InstantShot - a Great Screen Shot Utility for Mac

Mac OSX comes with built-in screen shot support. Simply hit the Apple key and 3, and you get a screen shot of the entire screen. Hit the Apple key and 4, and you can select an area of the screen, and get a screen shot of the just the area you highlighted. Plus, the Mac comes with a nice piece of software called Grab, that lets you, in addition to the built-in operations, take a screen shot of a single window, plus timed screen shot selections.

So why have I gotten rid of Grab, and moved onto something else entirely?

Because I've been trying out a great program called InstantShot, and I think it's better than the two of those options put together.

Why is it so much better?

First of all, it does practically all the same stuff as the other two options, combined. You can still take a screen shot of the screen, just like with the built-in options. And, like the built-in options, you have the ability to select only a portion of the screen for your screen shot. Like Grab, you can take a timed screen shot (to more easily show a series of steps). About the only thing Grab can do that InstantShot doesn't is include an entire window (with the title bar included), but you can easily accomplish that with the grab tool.

Of course, if that was all InstantShot did, then I wouldn't be as impressed as I am. I'd be impressed, but not amazed. Because InstantShot does even more.

First, InstantShot makes itself available right from your Menu Bar. This means that no matter what application you're using, all of InstantShot's features are always a single click away. This is far better than Grab, which isn't always running.

Second, InstantGrab understands that not everyone keeps a neat and tidy Desktop, and that not everyone (even with a neat and tidy Desktop), uses desktop pictures that are conducive to good screen shots. Some desktop pictures are just oddly colored, or too messy, and distract from a screen shot. InstantGrab offers the ability to "hide" your desktop with a single color (white, by default, although can change it to whatever you like), so you screen shots will be taken against a desktop guaranteed not to distract.