HyperSnap-DX Reviewer's Comments
If you want screen capture software that's easy to use, offers voice commands and comes with plenty of help support, then our #3 pick and the "TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award" winner, HyperSnap-Deluxe, may be for you. This simplistic software by Hyperionics Technology offers a hefty feature set and many of the most useful capture options around.
But, this product's usefulness is greatly reduced due to a slightly smaller feature set, fewer capture options and the complete lack of a special effects library, keeping HyperSnap from capturing our #1 or #2 spot.
We found HyperSnap-Deluxe a cinch to use, offering several easy-to-use methods of capturing screenshots. You can also make selecting capture methods a snap by assigning hotkeys to specific capture options.
Feature Set:
HyperSnap-Deluxe is one of the only programs available today that offers voice commands. This speech-based technology allows you to say a few select phrases and the program responds instantly-which is extremely convenient, especially if you have physical limitations. However, we did find that you'll need to use a high-quality microphone and pause between commands to get this feature to work well. Also, depending on the speed of your computer, you may have to wait a moment or so between each verbal command. The amount of background noise that's present may also influence the effectiveness of this feature.
HyperSnap-Deluxe offers both an undo and a redo function, an image viewer, the ability to set screen captures as wallpaper, email screenshots and import images from digital cameras and scanners. One feature this program is missing, however, is an onscreen toolbar for quick and convenient capture selection.
Ease of Installation:
We experienced no problems while installing HyperSnap-Deluxe.
Help/Support:
Support for HyperSnap-Deluxe is adequate, offering help through FAQs, email, knowledge base documentation and a support forum.
Capture:
HyperSnap-Deluxe offers a large selection of capture methods, including full screen, window, freehand, color, Direct X Applications and video game screenshots. The video captures available are pictures, however, not clips with sound like other programs offer.
Through this software, you can also perform multi-region capturing, which gives you the ability to capture different areas of the same screen. You can then fill in the space in between the different captures with any color you choose. Other capture options that come with this program include the ability to capture just a mouse pointer, capture screenshots from dual monitors and repeat previous capture methods for repetitious tasks.
HyperSnap Deluxe requires you to guess the length of the document and set the pixel-capture length, whereas our top-ranked products scroll automatically, traveling to the end of the document. We were also not very impressed with this product's object capture feature, which is really limited to just capturing buttons.
Edit:
Although HyperSnap Deluxe will import stamp effects, the biggest drawback to this program is that it does not come with a library of special effects.
It does offer, however, an arrow-pointer editing tool for placing quick notes and a useful, rectangular highlighting feature that lets you highlight and draw attention to items.
Summary:
If voice commands, an easy-to-use format and lots of help support best fit your situation, then HyperSnap is a wise choice. But, if you're looking for software that can do a lot more (minus the voice commands), for about the same cost, then we suggest SnagIt, our Gold Award winner.
