Suppose you need to explain a configuration change to someone. Any image that accompanies the text is very important, but the ideal in certain cases would be to prepare an animated GIF that indicates exactly the steps to follow. With ScreenToGIF it becomes very easy to do this, and it also allows us to edit animated GIFs frame by frame, add text and effects, or delete those frames that are not useful.
Animated GIFs have found a new life in social networks despite their age, but that doesn't mean their use is limited to cats and memes. A custom-made animated GIF can make the difference between a set of precise instructions and a nightmare that nobody can follow. There are many applications on the Web that allow you to “record the screen” and export the content to different formats; however, several tend to fall into the trap of complexity. Fortunately, there are exceptions to the rule, and one of them is ScreenToGIF, which, in addition to being open source, also goes beyond animated GIFs without overwhelming the user.
Getting Started with ScreenToGIF
The application is completely portable, so everything begins with a double click on its executable. Creating an animated GIF from your screen activity requires modifying the size of the ScreenToGIF window. In other words, the interface serves as a “lens” to focus on what you want to record. Once you finish recording (F7 starts it, and F8 stops it), ScreenToGIF will take you to the editing phase, where you can modify the animated GIF frame by frame.
Adding text, inserting effects like sepia or pixelation, placing an external image as an extra frame, deleting redundant frames, and exporting a specific frame are some of the functions in ScreenToGIF, which also enables editing previously created animated GIFs (drag the GIF onto the executable to edit it).
System Requirements
ScreenToGIF works with any version of Windows from XP onward, although it runs with the requirement of .NET Framework version 4. At the same time, the program needs a “reasonable” computer, and by that I mean it can put a little pressure on the CPU if the animated GIF has a higher quality than normal, or it extends over thousands of frames. Leaving that aside, ScreenToGIF works wonders.
