The concept of Jing is the always-ready program that instantly captures and shares images and video…from your computer to anywhere.

Get Started with Jing!

Posted on Tuesday July 22, 2008 by Mike Curtis

So you installed Jing onto your Mac or PC...and now what?

First, do you see the sun? It kind of looks like the image above or to the right--the faint one without the mouse cursor. It's discreetly tucked away somewhere on the edge of your screen, always ready when you need to make a capture.

Taking your first capture:

  1. Mouse-over the sun and three little rays appear.
    • The one with the cross-hairs is the Capture ball. This is how you start your capture.
    • The one in the middle is the History. Copies of your captures are located here.
    • The one with the two gears is the More ball. There are all kinds of settings you can change in there. For example, you can setup hotkeys, or make it so the sun interface doesn't appear on your screen.
  2. Click the Capture ball.
  3. Select an area to capture.
    • You can select a window, part of a window, or, you can click and drag the cross-hairs to select a custom area.
    • Decide if you want to capture an image or video. You can add arrows, text and highlights to images.
    • If you have a microphone, you can narrate your video! Videos are limited to 5 minutes in length.
  4. Choose what you want to do with the image or video.
    • Name the file if you want to. Something like, My First Jing might work. Then,
    • Share to Screencast.com and get a convenient URL you can paste into chats, emails, and instant messaging clients. Or,
    • Save the file to your computer. Or,
    • Copy it to your clipboard (You can paste images only into emails and documents.) and more!

That's the basic idea! You quickly capture an image or make a little video. Then, you either share it or save it! To learn more, check out our help topics. For all technical support issues, please contact TechSmith's free Technical Support.

Comments (52)

Paul :

Great info for first time users.

Where can I find out what changes were included in today's update?

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hi Paul,
The big thing is the new account with Screencast.com. More bandwidth and more storage. We had to make some changes behind the scenes to make that work. We also fixed some FTP-related issues on the Mac.
Thanks for using Jing!
Mike

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perofoslo :

For pro's that space on the top might be reserved for the RDP bar? But better than midscreen.
I like the product, but would like it even better if you learned from google and delivered good products with a very low profile ; )
perofoslo

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abukutty :

hi the great,
i like your tools very much...
add some more update day-by-day...

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Newscenter :

I installed and don't see "the Sun"

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Newscenter :

Found the '"Sun!"

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Rohacan :

Hi, really nice, simply to use but.. there's really not enough images per second when I make a fullscreen video :(

Let me know if an update can removes this problem :)

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jackson :

jing is very good!It's easy to use ,but if the author can add simple edit function about the video captured by jing,I think it would be better~

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Kevin Wright :

Dear Jing

What a great tool to use, I am not well up on computers but have found that Jing is easy to use and is also so very helpful.

I am sure that I will get a great deal of pleasure using this when emailing to my friends.

Thank you Jing

Regards

Kevin Wright

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Brian Lock :

The text tool doesn't seem to work

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Michael L. Harvey :

Jing is wonderful. Wish it had been available when I first stated using computers 20 years ago. It is an easy way to explain things to other computer users. Keep adding features.

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

@ Brian re: text tool not working?

Hi Brian, are you on Windows or Mac? I made a video on the Mac, and it's almost an identical process as on Windows. I hope this helps: http://screencast.com/t/HzBGh5Xx

If not, maybe something is goofy with your text tool. You might want to ask http://support.techsmith.com and they will help you get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for trying Jing!
Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hi Chris,
You sure can capture a drop down menu. The key is using a hotkey to start the capture while your mouse is on the menu. Check out this post and video about making hotkeys. Great question!
Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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oldsetbuilder :

So, I am sorry, but I still don't get it. How is JING different from Snagit? I use Snagit 9 extensively, but I don't see any real advantages of Jing. What am I missing?

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

@oldsetbuilder:
Thanks for your question. You're right in a lot of respects because if you're a power SnagIt user you can capture quickly, and even create Profiles that automatically apply various effects.
In a nutshell we wanted Jing built for speed and back and forth communication. I use SnagIt and Jing on a daily basis, and if I need to quick post a URL in a chat room or email I tend to use Jing. If I'm making a robust image or need a screenshot for a document I use SnagIt. Did you happen to check out this video? It attempts to explain a little of the background behind Jing.

@Pau,
We appreciate all the people around the world using Jing and we would love to have Jing available in many languages. Thanks for your patience with us.

In regard to your captured images and video. Jing just captures your content. After that, what you do with it is entirely up to you.

