What is Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro?
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro is one of the first few third-party screen-capturing tools that have made a name for themselves. It has been around for more than six years. However, the major uplift it got from its developer Apowersoft in 2017 has made it a strong challenger to popular external screenshot applications Snagit.
Apowersoft is a software company with a digital footprint that spreads over 100 countries through more than 30 of its digital media software titles, including screen-capturing, screen-recording, and converter tools. Apowersoft’s experience of developing digital media tools reflects from the interface and features of Screen Capture Pro. It has a sleek and engaging UI with a host of features that not only cover standard still screen-capturing.
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro is available in both free and paid versions and works on devices with Windows 7 and later versions of Windows. The last Screen Capture Pro version V1.4.8.3 was released in October 2019. You can download it from here.
How to Install Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro?
You can easily download the setup file of the free Screen Capture Pro from Apowersoft’s website. Go to this link. It will open the below window on your browser.
Click on the Download App button, and a 27 MB file will be downloaded to your Windows device.
Click on the file, and the installation process will start. It is pretty similar to any other software for Windows.
Click Run.
Select from more than a dozen languages and proceed.
Click Next.
Accept the End User License Agreement that governs the use of Screen Capture Pro, and click Next.
Select the location you want the program to install in, and click Next.
Select how you want to configure the software with your system, and click Next
Click Install.
The installation will not take more than a minute.
Remove the checkmark if you don’t want to use the application right away, and click Finish.
The installation of Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro is pretty straightforward. Even though Screen Capture Pro is a comprehensive screen-capturing tool with many other functions, but still, it doesn’t occupy a lot of space. You need 70 MB top of free space on your device to install this screen-capturing tool.
Its running is also easy on the processor. Even if you are not using a professional high-performance machine, you can still run this screen-capturing tool alongside other programs without facing any processing lag.
The free version of Apowersoft Screenshot doesn’t require any license or serial key for activation. It is ready to use after installation.
Uses of Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro offers almost every use that you expect from a full-fledged third-party screen-capturing tool. Besides full-screen and snippet (regional) screenshots, you can also use Screen Capture Pro for:
- To take a screenshot of an entire webpage spanning more than one screen
- To take freehand snippets
- To take direct snapshots of drop-down menus
- To label or censor the content on the taken screenshot
- To instantly share the captured snippet across various social media platforms
How to Use Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro? (Quick Tutorial)
When you open Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro free version, it asks if you want to evaluate or purchase the software. Click on evaluate to use the free version.
This is the main window of Screen Capture Pro. On the left, you get a taskbar, and, on the right, there is a grid of different screen-capturing modes. As you can see, it allows you to take a screenshot in many different ways. The All-in-one option works like a snipping tool where you can select the region. The selection cursor of Screen Capture Pro features a zoom-in, pixel scale, and an intuitive color picker.
You can also take screenshots of the full-screen, active window, scrolling window, menus, fixed regions and geometric shapes. You can also draw a freehand snippet on the screen, just like Snip & Sketch.
Select the screen-capture mode you want to use and click on the round blue capture icon. You can also press Ctrl+Q to do the same.
When you use the regular All-in-one selection, the above task widgets appear on the right and bottom of the grabbed snippet. These floating widgets offer instant editing, annotation, and sharing of the captured screenshot. The majority of Screen Capture Pro features are present on these taskbars.
The Vertical Bar
Let’s dissect the icons present on the vertical bar.
Copy and Save
The vertical bar lets you copy the screenshot on the clipboard. You can also save it as an image file anywhere on your device.
Share
You can also share the screenshot directly to various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
You can also transport the captured screenshot to your MS Outlook.
Pin
You can also pin the captured screenshot on your screen like a sticky note.
Go Full-Screen
If you want to turn your selected snippet into a full-screen screenshot, click on this icon from the vertical bar.
The Horizontal Bar
The horizontal bar is the main editing panel of Screen Capture Pro. Let’s break down this editing widget into its different functions.
Draw Shapes
You can draw rectangular and circular figures on the captured screenshot in various outline thicknesses and a full-fill form.
Draw Lines and Arrows
You can draw a straight line, arrow, and curved arrows on the captured screenshot. These options come in handy while taking and preparing screenshots for guides and presentations.
