Despite offering users many options for traditional screenshots, Windows has yet to offer them the ability to capture screens beyond the viewable area. The only way of doing so is with the help of third-party screenshot applications.
In this guide, we will introduce you to 5 applications that allow users to capture scrolling shots easily. These third-party applications include:
- ShareX
- PicPick
- Screenpresso
- Snagit
- Screenshot Captor
How to Capture Scrolling Screenshots in Windows Using:
1. ShareX
ShareX is a screen capturing software that is available for download via its own website and can also be found on Stream (where users have posted overwhelmingly positive reviews).
This open-source application is used by avid gamers simply because it offers robust screen grabbing features. These features allow users to take screenshots of:
- Workflows
- Select-regions
- GIFs
- Videos
Other than these, Share X also allows users to capture scrolling screenshots of the entire screen – whether it is visible or out of view. All you need to do is download and launch Share X and then click on Capture to view its extensive list of screenshot tools.
Once you have selected ‘Scrolling Capture’ from the Capture menu, you will be allowed to select a particular region on your screen. Clicking on a window will specify which scrolling window needs to be captured. Share X also allows users to set a delay timer before the screen capture starts or how many scrolling screens you wish to capture in one image.
You’ll find that not only this tool but the entire application is very easy to use. Unlike other options in our guide, this application is free from caveats, and is maintained by a community of open-source developers and users.
2. PicPick
PicPick is another third-party screen-capturing and editing software that was developed by NGWIN. The best thing about PicPick is that it is a completely free application and offers a mix of impressive features that are rare among paid software as well.
In terms of screen-capturing, PicPick has 7 different modes to choose from:
● Full screen
● Active window
● Window control
● Scrolling Window
● Region
● Fixed Region
● Free hand
Each mode is suitable in specific scenarios and users can easily customize their screenshots according to their preferences. For instance, if you select ‘Region’ then this mode will help you identify and capture dialogue boxes within a window without saving any background noise.
On the other hand, ‘Fixed Region’ allows users to set screenshot width and length in terms of pixel counts in order to capture more uniform screenshots. More importantly, PicPick lets you capture Scrolling Window screenshots from any webpage or window with just a few clicks.
In order to capture a Scrolling Window screenshot with PicPick, just follow these simple steps:
1. Download and launch PicPick
2. Hit and hold the Ctrl + Alt keys and then press PrtScn. Doing so will make a red rectangular box appear on your screen
3. Drag your mouse to select a scrolling window on your screen and click your left mouse button.
4. As soon as you release your mouse button, the intended window will begin to auto-scroll automatically. Once it has scanned the entire screen, a screenshot will be captured.
Depending on how long the intended scrolling window is, it might take the application a couple of seconds to capture the screenshot. Once captured, you can use PicPick’s editor to annotate the captured image. You could also use this application’s pixel ruler to measure objects on the screen or crosshairs to pinpoint the exact positions of relative pixels.
3. Screenpresso
Screenpresso is another brilliant third-party screen capturing software that lets users capture many different types of screenshots. While this tool has more or less the same features as all the other programs listed in this post, it is a comparatively lightweight program and can run on any device or computer without slowing down its processing speed.
Once installed, Screenpresso can be launched from the bottom-right corner of the taskbar or by searching for the software from your Start menu. After launching the program, you can either use your keyboard’s PrtScn key or the circled camera logo at the bottom-left corner of the window, labeled ‘Capture’ to begin taking a screenshot.
In either case, a pop-up menu should appear on your screen that displays two options, ‘Screenshot Region’ and ‘Record Video’. By clicking on the downward arrow next to the ‘Screenshot Region’ button, you can choose from a list of screenshot options from the pull-down menu. These options include:
- Regional screenshots
- Full-screen screenshots
- Screenshots using auto-scroll (scrolling window screenshot)
- 3-second delay screenshots
While each of these options is self-explanatory, here’s how you can capture scrolling screenshots using Screenpresso:
- Download and launch Screenpresso
- Press the PrtScn button on your keyboard or click on the ‘Capture’ button on your screen
- From the new pop-up window, click on the downward facing arrow next to screenshot region and select ‘Screenshot using auto-scroll’
- After choosing this option, Screenpresso will automatically scroll through the intended window for a couple of seconds and then display a scrolling window capture in its editor.
4. Snagit
Snagit is yet another widely-popular screen-capturing and screen-recording tool. This app was developed by TechSmith and if you prefer a sleek user-interface for your applications, then Snagit is probably the way to go.
Despite the fact that it boasts superior screenshot and image-editing capabilities, the only downside to Snagit is that it costs $50 for a license. Whether it is worth the investment or not is completely your decision, but one thing is for sure – it is difficult to come across such polished features among third-party applications.
Compared to the other methods discussed in our guide, Snagit’s Scrolling Window capture is probably the easiest and the most user-friendly option. All you will have to do is download and launch a free trial of Snagit which features an all-in-one feature window with a giant red circle labelled ‘Capture’ on the right side.
To capture a Scrolling Window screenshot of the intended window, click on Image and then click on Selection to access its pull-down menu of screenshot modes. From this list, click on Scrolling Window and then click on the red Capture button.
After doing so, yellow arrows will appear on the bottom, bottom-right and bottom-diagonal part of the intended window. These arrows indicate which scrolling direction of the screen you would like to capture. You could either select the bottom or bottom-right arrows to capture everything in those specific directions. However, the bottom-diagonal arrow will capture the entire scrolling window.
Instant Scrolling Window Screenshots
Alternatively, you could also shorten the steps to capture scrolling screenshots by clicking on the settings button next to where you selected ‘Scrolling Window’ from Selection’s pull-down menu. From the window that appears, you can now activate ‘Capture Active Window’ and ‘Start from the top left of window’ to make the arrows in the previous method redundant.
Additionally, you may also assign shortcut keys to Scrolling Window screenshots to capture the intended scrolling screen instantaneously. As soon as you press the assigned shortcut key, the entire scrolling window will be saved as a single image and you can edit or annotate your capture in Snagit’s Editor.
To learn more about capturing Scrolling Window screenshots on Snagit, you can either visit www.techsmith.com/learn/tutorials/ or watch a brief tutorial video that discusses all of the above methods.
5. Screenshot Captor
Finally, we have yet another non-intrusive screenshot capturing software with a very minimalistic user interface. Screenshot Captor was designed as an alternative for Windows’ built-in screen capturing application but offers additional features such as the regional or scrolling window screenshot.
Windows users will feel right at home with Screenshot Captor since its user interface resembles that of Windows 7. Also, the key to understanding all of its tools is to understand its right-click menu. As soon as you right-click on the Screenshot Captor icon in your taskbar, it will display a long list of options that include the following screenshot capturing features and their assigned hotkey shortcuts:
- Capture full/current screen: PrtScn
- Capture active window: Alt + PrtScn
- Capture fixed size region: Ctrl + Alt + PrtScn
- Capture selected region: Shift + PrtScn
- Capture scrolling window: Shift + Ctrl + PrtScn
Alternatively, you can also launch a Quick Capture Bar from the first option in your right-click menu to capture all of these screenshots with just one mouse-click.
In order to capture a scrolling window screenshot using Screenshot Captor, you can follow these steps:
- Download and launch Screenshot Captor
- Hit Shift + Ctrl + PrtScn when the intended scrolling window is open or choose the 5th icon in the Quick Capture Bar
- Upon doing so, Screenshot Captor will begin scrolling through the intended window or browser and will take a screenshot
- After a couple of seconds, your scrolling screenshot will be displayed in a small window where you can choose to discard, print, save, share, copy to clipboard or edit your screenshot.