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Anonymous :

The half sun appears on the upper edge of my screen but when I mouse over it nothing happens. I am using 32 bit Vista on a Dell XPS laptop.

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Rahee :

Jing is great tool. I have created 2 videos using jing. I saved them and played them again and again. However, I can't find them now. Please HELP! Once I find these videos can they be loaded up on my webpage.

Thanks!

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Mike Curtis Author Profile Page :

Hi Rahee,
One idea is to check out your History. It's the middle "ball" on the sun. Here's a blog post about the History. Does that help? http://blog.jingproject.com/2007/10/history_201_jing_13_to_present.html
Thanks for the good question!
Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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Mike Curtis :

@Anonymous and others who might have a problem where the has something like a 1/2 shadow and Jing is unresponsive. I forwarded this to Tech Support, but thought I'd share the feedback with everyone.

A re-installation of .net framework 3.0 is likely to resolve this problem.
Reinstall Microsoft .Net 3.0 from this location.

Then uninstall Jing, and reinstall using the latest installer.

If the problem still persists, contact technical support.

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Anonymous :

Boy, Jing is darn easy to get started very quickly. I like it alot. Can someone help me out, though?

I created my first screencast and tried to post it to the screencast.com website and I keep getting a "Input string was not in a correct format" error. Can anyone help me on that?

Thanks!!

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Richard Beard :

jing stopped working. It says it has expired? I am not sure why since I purchased it.

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hi John,

It looks like the content that was at your screencast.com location was moved or deleted. I am wondering if you mean you want the content image or video embedded right in the website or blog? Maybe like this? http://blog.jingproject.com/2008/08/set_up_personal_ftp_and_websit.html

You bring up a good idea and question about narrating an image as you use the mark up tools. Right now Jing has no such ability, but it seems like a handy idea. We get some requests to use the mark up tools while recording. That might solve the issue too.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions--and for trying Jing.
Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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Pat :

Is it possible to convert the .swf. file to be able to upload to youtube? How do i do this? Any help would be awesome!

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Yes, good information for first time using system...but, do you have a video tutorial showing this too?

Thank you for your time...I am looking forward to sharing this with everyone I know.

Moriah Martin

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hello Moriah,
You might find these videos helpful:
http://blog.jingproject.com/2008/07/jing_video_archives.html

We're working to improve the way people can access and learn about Jing in one organized place.
Thanks for asking!
Mike Curtis

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Curtis :

I have a screencast account. I installed jing on my laptop so i can bring it to work and create some training (but will not let me finish because it wants an internet connection). Once installed jing will not let me use it unless i have an active internet connection. This is quite disturbing. Is there any work around to help me out?

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How do you use this application, are there any
step by step lessons or how to make a tutorial with this program how do make it function???

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Hi there, I have been using Jing quite a bit recently and I am finding that it is crashing repeatedly while I am recording. I have started speeding through my tutorials to try and get to the end before it dies. Any ideas?

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hello London,

One place you might want to check out is http://blog.jingproject.com/2008/07/jing_video_archives.html

There are a number of videos on there. I'd start with the one called "Adjusting the Capture Area".

We're working on a formal help system as right now, a lot of information is scattered around the blog.

Thanks for trying Jing. Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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HI,
Thanks,
Great Application, and the most wonderful thing is that its freeee.
I have not explored all the features yet,
I have been using Fire Shot for taking screen shots for webpages. It is a Fire Fox addon.
Visit http://www.webworldguru.com for more details on tools related to web development using PHP, Joomla, My SQL.
Thanks
Amit Patekar

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Record a video on the Web, the result was really special better quality than the original, but I deliver a heavier, why?

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It is too bad that this is only in SWF which I can not up load to YouTube or other channels I use. Please let me know when you will make that available.

I love this tool, but I can not get the video into a proper output size when I convert it to MPG or other format, quality is lost.

Rebecca in Montana
Branding The Power of You Online

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Nuriko_San :

As a Mac OS X User it's weird because my captured vids don't have any audio.

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Ganesha :

I get a popup that says "You have reached your 5 minute limit" (which is fine), then the whole computer just slows for another 5-10 minutes (I guess it's converting the video?).
I also am unable to stop the video capture until this 5 minute limit appears.
I am trying to make small video tutorials on how to remove spyware and such from a computer, but I really don't think my viewers will be interested in watching 5 minutes' worth of scanning! Then once the video is done... I have the 5 minutes of scanning sitting there.
Hoping my Swf2Avi converter will help with this, so I can edit the final result in a video editor to add text, remove the extra scan time, etc.
We'll see!

