What capture modes does ShareX offer for screenshots and screen recording?

ShareX covers full-screen, region, window, monitor, scrolling, and auto-capture screenshots plus standard and GIF screen recording. It is a free, open-source Windows application, so every mode below is available in the same install rather than split across paid tiers. The practical question is not whether a mode exists but which one matches your task, because each mode feeds into the same after-capture pipeline.

Screenshot capture modes

ShareX lists these capture methods for still images:

• Fullscreen — the entire desktop across all monitors.
• Active window — only the window currently in focus.
• Active monitor — the monitor containing the active window.
• Window menu — pick a specific open window from a list.
• Monitor menu — pick a specific monitor from a list.
• Region — draw a selection rectangle.
• Region (Light) — a lighter-weight region selection.
• Region (Transparent) — region selection with a transparent overlay.
• Last region — repeat your previous selection rectangle.
• Custom region — a predefined region you configure.
• Scrolling capture — capture content longer than the visible window, such as a full web page.
• Auto capture — capture on a trigger rather than a manual keypress.

For repeated work, Last region and Custom region are the time-savers: if you screenshot the same panel every day, you define the rectangle once instead of redrawing it. Scrolling capture is the one to reach for when the content you need extends past the bottom of the screen.

Screen recording modes

ShareX offers two recording methods:

• Screen recording — standard video capture of the screen.
• Screen recording (GIF) — records directly to an animated GIF.

GIF recording is useful for short, loopable demonstrations where a video file would be overkill. For anything longer or with audio needs, use standard screen recording.

What happens after you capture

Capture is only the first half. ShareX routes every capture through after-capture tasks, which you can chain together. The documented options include:

• Show the quick task menu or the "After capture" window
• Beautify image, add image effects, or open in the image editor
• Copy image to clipboard, pin to screen, or print
• Save image to file (or "save as"), and save a thumbnail
• Copy the file, file path, or folder path to the clipboard
• Show the file in Explorer
• Analyze image, scan QR code, or recognize text (OCR)
• Upload image to host, or delete the file locally

This is where ShareX differs from a plain screenshot key: the same capture can be annotated, OCR'd, uploaded, and copied to the clipboard in one sequence. The Region capture tool specifically includes drawing and annotation tools for marking a screenshot before you save, copy, or upload it.

Choosing a mode by task

Practical notes

• ShareX is Windows-only, so these modes assume a Windows desktop.
• The interface is available in many languages, including English, Simplified Chinese, and others, if localization matters to you.
• Because capture and after-capture tasks are separate, decide your output first (clipboard, file, upload, OCR) and then pick the capture mode — the mode does not lock you into a destination.

If your need is a single annotated screenshot shared to a link, Region plus an upload task covers it. If your need is a repeatable daily capture of the same panel, set a Custom region and bind it to a key.