Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
As a tech writer andMacworldeditor , screenshots — shot of a computer ’s onscreen display — are immensely utilitarian . But they ’re also important for pedagogue , selling family line , business enterprise people , and even those in IT and tech support . Any time showing something that appear on the filmdom would be demonstrative or assistive , a screenshot comes in ready to hand . But for the most part , screenshot computer software — including Mac OS X ’s built - in feature — has been limit to enamor either the entire blind ; a specific portion of the screen ; or a unmarried , individual element such as a window , a fare , or an ikon . Which intend that to get a decent screenshot , you usually have to spend some time organizing windows and clearing out matter youdon’twant in the paradigm .
An awe-inspiring new public-service corporation , Wuonm’sLayers , deepen all that . As with many other screenshot utilities , Layers take a shot of your computing equipment ’s cover at the pressure of a keyboard shortcut ( by nonpayment , shift+option+S ) . But Layers ’ resulting prototype is jaw - droppingly different . rather of a standard TIFF , JPEG , or PNG Indian file , bed ’ screenshots are Adobe Photoshop files … withevery item on your screen contained in a different layer .
Each object in your screenshot is a disjoined layer in Photoshop .
Each object in your screenshot is a separate layer in Photoshop.
Let me recapitulate that : every detail on your screen — every windowpane , every palette , every computer menu , every bill of fare - cake icon , every folder or file on the Desktop , and even the Dock and the Desktop ground for each of your connected display — is a disjoined , editable layer in the result Photoshop double data file . Even if you ca n’t really see an detail , be it an icon on the Desktop or a windowpane or palette hidden behind other things , Layers captures it and gives it its own layer .
For those who ’ve never used Photoshop or layers , allow me a quick away to explicate . Imagine if a physical picture of a landscape painting was really a mint of boundlessly fragile transparence shroud , each containing a single particular in that landscape — a tree , a tilt , a snort , and so on . If you adjudicate you did n’t care a picky tree diagram rostrum , you could simply remove its sheet and it would disappear from your pic . If a John Rock was in the wrong place , you could move it by slither its sheet . If a bird ’s colors were n’t as shining as you ’d prefer , you could add together a act of color to that transparency to make the bird stand up out more . This is — oversimplifying greatly — how Photoshop ’s layers work : you could work with each layer ’s contents separately from all the sleep .
What this means is that if you usually process your screenshots in Photoshop anyway , using Layers means you no longer have to meticulously set up your screen beforehand . Instead , you just capture the screen door whenever the urge pip you ; later , you could move object around and alter them , change windowpane layering , and delete items to your heart ’s content .
Layers’ Inspector
bed ’ Inspector
I could go on and on about how extraordinary this glide path to screenshots is , but Layers also has a honorable number of other useful features . On the simple side , if all you need is a traditional injection of the foremost windowpane , shift+option+F will give you just that ( in PNG data format , with window phantasm ) . or else , if youwantto do some pick off beforehand , press shift+option+I brings up Layers ’ Inspector windowpane , which offers nearly as much pre - capture flexibility as its superimposed image files put up afterwards . ( Each of Layers ’ commands — full screenshot , windowpane shot , and Inspector — are also useable via a menu - bar menu . )
The bottom segment of the Inspector window offer a list of every onscreen element Layers can appropriate . By nonremittal , none are choose , meaning Layers will capture everything . But if you press an point to choose it — or command+click to choose multiple items — you may take to have Layers captureonlythose particular . In other words , without accept to move a single window , you may omit exceptional window , icons , or even card - taproom icons from your screenshots . The List Mode button in the toolbar toggle the display between a flat list and a hierarchic itemisation ; the latter is similar to the Finder ’s list view , with items grouped by character : applications , the Desktop , menus , and so on . The prevue domain , just above the inclination , prove you what the result screenshot will look like .
A standard screenshot (left) and one “filtered” beforehand using Layers’ Inspector (right)
( Unfortunately , the Select All bid , found in almost every Mac programme that allow you to choose particular , is miss in action . This means that if you want to omit just a few detail from your screenshot , you ca n’t highlight everything and then manually de - select those few ; instead , you have to painstakingly command+tap every particular you desire to include . )
At the top of the Inspector are button to hide or show the screen background and to opt which display to let in if you have more than one . There are also button — Tight Fit , Shadow , Framing , and Opaque , for tweak the resulting image . you could get more particular about these stage setting , let in comparative examples , atLayers ’ FAQ Thomas Nelson Page ; mean fit , for example , will crop the resulting screenshot so it ’s just large enough to contain the pick out items .
at long last , almost hidden at the bottom of the Inspector window is a petite pop - up menu that offers two useful choice to saving your screenshot as a Photoshop file cabinet : Composite mental image , which pull through in PNG format , useful — and small — if you do n’t need to work with individual element or if you ’re passing the image on to someone who may not have Photoshop ; and Bunch Of Images , which saves each selected point as aseparatePNG image file , with these images group together in a uncouth brochure . The latter option works well with one exclusion : I find that if I did n’t select any item in the tilt , which should have resulted in all item being fascinate , I instead got a seemingly random subset — a very small subset at that . However , if I actively selected items , the feature act as advertised .
As an example of the Inspector feature in military action , the left - hand side of the image below is a standard capture of my Mac ’s screen — actually made up of two display — with approximately 20 programme running . The right - hand side is the same two - display setup captured just seconds later with Layers . I used the Inspector to include only the left - bridge player display , and then selected only the background , the menu bar , and a single programme windowpane . ( I resized the two images to meet here , so they ’re not scaled equally . ) Taking the same shot using OS X ’s built - in functionality , or even Snapz Pro X , would have required a in force lot of moving of windows and switching around of programme , even with the helper of a public utility company such as Backdrop .
A stock screenshot ( leave ) and one “ filtered ” beforehand using Layers ’ Inspector ( right )
Given that Layers is only at version 1.0.3 , I ’m impress by how fledged it feels . But it does have a few rough boundary . In add-on to the Select - All omission I mentioned above , whenever you refresh the Inspector , it lose any excerption you ’ve made and amplify any folders you ’ve collapse , which can be thwarting . Layers ’ layered screenshots can take a few seconds , and the political platform does n’t let you take timed screenshots , which are utile in situation when you ca n’t employ the program ’s keyboard shortcuts , menu - ginmill card , or Inspector to initiate a capture . queerly , your mouse pointer is hidden in screenshots , and the program once in a while has trouble with sure non - standard windows ; for case , you ca n’t use the Inspector with palettes that automatically obliterate when their program is n’t frontmost . at long last , the current reading of Layers does n’t include a Help organisation or clear documentation .
Layers is obviously a distinctiveness tool that is n’t for everyone . But for those who ’ll find it useful — and you know who you are — it ’s one of the most groundbreaking and utilitarian bit of software I ’ve ascertain in a while .
( Layers ’ official damage is $ 20 , but Wuonm has been pop the question the programme for $ 15 as an introductory promotion . Note that in demonstration mode , Layers degrades the quality of its screenshots ; once you buy the program , your screenshots will be full - quality . )
Update : 2/6/09 , 1:49pm : bestow note about cursor seizure .
