For any of you Mac users out there, I’d like to introduce you to the wonderful world of Skitch. Skitch is hands-down the most amazing, useful, slick freeware/service I’ve ever seen for the Mac (or for any other platform, for that matter).
Skitch is a screenshot and photosharing tool… sort of. It can grab images one of several ways:
- Drag-and-capture a portion of the screen
- Drag an image onto the Dock icon
- Click any window to capture the whole thing
- Use it to grab a webcam snap
It then adds some very simple, very directed paint tools… such as shapes, arrows, and text if you want them.
Then it lets you upload to… well, just about anywhere on the web. It has its own simple and intuitive service, or you can use Flickr, or you can upload to an FTP/SFTP/WebDAV directory somewhere, or you can upload to MobileMe. This is done with the click of a button, which shows the upload process and then (when the upload is complete) copies the image url to your clipboard with a second click of the button. Or you can drag the image anywhere you want on your own computer to drop the file there.
I can hear your thoughts through teh Interwebz: ”So what? I gots lots of screen capturing/photo uploading tools.”
Trust me. Download it, and within a week you’ll find you’re using it constantly. It’s perfect for quick discussions over AIM (pasting a URL gets rid of the pesky “initiating file transfer” bit), quick blog posts, even quicker Flickr posts, and doodles.
If you’re a designer, it really facilitates discussions with long-distance clients. When designing a web page, for instance, I can clarify a client’s request by grabbing a snap of the design, drawing arrows all over it (”you mean you want your logo here?”) and sending back a quick URL to the image over email/AIM/Skype/etc. for them to approve or further discuss.
I use it to grab SL screen snaps for debugging, or to post to my blog, or to write up content advertisements. I use it to give banners a quick URL so I can paste it into rotation software. I use it instead of image attachments on email. I use it… well, I use it for everything. I probably use it more than any other software on my comp short of Safari.
I’m gushing, but it’s worth it.
Jeremy Pippin is a writer and web consultant living in the New York metropolitan area.