• You don't have have to spend money to capture a screenshot.monitor with globe in screen image by patrimonio designs from Fotolia.com
  
  One of the most useful computer utilities is the screen capture program. Screen capture programs allow a computer user to copy anything on the screen, save it and share it with other users. Top Ten Reviews lists Snagit as their top-rated screen capture program. However, there are alternative programs that perform similar tasks. Some of these programs are free.
  
  

Windows Snipping Tool

• Users running Windows Vista or Windows 7 have a program called "Windows Snipping Tool" on their hard drives. This utility performs basic screen-capturing functions. A user can select a free-form, rectangular, full-screen or full-window capturing option. The program has a multi-colored pen for adding comments to a captured image. It also has a highlighter. Clicking "Save" saves the image to the hard drive. A "Send to Email Recipient" button opens Microsoft Outlook and emails the image to a recipient if Outlook is available. The Windows Snipping Tool does not have the full-featured functionality of Snagit, but it does provide simple screen-capturing capabilities for users who do not require the processing power of Snagit.
  
  

Zscreen

• Zscreen is a powerful open source screen-capturing program that transcends mere capturing of the screen. It is loaded with plugins that perform a wide variety of tasks. After capturing all or part of a screen, the program will save the image to the clipboard, store it in a file, open it in an image editor or upload it to one of several online file-sharing websites. Users with FTP sites can configure Zscreen to save their captures there by adding their sites to the Zscreen configuration settings. The program sits in the system tray and waits for a user to press a predesignated hot key to trigger a screen capture.
  
  

MIcrosoft Paint

• Anyone who simply needs to capture a screen and save it as an image file can press the "PrtScrn" key and paste the captured image into Microsoft Paint. The image will have the same quality as one captured by an expensive commercial screen capture utility. Users can add text to the captured image and crop it using Paint's crop tool. Using Paint to take a screen shot requires additional steps. In addition, users cannot use the mouse to grab a portion of a screen. However, Paint is free and it comes with Windows.
  
  

Picpic

• Picpic is another free screen capture utility that also has editing capabilities. The program has a light footprint and consumes less than 6MB of memory. Its integrated editor has tools for resizing, cropping and adding effects to an image. Users can add text labels and outline areas of the image using predefined shapes. Picpic has support for dual monitors and includes additional tools such as a color picker and a pixel ruler for measuring screen dimensions.