Xnapper: A Breath of Fresh Air for Screenshots
Thanks to keyboard shortcuts and built-in features, it has become effortless to capture screenshots on your Mac. However, when you create content for social media or other platforms, you need to go beyond regular screenshots. Instead, you have to make it look aesthetically appealing.
But, how do you do that if you create tens of screenshots every week? Well, Xnapper claims to provide a solution to this problem that we also face regularly.
What does Xnapper do?
Xnapper is a new screenshot utility for Mac designed with beautiful design in mind. It transforms screenshots into catchy visuals and offers features like auto-balancing and redacting sensitive information.
- Capture entire screens, specific windows, or scrolling webpages.
- Apply beautiful background colors automatically.
- Add arrows, shapes, text, or blur effects to highlight key elements.
- Customize designs with presets and control tools.
- Redact sensitive information for privacy.
- Utilize pre-defined export sizes for popular social media platforms.
A quick look at pros and cons
Pros
- User-friendly UI designed for macOS.
- Versatile collection of presets and customization tools.
- Saves time preparing screenshots.
Cons
- It lacks options for screencasts (video recording).
- There is no cloud saving or sharing option.
A deep dive into Xnapper (TheSweetBits review)
From installing the tool to capturing the first screenshot, getting started with Xnapper takes only a couple of minutes. Xnapper does not ask for many permissions, either. When you open Xnapper for the first time, you get to set up some preferences like the file-sharing format and whether you want the screenshot app to start at login.
After this point, Xnapper lives on your Mac menu bar and you can access its features through some keyboard shortcuts. Of course, you can change these hotkeys and even replace the default screenshot utility with this third-party option. It is indeed impressive that Xnapper checks all the boxes when it comes to a standard app for capturing screenshots. Everything else is unique.
Capturing beautiful screenshots
Anyone can capture clean screenshots these days. Both macOS and Windows have built-in options to deal with screenshots and screencasts. However, converting these images to share-worthy content is different. Most screenshot tools indeed come with annotation tools, but you have to put a lot of manual effort into things. Xnapper changes this narrative from scratch.
As soon as you capture a screenshot using Xnapper, it will launch the annotation utility, which packs easy options for enhancing the screenshot. For instance, you can change the background and select the design at your convenience. If you are unsure, you can also select one of the preset dimensions for platforms like your social media profiles. Xnapper also lets you create custom presets for later use.
Integrating social platforms for instant sharing
Another sweet thing about Xnapper is the social presets. We love the presets for different social media sizes and there are plenty of customization options. We also noticed that the social preset collection from Xnapper is pretty diverse in that it accommodates popular and not-so-popular social platforms.
When you do social screenshotting, its balance feature lets you optimize the padding and borders for the screenshots in a single click. You can thus make sure that your screenshot is centered and aligned in the right way. Combined with the presets, this process can help you come up with balanced and platform-ready screenshots instantly.
As a content creator myself, it means two things. One, I can always be sure that the screenshots have the correct aspect ratio and dimensions. Two, I can save the time that I would otherwise spend optimizing the screenshots for my multiple social posts. It’s that simple and beautiful!
Automating the routine steps
If you deal with multiple screenshots, you know about these monotonous routines. With Xnapper, you can say goodbye to most of these routines. Instead, a single click will prepare your screenshot for desired social media and web platforms in general. You can customize things further using features like watermarking and sensitive content redaction.
But there are a few things that Xnapper does on its own. For instance, when you capture a screenshot, the app will select a good background for the image. Similarly, you can enable custom insets and backgrounds to get the best look for the images. In our experience, these features have been groundbreaking, indeed. For instance, we spent only a fraction of our regular time preparing screenshots for this article.
Miscellaneous features
We always believe that the best things are in minute details. It remains the case for Xnapper as well. You get to use features like OCR and annotation tools easily. With the beta version of Xnapper, you get to control all these tools via keyboard shortcuts. These features were indeed time-savers.
How it felt to use Xnapper
Xnapper is not the first third-party screenshot tool we have tried on Mac. Over the years, we have tried and tested almost all the third-party screenshot utilities out there. Therefore, when we come across something like Xnapper, we can quickly reach some decisions. Here is what we felt while using Xnapper for our regular screenshot needs.
- The design and functionality of Xnapper are on point. It does not come with bells and whistles. It also means we could focus on the features that matter. For instance, the ability to control annotation tools with number keys makes quick edits a breeze.
- We also noticed that Xnapper developers have understood what other tools lack. For instance, the options for balancing the screenshots and adding social media presets are a time-saver, indeed. We should also say that we have not seen both features together in a single app.
Overall, we were pretty happy checking out what Xnapper had. It has definitely become our go-to choice for screenshots.
Xnapper pricing
You get a few options to purchase Xnapper. It has a pay-once policy, which means you can use the tool for an unlimited time. However, updates will be available for only one year.
- Base Plan: $29.99 for one device
- Personal Plan: $54.99 for multiple devices
- Standard Plan: $79.99 for more devices and additional features
To make things better, Xnapper is also available on Setapp, a monthly subscription service for Mac apps.
FAQs
Who uses Xnapper?
Xnapper is a great screenshot utility for content creators and professionals. In particular, Xnapper is great for graphic designers and content creators who need awesome-looking screenshots. It works great if you’re looking for aesthetically pleasing screenshots that you can publish on various platforms, such as social media or your blog.
Is Xnapper effective?
Xnapper is indeed effective in the areas where it makes a claim. For instance, the feature set of Xnapper can cut down the time you would otherwise spend on editing screenshots. Similarly, the powerful native app is designed to seamlessly work with macOS. It would even be possible to replace the built-in screenshot utility with Xnapper.
Which is the best alternative to Xnapper?
Considering the feature sets it offers, Xnapper has only a few alternatives out there. CleanShot X is indeed a great option, thanks to its screen recording and annotation features. However, it lacks many of the customization and automation features that we have found on Xnapper.
Final words
Xnapper is indeed an upgrade from the default screenshot utility on macOS. In addition to capturing almost everything on the screen, Xnapper offers several features and automation options. These features can cut down the amount of time you would spend on optimizing and beautifying the screenshots.
Therefore, considering the reasonable amount you pay for it, Xnapper is indeed an option you should check out. For most professionals and content creators, it is easy to purchase a premium license as well. It is also noteworthy that Xnapper has been acquired by a bigger team and new features are to follow soon.
For more details, visit the official Xnapper website: https://xnapper.com/