How to take screenshots

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Today we want to delve deeper into a topic that we have already talked about on several occasions in the past, for example with the article on ShareX. So we'll talk about how to take screenshots on different platforms thanks to applications Open source.

The idea of this article comes from Mastodon. In fact, it was pointed out to us that In addition to ShareX, there are also other alternatives interesting for taking screenshots and that there was probably enough material to be able to make an article dedicated to screenshots!

We divide the article into two chapters: desktop, Android. For iOS, alas, we didn't find anything but as always any suggestions are welcome!

How to take screenshots: on desktop

ShareX

Open source
for Windows only

For computers with Windows installed we have already talked about in a dedicated article of the excellent ShareX. It's a program Open source really interesting and with many features although unfortunately it is not multiplatform.

• source code

Flameshot

Open source
available for Windows, Linux and macOS

Upon your recommendation we insert the excellent one Flameshot (they also have a account Mastodon!). It is really simple to use and also allows you to upload the screenshot to with one click Imgur (Speaking of which, alternatives to Imgur) to be able to share it. You can also write or draw on the screen before saving the screenshot. In short, it is an excellent tool, multifunctional and unlike ShareX, and also multiplatform. It is in fact possible to install it on both Windows, Linux And macOS. Like all the programs in this article it is Open source;

KSnip

Open source
available for Windows, Linux and macOS

Another valiant program Open source ¹ that you suggested to us on Mastodon. Also in this case the tool to use is very simple and the options are many. It is multi-platform and in fact can be used on Windows, on macOS and also up Linux. It does not have its own website and to download it you need to go to the page shown below and look for the file relating to your operating system.

Greenshot

Open source
available for Windows and macOS

Another very interesting tool and very similar to ShareX also on a graphic level. Unlike the latter, however, it does not allow video recording. It is however very simple to use and is Open source ². It's free in the for version Windows and paid for macOS;

ScreenToGif

Open source
only available for Windows

ScreenToGif is a very useful program for recording your computer screen and turning the video into GIF. You can either install it or use it as a portable application. AND Open source It is free and exists only for Windows.

On Android

In Android smartphones generally to take a screenshot you simply need to press the volume down button + the power button. To record your screen, in smartphones with the latest operating system, you will have a pre-installed screen recording application.

If you don't like these two things, or if you have a version of Android that doesn't allow you to do it, you have a few choices:

• ScreenshotTile (NoRoot), an application Open source ³ which allows you to capture screenshots and share or edit them immediately. Thanks for the suggestion Mastodon Street;

• ScreenCam, this application Open source ⁴ It is used to record the screen of your Android smartphone. It still works reasonably well but hasn't been updated in a long time. On F-Droid you can still find a 2019 version, on Play Store instead a more recent one from 2020.

1. KSnip on GitHub[↩]
2. Greenshot on GitHub[↩]
3. ScreenshotTile on GitHub[↩]
4. ScreenCam on GitLab[↩]

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