There are many circumstances in which you may need to capture an image of what is happening on your screen at any given moment. Hitting Prt Scr will do the job, but apart from the option of pressing Alt at the same time to capture just a single window, there are few options available to you. Ashampoo Snap has been updated to make image capturing easier and more flexible than ever before, even introducing video capture as a new feature.

The latest version of the app includes a new minimalistic capture bar which resides at the top of your screen at all times. If you’re the sort of person who does not get on with keyboard shortcuts – although these are still available – this bar provides you with access to all of the various capturing modes supported by Snap 6, ranging from simple full screen captures and individual windows to scrolling windows and freeform shapes.

Ashampoo Snap 6

The addition of video capture is great for anyone looking to screen screencasts, tutorials and the like, and there’s also a handy color picker that can be used to grab the color of any on-screen element so that it can be used in other applications. The overall performance of the app has been improved upon since the previous version, and in addition to the more streamlined capture bar you’ll find that tasks can now be completed in fewer steps.

It’s likely that rather than simply capturing what appears on your screen as it appears, you may well want to make some adjustments – adding shapes, a drop shadow, changing color settings and adding effects – and these can now be previewed in real time so you can get a better idea of how things are going to look before you commit yourself. Even when you have applied a new setting, it can still be adjusted so you can make additional minor tweaks if you are not entirely happy.

Other new features include one-click uploading of images so you can share them online, full 32-bit transparency support, and improved PDF support.  You can find out more and download a free trial of the program by paying a visit to the Ashampoo Snap 6 review page.