There are a lot of free applications available for screenshot capture offering decent functionality for most users. Auto Screenshot Maker is a program designed to meet the requirements of demanding users, by providing multiple ways of taking screenshots, including an automated one.
Installation & Requirements
There’s nothing special about Auto Screenshot Maker’s installation. Just the usual options like the install folder location and creation of desktop shortcuts is what the user has to set up. After all the settings have been performed, the actual installation is done in a few seconds.
Auto Screenshot Maker runs on Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista and 7. Since this is a lightweight application there are no hardware requirements above the ones of the supported operating systems.
Interface
Auto Screenshot Maker is very easy to use and configure thanks to its utilitarian interface. The orderly layout displays the main settings and actions. Here, users can make the program auto-start with Windows, send the capture to clipboard and set the output to file or to Microsoft Word.
The Single capture function can be used via hotkey or the provided button to take a screenshot of the entire screen, active window or user-selected region. The Auto capture function can automatically take screenshots of the entire screen/active window at user-defined intervals. The automated capture process can be stopped from the program’s interface or from the tray icon’s right-click menu where most of the actions provided by Auto Screenshot Maker are available.
The program’s Preferences enable users to customize the main program’s functions. Useful settings are provided, such as the option to include the mouse cursor in the screenshots (for Single capture), remove duplicates (for the Auto capture function) and setting the program that should be used to open screenshots.
Pros
– Quick installation
– Simple UI displays main functions and settings in a tidy format.
– Allows users to capture screenshots manually and automatically (at set time intervals).
– Multiple capture modes are available: entire screen, active window and region.
– All screen capture actions can be accessed via customizable hotkeys.
– The program can also capture files to Microsoft Word documents.
– Apply watermarks automatically.
Cons
– The unregistered version watermarks all screenshots and the MS Word capture function is disabled. A time-limited trial with all features enabled would be highly appreciated.
– No built-in image editor is available.
Conclusion
Auto Screenshot Maker is not a comprehensive screenshot tool. However, it does include a basic set of features and the very useful automated screenshot function, which is not hard to use at all. Power users might want to take advantage of combining Auto Screenshot Maker’s command line functionality with Windows Task Scheduler for advanced screen capture scheduling.