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scott :

Hello, Very nice, but it would be nicer if you could record more than five minutes?.

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chareife :

this stinks

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mustaji :

Infact i have really know how JING works but have downloaded all i need.

Thanks

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sanaluyelik :

Thank you. Teşekkürler.

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terry albery :

I downloaded JING, thought it was gtreat until I record Video & theres no sound, then you try Help....It says cannot find URL?. If you try HELP? you get a STUPID F*******G messege Sying REPLY BETWEEN THE LINES!!!!!!!!!HOW DO YOU DO THAT, HOW CAN I FIX THE PROBLEMS IVE BEEN TRYING THIS FOR DAYS NOW? THEY JUST IGNORE MY QUESTIONS IM PI****D OFF

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terry :

Ive got NO sound on Video, Cannot get HELP >Says cannot Find URL?? HELP desk keeps sending these unusable Emails CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE ACTUALLY HELP PLEASE.
[===> Please enter your reply below this line

[===> Please enter your reply above this line ON AUTO EMAIL???????????????, HOW DO I DO IT???????????????????????? IT WONT ACCEPT IT!!!
Is this a help desk or a complete wind up ??????????????/From: TechSmith Support

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RJ :

huh?? confusing

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Ernesto :

Ho trovato Jing veramente utile, specialmente per recuperare immagini da DVD dei musei per costruirmi album fotografici.
Complimenti per questo programma anche semplice da usare perfino da chi non conosce l'inglese.
Potreste spiegarmi come si recuperano i suoni?
Grazie e cordiali saluti.

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Anonymous :

i like it

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rida :

This Thiing Is Awsome!!!!!!!!!!

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Dale Melton :

I, too, have the problem of getting no audio recorded on my videos. My Windows Live Messenger for my headset/microphone requires phone numbers or websites before I can record audio. Can anyone out there please help me. This has to be a simple matter, but, somehow, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. It is not on mute, incidentally!

Dale H. Melton, Manatee Community College

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hello Commenters!

Ernesto- I believe your question is about how to record system sound? Check out: http://blog.jingproject.com/2008/05/ Sorry it's in English only!

Dale- About the audio problem, Jing only looks for the default audio input device. There's no toggling switch or button. Therefore, my hunch is that somewhere in your Control Panel or in some program something is set other than your Microphone as the default audio input. The team at http://support.techsmith.com should be able to assist. They are really good when it comes to the different flavors of operating systems and conflicting software and driver issues.

Thanks everyone,
Mike Curtis

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Nishant :

Hi!
I am very much satisfied with your zing software.
Really this one is awesome in compare with others.

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Anonymous :

Hi all, i just installed Jing..

it require log on to proxy server which i dont have, any work arounds.
I have heard about Jings and will appreciate any help to enable start using it....

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rcleland47 :

OH, NOES!!!! HALP!!!
I have volunteered at my place of work to do a Jing workshop, so I was "walking through" what I might do during that workshop when I opened the "Preferences" file that expands off the sun, and clicked something that made the sun disappear. I meant to re-click it, but I must have forgotten to, for now my Jing sun is nowhere to be found! I can tell the program is still installed, but how can I get my sun back?? I haven't found a way back into Jing. HELP? [Gulp] :(

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Mike Curtis, TechSmith :

Hi Rcleland47. I can help!

If you're on a Mac, check out this post and video: http://blog.jingproject.com/2008/06/hey_thereif_youre_using_jing.html

That might even help if you're on Windows as it's pretty close.

I whipped up a Jing showing what happened and how to fix it on Windows too! http://www.screencast.com/t/NjGVyWis

Good luck with your presentation!
Mike Curtis, TechSmith

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Anonymous :

Thanks for Program.

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Jan :

Long-time SnagIt user here (since 2005 - hey, 3 years is a long time in technology, right?), just used Jing for the first time. Best feature - image cropping on the fly while capturing the image from the desktop, all one process instead of capturing an image and then cropping it. Nice.

Somewhere I saw a link to offer feedback but can't seem to get back to it, so: Putting in a request to be able to save image formats more familiar to my end users, namely JPG and GIF. I understand why PNG if you're only going to have one format, but will be spending time explaining what PNG is and that it's okay to use it, to each and every user when I show them Jing. Minor annoyance.

Anyway - nice product. And the sun is neat too, especially since my desktop background is the ocean.

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