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Good morning everyone,

There are times that we need a more exact screen shot than what 'PrintScreen' is able to give us, as well as the ability to edit the images and then save our work, without having to launch a separate program.

Today's software will do all that for you and even provides a wizard, until you get used to the process and are able to do it on your own. I found I was able to forget about using the wizard, after just a couple of times.

Developer: EC Software, Austria

Supported Languages: English, German?

System Requirements: Windows '95/'98/ME/NT 4/2000/XP and Windows 2003 Server

Additional Requirements: RAM 32 mb (64 mb recommended), disk space 15 mb.

Tested on: Windows XP Pro.

GUI (Graphical user interface:)

If you're a person who deals with graphics fairly often - there isn't going to be much of a learning curve with this software. Even if you're new to editing images, you'll find that TNT is fairly straight forward in its implementation.

The GUI consists of four parts (refer to the image above;)

The left column, is a preparation area for using this utility. The radio buttons define what kind of capture you want to perform. (Referenced later under the System Tray heading.)

If you plan to capture a fixed size region, you define the size by width and height, (pixels only.) Next, you define your image shape by choosing from several shapes in the drop-down box. There are a few good ones to choose from, including torn paper for effect (right.) You can also define specific corners and/or borders for the 'tear' effect.

I also like using the fade out options for certain effects. It can be a valuable option to change the mood, such as in this image. If I were to again capture the altered image (left,) and apply the fade option again, but this time to the lower part of the image, it would look as if this adorable little bear had been caught in a white-out.

The last option allows you choose your background color.

The center column is your work area, where you can see the image you want to work on, and see the results of your editing.

The right column, you may as well refer to as your 'tool box.' If you work with images, the icons there won't be anything new to you.

Included is the paint bucket; text tool; an arrow tool for you to point to something specific on your image; auto-shapes; add a sparkle to the tip of your cursor, (if you've chosen to include it;) the pen tool; paint brush; color pic; and the ability to add various shaped call-outs. It's actually a pretty good set of color and editing tools.

The penultimate region is the menu bar, where there are other great choices, such as autosizing; resizing; flip/rotate; various color adjustments and a limited number of effects, such as blur and embossing options; bleeding and wind effects also.

The last region to explore is what I refer to as a button bar (just underneath the menu bar.)

• 1st button: Causes the giant crosshairs to appear, so that you can begin to capture a free region to your own specifications. You click at the top left corner of your image, then while still holding down the left mouse button, click again at the bottom right corner - it's so simple!;
  
  
• 2nd button: This one seems redundant to me, as it simply minimizes the software. Redundant because it also has the common Windows minimize/window/exit out buttons on the top right;
  
  
• 3rd button: This button will be one of the most useful for those new to TNT. It's the Wizard's hat and as would be expected, a wizard launches in order for you to tailor the capture that you want;
  
  
• 4th and 5th buttons: Open and save files, respectively;
  
  
• 6th; 7th; 8th and 9th buttons: Print; email picture; cut and copy to clipboard, respectively;
  
  
• 10th; 11th buttons: Autosize image; undo; zoom from 25% to 600% and a couple of help buttons, (explained later.)

These buttons are not named and there aren't any normal tool tips. However if you let your eye wonder downwards while you're hovering over a button, you'll see a 'tooltip' appear in the status bar of the software.

System Tray:

When launched and minimized, you'll see a camera icon in your system tray. A simple right click will give you a choice of capturing;

• A specific window or menu;
  
• Capture a free region, (same as print screen;)
  
• Capture a fixed region, (such as a dialog box.)

The right click action, also gives you the option to restore or exit TNT.

Well that's the entire interface, and I think you'll agree that even reading through the review, you're already telling yourself that you'd have no problem with TNT's functionality.

Options:

Options are intuitive and include a 'Customize TNT' option. There are four tabs in the resulting window. On Start; Hotkeys; Program and Auto Save.

On Start: Define the behavior of the program when it's launched.

Hotkeys: Here there is a choice to define two hotkeys. One to begin a screen capture (I chose the print-screen key,) and the other to minimize and restore TNT.

Program: Choose a skin, nothing flashy or creative here - you just get to choose between different Windows systems presentations - it's simply a choice for what you prefer. Under Program, you can also choose to enable audio support and enable a warning message that warns you when the program is about to flatten an image.

Auto Save: If it's useful to you (it is to me,) in this section you can choose to add a file name prefix for new screen shots. I've chosen 'clip' which indicates to me that it's a screen capture, as opposed to any other kind of images. You can also choose whether or not to save your screenshots to disk and in what format. The most widely used formats (only) are supported.

Help File:

There are two other buttons (round, to the right) on the button bar with big question marks on them. The first one allows you to click on it, then click on another button and/or area, which causes explanatory text to pop up. The second button actually launches the help file. It's comprehensive and logically laid out; with explanatory text that is easy to understand at the layman's level.

Features:

Where do I begin?

Very useful image manipulation tools included;

Ability to set up all your configurations as a profile, so that they're there for you next time;

Manual color adjustments for contrast; lightness; addition and gamma;

When you resize your images, resolution remains perfect with no distortion. I blew up a small image to 3 times it's size and was surprised at its clarity;

The 'tips and tricks' in the help file is excellent and well worth reading;

If your audience requires explanations, you can annotate your image with callouts, text and arrows. Excellent for tutorials;

Capture main menus and floating menus;

You can also strikingly emphasize a particular detail in your screenshot.

Negatives: None!

Points:

Originality: 7/10
Functionality: 10/10
Intuitiveness: 8/10
Features: 8/10

Price: USD$39.90

While I feel that for a basic screen capture utility this would be an insane price, considering all the freeware that is on the web. However, the software is bundled with some pretty cool image editing software which makes TNT worth every penny.

Summary:

While the software may not be Corel's Paintshop Pro, it's a whole lot more than just a screen capture tool. I have found it invaluable in my work, especially for writing up these reviews. I've used it now for several weeks and never encountered even one bug. That's pretty impressive.

Recommendation:

This small program is most definitely recommended. If you usually have to use two different programs to accomplish your end result, (screen capture and an image editor,) then you'll find TNT a joy to use.

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~ Swan