Mark and Highlight
You can use a freehand pen and highlighter on the screenshots.
Add Text
You can type text on the screenshot in different font sizes with the option of bolding and italicizing it.
Number and Index
You can add numbers/steps to the taken screenshot.
Blur and Censor
You can also blur the content on the screenshot. You can use it with different widths and at various degrees of blurring.
Erase and Undo
The eraser and undo options let you fix your screenshot editing then and there.
Advanced Editor
The last option on the horizontal bar opens the Advanced Editor.
Advanced Editor has an MS paint like interface. Besides offering the editing and annotation features we have discussed so far, it also offers some other important features.
The Effects from the Advanced Editor allows you to sharpen, pixelate, and invert the taken screenshot. You can also add a border and turn the color profile of images into grayscale. Right besides Effects, you have two adjacent grids from where you can use the aforementioned annotation and editing tasks with some additional features.
For instance, you can also draw diamonds and speech bubbles on the images. The Advanced Editor also has some features of the vertical task widget. In short, Advanced Editor offers more detailed editing of the screenshots, while also providing instant options given on the floating taskbars.
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro Alternatives
From PicPick to ShareX and Snagit, many third-party applications offer more or less similar screen-capturing features as Screen Capture Pro. However, Screen Capture Pro and Snagit have more in common with each other. Therefore, we will compare both of them while using the yardstick of the built-in Snipping Tool of Windows.
| Screen Capture Pro | Snagit | Snipping Tool |
| Only captures still shots in free version | Captures still images as well as record videos with system audio and microphone input | Only capture still shots |
| Editing and annotation are possible. You can also share the captured shots but with some limitations | You can edit and annotate the captured shots and share it across a host of platforms | Can highlight and use a freehand marking on the still images and can only share captured through an email |
| Paid application with a free trial version | Paid application with a free trial version | Windows built-in tool |
| – | Can grab the text in an editable form | – |
| Can only capture vertically scrolling windows | Can capture both horizontally and vertically scrolling windows | – |
| Can pick color codes on the screen | – | |
| Easy to use | Easy to use | Agile and easy to use |
| Free-form screen selection | – | – |
If we compare the free versions of Snagit and Screen Capture Pro, the former excels way better. It lets you capture and edit the screenshots as well as record the screen in its free version. Moreover, file management and sharing options are also better in Snagit. Also, Snagit has a built-in OCR that lets you grab the text from the captured snippet.
On the other hand, Screen Capture Pro is a better option if you want pixel-precision with snippet selection. Also, Screen Capture Pro offers freehand capturing that is not part of most of the screen-capturing tools.
Pricing of Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro
To get full features of Screen Capture Pro, you have to buy this software. It is available in these packages.
Lifetime: A one-time upfront fee of $79.95 with full features and lifetime technical support and updates.
Yearly: You can get an annual subscription of full software at $39.95.
Monthly: You can also opt for monthly billing at $12.95.
Family Lifetime: At $279, you can get the lifetime subscription of Screen Capture Pro full version for five devices.
| Free Screen Capture Pro | Paid Screen Capture Pro |
| Only offers still screen-capturing with every captured image labeled with Apowersoft’s logo | Offers both screen-capturing, screen-recording |
| No technical support | Complete and direct technical support |
| Latest updates are not available | Automatically updates to the latest version |
| Regular manual screen-capturing | Also offers scheduled automatic screen-capturing feature |
The other infuriating bit about the free version is that you have to confirm you want to continue with the evaluation version with every screenshot. For now, Apowersoft is offering its screen-capturing tool as a Windows application. No Mac, Linux, or browser version has been developed as of now.
Download Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro for Free: https://www.apowersoft.com/screen-capture-pro
Buy Apowersoft Screen Capture/Pro Paid Version (includes Recorder): https://www.apowersoft.com/store/screen-capture-pro.html
Summary
Apowersoft Screen Capture Pro is a suitable option for all those Windows users who find the built-in Snipping Tool somewhat lacking with its features. The scrolling window screen-capturing, menu capturing, and a long list of editing options make even the free version of Screen Capture Pro a lot better than many other third-party variants.
| Price | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of Use | ★★★★★ |
| Features | ★★★★ |
| Overall | ★★★★ |
