TechSmith Jing 2019 Announcement
For over a decade, TechSmith has continued to provide Jing as a free screen capture and screen recording tool. Jing still proves to be of significant value to our customers based on the positive ratings and high number of downloads.
With Adobe’s plans to retire Flash at the end of 2020, Jing’s current video format .swf will no longer be supported by web browsers.
As a result, we have evaluated the future of Jing and have decided to build a new modernized replacement tool.
We remain committed to offering a free solution because we are passionate about making it easy for anyone to teach, train, and explain concepts visually with images and video.
To achieve this, we have decided to build a new recorder rather than update Jing. Building a new tool will allow us to update the code structure of our free recording tool and offer modernized enhancements including a new approach to the UI that better mirrors the recording functionality of our other flagship screen capture products, Snagit and Camtasia.
Our goal is to roll out this new recorder in phases, with updated video functionality being prioritized and available first in order to provide users with an improved screen recording experience well in advance of the Flash retirement.
Future phases of this new recorder will include image capture and annotation functionality.
Jing users will get email updates on progress via the email address they used when setting up their TechSmith account, and we will continue to post additional information here as well throughout the year. So keep checking this forum for progress updates.
-Team TechSmith
With Adobe’s plans to retire Flash at the end of 2020, Jing’s current video format .swf will no longer be supported by web browsers.
As a result, we have evaluated the future of Jing and have decided to build a new modernized replacement tool.
We remain committed to offering a free solution because we are passionate about making it easy for anyone to teach, train, and explain concepts visually with images and video.
To achieve this, we have decided to build a new recorder rather than update Jing. Building a new tool will allow us to update the code structure of our free recording tool and offer modernized enhancements including a new approach to the UI that better mirrors the recording functionality of our other flagship screen capture products, Snagit and Camtasia.
Our goal is to roll out this new recorder in phases, with updated video functionality being prioritized and available first in order to provide users with an improved screen recording experience well in advance of the Flash retirement.
Future phases of this new recorder will include image capture and annotation functionality.
Jing users will get email updates on progress via the email address they used when setting up their TechSmith account, and we will continue to post additional information here as well throughout the year. So keep checking this forum for progress updates.
-Team TechSmith
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Thanks for this information. I'd be interested in a basic "Home" version preferably at no cost..!! 0 -
I never knew the product existed. Why don't you just have a "Snagit Free" version to consolidate and provide an upgrade path to the paid version? 0 -
I look forward to being in the loop and kicking the tyres. 0 -
Jing's biggest selling point has been ease of use and the number of clicks to get stuff grabbed and shared. I am a SnagIt customer and still prefer the Jing UX for most of what I do. 0 -
Does this mean if I create a video with Jing before Flash goes away, it will eventually not work? Will the replacement tool still have the 5 minute time limit? 0 -
The Snagit interface is wonky, though. ;) Jing was/is much cleaner. Waiting with baited breath for the beta .... 0 -
that is correct- the video files that Jing creates are Flash videos, and will eventually cease to work.
In the mean time, I highly recommend you try out Snagit, which has a free trial, and makes ".h264 MP4" videos, which are current and compatible in all browsers.0 -
What do you find wonky about Snagit's interface? Thanks for the feedback! 0 -
I find the gui to be a hodgepodge design that's unintuitive, I find it difficult to set captures that are useful, and in the end, using Jing to capture and then pasting into CorelPaint or Photoshop just easier to do. Moreover, for quick annotations, much easier to do in Jing and throw on a callout with some text and highlight something, then copy and paste into a email and done. I use macOS and windows 8, 10, but find the Snagit interface just awkward. 0 -
I would add, I am a Camtasia user and a SnagIt user, though I rarely use SnagIt. I am going to upgrade Camtasia in the next few weeks, now that the semester has started. Jing was much easier for me to push on my students than something like SnagIt, though I did send an unanswered request for classroom pricing to sales ;), I don't really need that. 0 -
Interesting thread. From a long time SnagIt user, I do all my post capture editing in SnagIt itself and I would find using CorelPaint or Photoshop to be totally unintuitive and very clumsy.
Perhaps I'm simply too deep in the forest to see the trees, but I don't find the UI unintuitive at all.
