Streamline Your Communication with These Free Screen Capture and Annotation Tools

Taking screenshots is a great way of presenting your work and getting feedback from clients. However, without the right tools, this can be extremely time-consuming.

Screen capture and annotation tools have become an indispensable part of how digital crateives communicate with clients and receive feedback.

By enabling users to capture and highlight important parts of their screen, these tools improve communication and enhance productivity. With the right screen capture and annotation tool, users can convey their thoughts and ideas more clearly, saving time and effort.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and efficiency of using screen capture and annotation tools, as well as highlight some of the best options available in the market. Whether you’re a freelancer or a client looking for a seamless way to provide feedback, these tools are sure to improve your workflow and streamline your communication.

So if you’re looking to find out how to annotate screenshots, in this post you’ll find some of the best screenshot annotation tools you must try.

#1 Mark Up

MarkUp is one of the newest free tools for adding annotations to screenshots. I’ve recently discovered it and now it’s one of my favorite tools I use for getting and leaving feedback for my projects. By allowing you to leave visual feedback, you will save yourself valuable time and improve collaboration. You can also attach files including pdf and there is even a Loom video integration.

Link: MarkUp.io

#2 Nimbus

The second tool for adding comments to your screenshots is Nimbus.

Nimbus is a multi-feature Chrome extension, but it’s also available for other browsers.

Nimbus is great for taking regular full-page screenshots, and it’s the tool I’ve been using the most for creating full page screen captures. It has many cool features and settings and I’ll cover them in another post. For this article, I want to focus on their feedback tool for adding comments to screenshots.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, recently Nimbus implemented a paid membership. The free extension only allows taking screenshots of the visible part of the page and selected area, not the entire page. It’s still a useful extension to provide quick comments, but now there are more limitations on what you can do.

This browser extension works similarly to the Gmail Screenshot app. You take a screenshot using one of the options available, full-page, the visible part, delayed screen capture, etc. Then Nimbus takes you to the next screen where you can use arrows, boxes, text, and other tools to provide your feedback.

If you’re not registered this extension requires you to download the image. If you prefer to send the image using the link, without downloading, you need to register.

Link: Nimbus Extension

#3 Gmail Screenshot

Another great option is an extension Gmail Screenshot. It’s part of cloudHQ Suite plugins. CloudHQ offers many amazing plugins and I encourage you to check them all out.

Don’t let the name fool you, Gmail Screenshot can take screenshots of any page, not just Gmail, and will allow you to quickly add comments to any screen capture and generate the link. This means no more downloading or uploading the files. Simply send the link that gets generated after you create a screenshot with your comments. In addition to adding text, you can crop images, add boxes, use a paintbrush, eraser and add arrows.

If you want to quickly and efficiently send comments and feedback, I highly recommend you try this tool.

No more wasting time writing explanations. Take the screenshot, add comments, get the link, send. Done.

Install Link: Gmail Screenshot Extension

 #4 InVision

InVision is much more than a tool for providing feedback. However, one of its main features is the ability to upload screenshots and provide feedback.

You can upload multiple screenshots, share links with clients, and provide and receive feedback to streamline your communication.

You can upload documents in many formats including .jpg, .png, .gif and .pdfs

Link: InvisionApp

#5 Symu

Symu is another tool you might want to try

Symu is a website that allows you to upload your screenshots and leave comments on the images you upload. It accepts jpg and pdfs.

Once you upload your screenshot, Symu generates the link you can share with others. Anyone who has the link can put comments and provide feedback regarding the changes.

The only drawback of this tool is that their free plan only allows you to upload and share 1 screenshot.

The free account allows you to create a single project, but you can also upload multiple versions, which can be different pages.

Link: Symu

#6 Dropbox

Did you know you can now add comments in Dropbox directly inside the files?

Simply open the file and drag your mouse while holding down the button on the area where you want to leave comments. You should see a yellow box. Once you finished drawing the box, you should see the Comments box in the right column where you would put comments specific for the section you just outlined.

Link: Dropbox.com

The ability to add comments and text to screenshots can be a huge time saver. These tools can be extremely helpful for explaining and providing feedback. You no longer have to explain where on the page you need to make changes.

I’ve used all the programs listed on this page at one time or another and every one of them was helpful in streamlining the communication process. I hope you will give these tools a try.

What is your favorite screenshot annotation tool? Please share in the comments below.