinSnap v3.1.5:
- New translations: Armenian, Estonian, Persian, Vietnamese (32+ languages)
- Improved performance of the Region selection mode for multi-monitor systems
- Added a check of illegal characters in filenames when using %TITLE%, %CLASS%
- WinSnap now remembers the page orientation correctly when printing images
- Fixed capturing of maximized windows on XP (Window & Application mode)
- Fixed height of the menu bar in High-DPI mode on Vista and Windows 7
- Revised sizes of the Settings dialogs, buttons and controls
- Various other stability and performance improvements
Download WinSnap v3.1.5 (32-bit, 64-bit, portable)
Posted by Alexander Avdonin on 04-Jan-10 05:39