For this next release, we will be addressing some of our top feature requests from you. Among the improvements on tap is Facebook integration.

We've asked for feedback before, but this time, let's do something different.

We want to invite you to be a part of the Jing team. Well, as much as possible.

Most of you reading this are regular Jing users. Our guess is a lot of you also use Facebook.

Seems almost too logical then... If Jing is going to work with Facebook, and we have people who use Jing and Facebook, it seems we should work together to learn what people really want and nail this feature.

We revamped Jing's Facebook page, started a discussion and we hope people will talk with each other, and not just at us. To facilitate, we're going to be posting a lot of behind-the-scenes videos, demos of our progress and post specific questions which we hope will spawn some good discussion and debate. We hope some of you will take us up on it.

As you know, Jing is about quick and simple visual communication. Sure, our arrows aren't the fanciest and some people want to have control over the shadows (or no shadows at all!) We also get lots of requests wishing Jing could have some ability to capture more than what's on the screen.

When it comes to tons of features and options, Windows users have been able to turn to Snagit. Well, today TechSmith released a beta version of Snagit for Mac! Anyone can get access to it for free.

Betsy Weber, over on the Visual Lounge has all the details and a great overview video!

Check it out and tell us what you think!

Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of people that use Jing. There are those that try it, love it and often send us requests for additional features. We listen hard to these requests.

Then there are those that try Jing, then quit using it for some reason. We wanna hear from these people too. We work hard to learn where Jing is letting them down.

One thing that clearly needed improvement was the Jing update process. Jing used to require updating as soon as a new version was detected. And it was possible this might happen right as you're trying to capture and share. You literally couldn't use Jing until you updated. Sorry about that. It's better now though. The update process is much friendlier and forgiving.

To explain it, here's Bill and his Jing Art flower:

"We've changed the update process in this release so the NEXT time Jing wants to update, there'll be a 14-day grace period before requiring the update. Jing'll also allow you to know what's in the update before you install it. Hopefully, that'll allow shares to be completed, while still getting the latest and greatest features and fixes.

And if you ever ended up in the loop where Jing says there's an update, you update and it says there's an update, you update and..., this release should stop that nonsense. We haven't yet solved the problem. We think a proxy server or browser might be caching the old version, but we aren't sure. But now Jing should only let you know about the update when it's SURE it's got it. Let us know if you see it happen again...on the NEXT release."

You may have heard? Both free and Pro versions of Jing now have the ability to go straight to Twitter. Now you can easily add images and screencasts from your computer...to your tweets!

So in the spirit of Jing's latest headline feature, we've created some feature bullet points in under 140 characters. If you have a feeling your followers might be especially interested in one of these Jing improvements, send a Retweet. Or better yet, get the latest Jing and include a Jing in your tweet.

• After THIS update, Jing's updates will be more flexible & know what's in the update beforehand. What else is new? http://bit.ly/5EPJVO
• Jing's IMPROVED signup process--When you tell your friends to get Jing it'll be smoother for them. What else is new? http://bit.ly/4Nll4g
• Have a life outside of work? Use your SC.com account for work, and create another for play! New Jing stuff: http://bit.ly/5F5wXb
• Add images and screencasts to your tweets in an instant with Jing! What else is new? http://bit.ly/57aTMA

So, that's about it for now. We're off to plan for the next release so keep your suggestions coming.

Hey, Jingers! I'm Jim, a Mac Developer here at TechSmith. I'm the guy who wrote most of the Twitter functionality for the Mac version of Jing. This is a feature we've talked about for a while, and I'm stoked to see it shipping for both Mac and Windows (and for both Free and Pro versions of Jing).

Working with the Jing team to design and implement this feature was a blast. We evaluated a ton of other Twitter clients along the way, drawing as much inspiration as possible. We tried to take the best parts of what we've seen, add in a little TechSmith magic, and still make it feel natural. We hope you like it.

The coolest part, in my opinion, is the in-line progress bar that shows up while your media gets sent off to Screencast.com. It was a bit harder to write than I expected, but I'm completely geeked about it now. We weren't 100% sold on the design at first, but it turned out to be a great way to let you write your tweet and upload at the same time where many clients only let you do one. I'll show you what I mean in this short video clip.

We're always looking for feedback on everything we do. Did we hit the nail on the head? Did we miss something crucial? Let us know. Every blog comment and piece of feedback gets read.

The addition of a Twitter output in Jing is clearly a noticeable update. However, two more changes coming on December 8th might go unnoticed by most people.

On Mac, Don made improvements to the History that will be especially appreciated by anyone who has their History filled with hundreds or thousands of captures. It has to do with speed and memory improvement and Don will talk more specifically about those later.

On Windows, our uber-intern, Dennis, refactored the code for the capture selection window and it's dramatically improved.

I sat down with Dennis to learn more details. Check out his Jing Art glasses.

Mike: Dennis, I'd love to tell our readers about your improvements to the selection window...but I don't really understand it. Can you explain what you did?
Dennis: I significantly reduced the lines of code, but more importantly the code is much easier to follow now.
Mike: What does your work mean for our users?
Dennis: Essentially, the idea of improving the code in the selection window was to improve the user experience of both selecting an area to capture on the screen and make it easier and safer for any future modification or improvement we may wish to make as developers. Key points are:

• The best thing is that future modifications of this process for us will be easier and less risky
• You might see minor speed improvements
• The selection process should feel somewhat more natural and stable

Cross posted from The Visual Lounge Blog

Sometimes words are not enough! Especially when you only have 140 characters on Twitter. Soon, you'll be able to easily add visuals and screencasts to Twitter with the click of a button in Jing!

There will be a Jing update on December 8 that will give you a fast and easy way to add your Jing screen captures and screencasts to Twitter!

How will it work? Simple! Set up a new Share button in Jing for Twitter.

Just as always, you will capture an image or make a video of your desktop

Share your capture by selecting the 'Twitter' button. A box will automatically pop up and you can create your tweet in the text box. Jing will post your tweet along with a link to your Jing screen capture or screencast.

That's it! Tweet away!

And, best of all, the price is right. This new feature is free to all Jing users! On December 8, Jing should alert you that there is a new update available. Update Jing and you should be ready to start tweeting your screen captures and Jing-casts!

Can't wait to see what you create! Jing me @betsyweber or @techsmith. Or, be sure to follow @jingtips for the latest tips and tricks all about Jing!

About two months ago, we asked for your feedback about how the new snap to region/aspect ratio should work.

The core internal debate was whether we should show all available dimensions at once or just the next closest dimension. 97 people told us something, but by the time we had to lock down the decision, it was slightly in favor of Prototype A--show one region at a time.

However a number of people asked for both.

Ok, fair enough. :) So here's how it panned out. On the Mac, we got it in. You can display one dimension (default) or ALSO hold the alt/option key if you want to see all available dimensions. Windows doesn't have this ability yet, but we'll get it in there. (Tempting to blame the intern, but that wouldn't be fair or true.) For now, think of this little option on the Mac as something of an Easter egg.

Now, on to working on the next Jing release! If we start another food fight in the lunch room debating the "right way" to do something we'll be sure to ask for your feedback again!