TechSmith Capture (Formerly Jing) for Windows

Screen recording software

Jing for Windows is a lightweight screen capture program. It allows users to record videos or images from their desktop. The images and videos can be pushed to screencast, where users can share them with friends, family, or colleagues. Videos and photos can also be pushed directly to Facebook.

Send your personal media to friends and family

Jing excels in its ease-of-use and fantastic interface. The menu system is comfortable and easy on the eyes. Many consider it an app, rather than a program because it’s so light on system resources. The layout also reflects this idea. It feels like it could fit well on a mobile screen. Programs built for screen capture, like this one, highly benefit from a fuss-free set of visuals.

This program comes with plenty of tools. However, it’s still easy to use. Beginners won’t struggle to complete basic captures and follow through with sharing. Still, it’s more in-depth for more advanced users. There’s more than just a screen capture function. This program has extra editing tools to boot. These include text, colors, and miniature graphics.

The customization is also fantastic. You can tell Jing to record or snap specific parts of your screen. Every action is recorded in the history section. Every file you create is stored here for future reference. It tracks date, time, and size. Jing comes with a few extra features as well. The program is constantly up-to-date with updates for the operating system. This means that it can interact easily with the OS.

Stutters and freezes

There’s no denying that Jing works very well. However, it does present a few issues. It can lag for certain screen captures. This doesn’t tend to have a direct effect on the output file, though. Freezes, however, are a different story. If you’re in the process of recording a video and the application stalls, you can lose your data.

Discreet

The software sits quietly in the background while you work. Other programs, like ShareX, require a manual minimization before you can start with other projects that you intend to record. This is a major positive as it saves time in post-editing once you’re finished. The menu style is also simple and sits at the top left of the program as a drop-down menu.

Quick and efficient

Jing uses a crosshair system for screen recording. When you’re ready to start, a window pops up with a marker in the middle, and you move this to your desired area. This forces the application to jump to the system tray and a small button to pop up. After clicking this notification, it starts immediately. There’s no delay, at all.

Share your work

After you download Jing and create a few files, you’ll want to share them. This is done via screencast. You have to have an account with screencast before you can send off any information. Friends and family, though, aren’t required to create a profile. It’s comparable to Facebook in speed and ease-of-use.

Compatibility

It’s important to note, though, that Jing only works on Windows 10. Previous versions of the Operating System will struggle to run it. There are ways to circumvent this issue. These strategies are a bit risky, though. They involve tweaking administrator privileges and the compatibility setting for the executable. It might be safer to use a program like Greenshot for Windows 7 and 8.

An excellent screen recorder with few hiccups

Jing is, in one word, comfortable. The free download finishes in under a minute, the menu options are accessible and simple, and the features work seamlessly together. The only real issues are related to account creation and inconsistent freezes or lag. While these issues might have an effect on your work, they’re minor inconveniences.

In the latest updates, the developers added Facebook compatibility. You can now share directly to your timeline. This feature also works with Messenger, so that you can send your work directly to your friends on Facebook. The history section can now group files in different folders organized by date, size, and more. These appear as thumbnails with an image that can summarize its content.