Mac OS X, by default, doesn’t come with any advanced image editors or apps, with the exception of iPhoto. iPhoto is more of a photo organizer and basic editor, however. If you’re looking for a high quality, flexible image editor, you might want to check out the Skitch app. Due to the tremendous success of the app, it was actually acquired by Evernote a few months ago. Skitch is one of the highest rated apps in the app store. Here’s how you can get started with Skitch…
It’s difficult to describe exactly what Skitch is, as it’s a very unique image editor. So, let’s jump right in to the tutorial. To get started, launch the Mac App Store on your computer by clicking the Apple logo in the upper left corner of the desktop and selecting App Store… from the context menu. With the App Store open and active on screen, search for the Skitch app by typing the term skitch into the search box and hitting the enter button. The App Store should return the Skitch App:
Click the Free > Install buttons to download Skitch to your Mac. You may need to sign in to the App Store using your Apple ID. Skitch is a fairly lightweight app, so it should install in just a few seconds.
Once the app completes installation, launch it using the path Finder > Applications > Skitch, or directly from Launchpad.
Above, we mentioned that Skitch is a very flexible image editor. Not only can it be used as a screen capture tool, but also a basic drawing app, image editor, or photo editor. Skitch also has built-in image sharing functions, which you can use by logging in with your Skitch account or Evernote account. Next, we will cover some basic functions of the app.
You can use Skitch to take screen captures at anytime by clicking the Snap button. Here, we have used the Snap function to take a screenshot of the Switching To Mac website:
From here, you can simply add effects, text, or other edits to the screen capture.
Skitch can be used as a quick way to resize images also, as it features a built-in resizing utility that is accessible in the lower, left corner of the Skitch app.
Overall, Skitch is a very simple and minimal image editor that has gained a lot of popularity due to it’s user interface and multiple effects and options. If you have ever seen photos on Facebook or any other sites, where there are text effects added and other decorations, there is a good possibility that the photos were edited using the Skitch app. In this article, we have only covered a few of the features that Skitch offers, but it’s simple enough to use that most people will have no problem navigating the user interface and rest of the features.
The main pro of Skitch is that it’s very flexible and is simply a good app to have. It’s Microsoft Paint like in simplicity, yet somewhat Apple like in features. Thanks for stopping by for today’s post. Does anyone use Skitch frequently? Are there any other cool features that we missed?