What is Jing?

Jing is a fast and easy way to capture images and create videos of what you see on your screen. Sometimes, using words to express yourself through online conversations just isn't enough. With Jing, you can capture what you want to say with a picture or a video instantly. Pictures and videos really do say a thousand words, and you can capture them all with Jing. I like to use Jing when making tutorials. I can capture any screen shot I want. After I have saved it, I can add arrows or caption windows. Or I may just decide to make a video instead. The best part about Jing is that you can download this neat program off the internet for free.

NOTE: Jing has a free version and a paid professional version. The professional version has features the free version doesn't. The Pro version allows you to save files in MP4 format as well as SWF, whereas the free version only saves SWF (Flash Video) files. The Pro version compresses video into smaller files. Pro lets you upload directly to YouTube. And Pro takes the JING ads off.

Installing Jing

Installing Jing is quite simple, just follow the directions below:

1) Log-on to the Jing website: http://www.jingproject.com
2) This will take you to the Jing homepage. Over on the right side of the screen you will see an option that says Download Now! Jing is Free. Just below that you will see an option for Windows, and an Option for Mac OS X. Click on the appropriate operating system.
3) A new window will pop up which will have installation instructions. Follow these instructions to install the program.

A Note About Jing

As you're installing Jing, you'll be asked to set up a ScreenCast account. This is a must if you want to use Jing. Quoting from the Jing website: "Screencast.com is TechSmiths media hosting solution. Jing uses Screencast.com to securely host your content since its perfect for the kind of images and videos you'll want to make with Jing. We also use Screencast.com so we can give everyone a free, secure hosting option that enables the fastest visual communication possible!" Everything you capture using Jing is uploaded to the screencasts website. Once it is uploaded it will be given its own URL address and placed in a folder made specifically for Jing. This folder is secure and completely private, and is hidden on the screencast.com website. The only way anyone else can access the pictures and videos you capture is if they know the specific URL for that particular image or video. Why does Jing do this? One of the main purposes of Jing is to provide a way for you to use images and videos in online conversations, as well as share what you have created with others. Since Screencast.com makes a URL for each image or video, all you have to do is copy the URL into your chat or online conversation box, then whoever clicks on it will be able to view the image or video you made. You may also, if you choose, make the folder public and share images and videos with anyone the same way you would do it on You Tube.

Some commonly asked questions:

• Does Jing only work with Screencast.com? No. You can upload content to your own FTP server, save images and video to your computer, and more.
• Is Screencast.com free for Jing users? Yes. We give you 2 GB of storage, and 2 GB of bandwidth per month.
• Is Screencast.com private? Yes. Your content on Screencast. com is your business. (You can make it public if you want to.)

Screencast.com offers a ton of other benefits as well:

• Video and image quality is lossless. That means that Screencast.com doesnt mess with your content. No compression, no loss of quality, no resizing.
• You have great control over the privacy level of your content.
• Allow viewers to comment on your content.
• Screencast.com lets you create MediaRolls and Playlists--a nice way to put a lot of content in one convenient place for viewers--and when you update it, viewers have the option to be automatically notified.
• Screencast.com returns convenient, small links to your content. They're easy to paste or even re-type if someone has to.
• Return embed code automatically. This is great for bloggers or people that want to provide viewers with Jing images or videos right on their site. (As opposed of a user having to click a link and leave the page.)
• Attach files to your content. For example, allow people to view your Jing video and download an accompanying PDF or ZIP file.
• Track the number of times people have viewed your content. You can even sort by whats most or least popular.

There are many other things you can do using Screencast.com. To learn more about how to manage your items and use screencast.com to its fullest, log-on to the Jing website. It provides many helps and tutorials that will help you become more familiar with using screencasts.