Greenshot is a free, lightweight screenshot tool for Windows designed to boost your productivity. It provides multiple options for capturing images, including taking a full screenshot, capturing a specific region, or snapping a single window. The tool supports a wide range of image formats, simplifying screenshot creation and saving.
Greenshot is designed to help you save a screenshot or a portion of your screen to a file in just seconds. The tool also allows you to quickly add text and shapes to your screenshots, making it easy to annotate and highlight important information before saving.
Greenshot’s powerful image editor is highly versatile. You can use it not only for screenshots but also to open and edit images directly from files or the clipboard.
This application is easy to use and highly configurable, making it an efficient tool for project managers, software developers, technical writers, testers, and anyone who creates screenshots.
This application is published under the GPL (General Public License), which means you can download and use the software free of charge, even in commercial environments.
Greenshot Key Features:
- Quickly create screenshots of a selected region, window, or full screen. You can even capture complete (scrolling) web pages from Internet Explorer.
- Easily annotate, highlight, or obfuscate parts of the screenshot.
- Export the screenshot in various ways. Save to file, send to printer, copy to clipboard, attach to e-mail, and send to Office programs. Moreover, you can upload to photo sites like Flickr, Picasa, and others.
- …and many more options that simplify creating and using screenshots daily.
This application runs as a separate process in the background. To access the application, right-click the Greenshot icon in the notification area or take a screenshot directly by pressing one of the defined hotkeys. The tool is flexible, allowing you to open multiple editor windows simultaneously, which is perfect for working on several images at once.
Greenshot includes an easy-to-use image editor that provides handy features for adding annotations or shapes to a screenshot. It also allows you to highlight or obscure parts of your screenshot to draw attention to key details or protect sensitive information.
The image editor can be used for screenshots and to open images for editing from a file or the clipboard. Right-click the Greenshot icon in the notification area and select “Open Image from File” or “Open Image from Clipboard.
Greenshot – Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✓ Captures full-screen, window, region, and scrolling screenshots, providing flexible capture options for different tasks. | ✗ Scrolling capture is available only in Internet Explorer and is not compatible with modern web browsers. |
| ✓ Includes a built-in image editor with annotation, highlighting, shapes, and obfuscation tools for quick screenshot customization. | ✗ Advanced image editing features are not as comprehensive as those found in dedicated photo editing software. |
| ✓ Supports multiple export methods, including saving to a file, copying to the clipboard, printing, emailing, and uploading to supported online services. | ✗ Most functionality relies on desktop installation and background operation, with no built-in cloud synchronization features. |
| ✓ Can open and edit existing images from files or the clipboard, making it useful beyond screenshot capture. | ✗ Some online upload integrations may require additional configuration or depend on third-party services. |
| ✓ Free and open-source software licensed under the GPL, allowing personal and commercial use without licensing fees. | ✗ Users unfamiliar with configurable hotkeys and workflow options may need time to customize the application for maximum productivity. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Greenshot record screen videos?
No. Greenshot is designed exclusively for capturing and editing screenshots. The software does not include screen recording or video capture features. For these tasks, dedicated recording software is required.
What is the difference between Greenshot and ShareX?
Both applications are free screenshot tools with annotation features. Greenshot focuses on fast, lightweight screenshot capture and editing, while ShareX includes additional capabilities such as screen recording, workflow automation, OCR, and extensive upload options.
Can Greenshot capture scrolling windows?
Yes, but scrolling capture is limited. It supports scrolling web page capture in Internet Explorer but does not offer scrolling capture compatibility with all applications and modern web browsers.
Can Greenshot customize keyboard shortcuts?
Yes. It allows you to configure hotkeys for different screenshot actions, making it easy to assign shortcuts that fit your workflow and avoid conflicts with other applications.
Official Homepage – https://getgreenshot.org
Supported Operating Systems:
- Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (32-bit, 64-bit).
- macOS 10.12 or later, 64-bit processor
