Snagit Learning Center

Snagit 9 Tutorial:

Snagit Profiles: A Faster, More Efficient Way to Capture

Learn how profiles allow you to quickly take a capture using a set of predefined capture instructions that include the capture mode, input and output settings, filters, and more.

Capturing with Snagit can be as simple as clicking the Capture button. But, the real power behind Snagit lies with its unique and systematic method of creating not just any capture – but the right capture!

When you save a Capture Mode, Input, Effect, and Output combination, this is called a Profile. Profiles make the capture process quicker and more efficient.

Built-In Profiles

Snagit includes several built-in or preconfigured profiles to help you begin capturing quickly. Find the profiles in the center of the Snagit screen.

The quickest way to capture when you are just learning to use Snagit is to select a profile and click the Capture button.

• Built-in profiles have no Output set and Preview in Editor is enabled. In Editor, add annotations and select an Output. To complete the capture, click Finish in Editor’s Send tab.
• Edit or export preconfigured profiles.
• Use a preconfigured profile as the basis for a new profile.

Capture Modes

A Mode is the type of capture you want to take. To change the mode, click on the blue button next to the Capture button.

• Image Capture to capture an image of anything your screen. Send the image to one or more Outputs including a graphic file, the printer, e-mail, Snagit Editor or even a Web server.
• Text Capture to capture the text you see on the screen as editable ASCII text. You can save the text in tab delimited format to import into spreadsheets or database applications.
• Video Capture to record onscreen activity on your Windows desktop. Capture mouse movements and application action, then save the video as an AVI file. You can also use Snagit to create time-lapse video of desktop activity over a period of time.
• Web Capture to capture all the images from a Web site as graphic files. Just enter a Web site address and select the Web page link depth, which is the number of levels of directories from the root Web address to include in the capture.
• Printer Capture to capture anything you would send to a printer and send it to an image file instead. Print to the Snagit virtual printer from within any Windows application. Within Snagit, select Tools > Snagit Printer Capture Settings to configure the Printer Capture settings.

Input

Input tells Snagit what to capture on the screen.

The capture Mode and the Input define exactly what to capture. Think of the Mode as the general capture category and the Input as the more specific category. Each mode has its own particular Input options. For example, if Image Capture is the Mode, you can select Screen as the Input. This means that Snagit captures the entire PC screen as an image. Or, if you select Image Capture as the Mode and Window as the Input, you get to select the single window on your screen that you want to capture. Each capture mode has its own set of Input options and associated Properties.

Effects

Effects tell Snagit how to customize the capture.

Snagit Effects include Captions, Borders, Edge Effects, Watermarks, and more. Additionally, you can convert and substitute colors, change image scale and resolution, and trim images. Select Effects to automatically apply to your capture.

Output

Output tells Snagit where to send the capture.

Select File to save your capture as one of twenty eight file formats, or select E-Mail to send your capture as an attachment or in the body of an e-mail message. Snagit Outputs allow you to send your capture directly to your blog, or to a Microsoft application such as Word or PowerPoint. Overall, there are more than twenty ways to share your capture.

Create a New Profile Based on an Existing Profile

Save new settings as an updated profile, as a new profile, or use the profile settings once and do not save them.

When you change profile settings, the profile selected in the Profiles pane has a yellow box around it and an asterisk next to the profile name to indicate you have modified a profile.

The following instructions provide a general method for changing your settings followed in parenthesis by a specific example. Substitute any profile and select your desired profile settings.

• Select a Profile close to what you need.
  (In the Profiles pane, click the Window profile.)
• If necessary, change the Output.
  (In the Profile settings pane, select Output> E-Mail from the dropdown list.)
• Include an Effect to add a special Effect, specific size, color, or resolution requirement.
  (In the Profile settings pane, select Effects > Edge Effect > Drop Shadow Edge from the dropdown menu.)
• Customize the Edge Effect in the Edge Effect task page.
  (In the Drop Shadow Edge task page, set the Shadow Depth to 40.)
• Click the Capture button to take the capture.
  (Move the rectangle around the screen to highlight a window. Click with the mouse to capture. The capture displays within the Capture Preview window.)

Save Profile Options

• To save the settings as the current profile’s new defaults, click the Save Profile’s Current Settings button at the top right of the Snagit screen.
• To save the settings as a new profile, click the Save As New Profile button at the top right of the Snagit screen.

Create a New Profile with the Profile Wizard

Use the Add New Profile Wizard to create a new profile rather than modifying and saving an existing capture profile.  To access the Add New Profile Wizard, click the Add New Profile Wizard button in Snagit.

Profile Wizard Instructions

Follow the instructions on each dialog box, and read the Description fields for additional information as you hover over each option.

Profile Context Sensitive Menu Options

Right-click on a profile or group of profiles to open the context menu.

The options apply to the profile or profile group that you right-clicked on – not the profile or profile group currently selected within the Profiles pane.

Profile Hotkeys

Use a hotkey to quickly take captures without interacting with the Snagit interface.

• Customize the hotkey(s) for Snagit or on a per capture profile basis.
• Profile hotkeys invoke a specific set of capture commands. Each profile can have its own hotkey.
• Snagit OneClick gives you access to your capture profiles while Snagit is reduced to the system tray.

When a profile hotkey is set, the Snagit interface gives you three visual clues to help you remember what that hotkey is:

To customize the hotkeys, select SnagIt > Tools > Program Preferences > Hotkeys or right-click on a profile and select Set Hotkey.