However, I do admit that since the introduction of Favorites, when I need to use a different tool that I haven't saved as a favorite,it becomes tricksy to find the tool. But I think that's just human nature. For example, my wife's telephone number is in my phone. I never have to dial it. So I'm often hard pressed to say exactly what that number is. Heaven help me if I ever get sent to jail and need to call and don't have my phone!0 -
When support stops, on the Adobe Flash file format, what will happen to already recorded and shared videos? ... deleted, or converted? 0 -
Neither- they'll remain as is, and browsers will slowly phase out support for playback. 0 -
In my view, if you updated Jing with just mp4 output format (and corresponding Screencast support) + restored FTP upload functionality and zero change to the UI/UX, I'd gladly pay a small fee for it. The UI (in my view again) is just about optimal.
My typical case is requesting support to a helpdesk : capture the screen area with the error message, highlight it with an arrow, upload and share it, paste link in chat window, all in 5 clicks (+ ctrl-V), unbeatable...
Keep on the good work !
Vicne0 -
I would do this: "if you updated Jing with just mp4 output format (and corresponding Screencast support) + restored FTP upload functionality and zero change to the UI/UX." No fee though. 0 -
completely agree. the UI for snagit, camtasia, screen recorder etc is way too many clicks. Jing was the best UI/UX out of all of them. TechSmith, for the love of god please listen to your customers! Fix Jing. Right now it doesn't work on MacOS Catalina, and the new software isn't ready yet, so right now I'm just SOL! :( very disappointed. 0 -
Same. Jing was just awesome for quick screenshnots with a quick and easy markup. I found it almost necessary for my job in support. I hate not having it. 0 -
Like other people here I love Jing because of the easy of use. I don't use it for video capture so just screen grabs.
Features I love:
- being able to draw arrows and boxes with text is so simple
- the no bs copy-to-clipboard (Capture Image > Copy)
- keeping a history of previous screen grabs
- PrtScn button to start the screen grab
The one reason I've tended to use it less is because it crashes more often than not in a multi-monitor environment. Wish there was a fix for this one problem and I'd gladly keep using the current version.0 -
also have issues in a multi screen environment 0 -
Please reconsider and fix Jing. I would pay for Jing and like it much better than SnagIt. I have used both tools, but Jing has been my go to tool. Jing allows me to get my job done much faster than SnagIt. I had to stop using Jing today as it now has too many glitches. It is a sad day. I will miss it. Thanks for all the years I was able to use it. It is very much appreciated! 0 -
Hi! We will keep making instruction videos but we already made a lot that are very important for us to keep. In order to avoid losing to much work, is it possible to know:
1) how long the videos that we made with Jing in the .swf format will be available?
2) is there any way we can download our videos to then be able to convert them into a format like mp4 that will keep working?
Thank you very much!0 -
For our free account level, videos are kept for 1 year 0 -
That's right, you can do that to transcode and keep your videos.
For future videos, yes, stop using Jing. Snagit is a great and robust choice for sure. For a free alternative, you can use the feature we just launched in Screencast that allows you to record videos.
That doesn't yet entirely replace Jing, because it doesn't do screenshots/editing, but it does do video and that's your greatest concern right now.
Jing will remain available until we feel we've replaced enough of its functionality with this new tool (namely, screenshots and simple edits in addition to the video recording).0 -
Hi Paul, thank you for your answer. We know about the 1 year, we look at them very often so it's never been a problem for us. So just to make sure:
So if I subscribe to Screencast Pro, either Monthly or yearly version, I will be able to download my videos and convert them so we never lose them, right? And then for the videos we will make in the future you recommend we stop using Jing and chose another product like snagit? I wonder because Jing is still available for downloading on your website.
Thank you very much if you can give me another round of answers I would be very grateful! Have a good day,
Ariane0 -
Paul, does Screencast now include something that will convert the stored videos to a supported format (e.g. MP4)? 0 -
Not currently. We are 0 -
Apple released Catalina today and I'm not updating until the jing replacement is available. Any outlook on when it will be released? Jing is one application that I use daily and can't live without!
Richard0 -
Hi Richard!
We're still working on the replacement, which you can see more about here (under the "Read More"). Note that we do have a Recorder up and ready for use at Screencast.com, where you can record straight to MP4. We're still working on the image capture part, but we'll get there so be sure to follow this page for more info!
-Robert0 -
Most people I speak with use Jing for quick and easy screen capture with annotation, not the video recorder. Seems like TechSmith may be prioritizing the wrong feature. 0 -
Totes agree... we want the ease of Jing! 0
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