FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

General questions about CyberSnap features, configuration, and troubleshooting.

General

What is CyberSnap?

CyberSnap is a screen capture and annotation suite for Windows with vector tools, high-speed OCR, screen recording, and a color picker, built for casual and power users (.NET 10 / WPF). It combines professional-grade capture, editing, and sharing features in a single free and open-source application.

Is CyberSnap free?

Yes. CyberSnap is completely free and open source under the GPLv3 license. There are no paid features, ads, or tracking. You can help keep it free here.

What Windows versions are supported?

Windows 10 (build 19041) or later, including Windows 11. x64, x86, and ARM64 architectures are supported.

How much disk space does CyberSnap need?

The application itself requires approximately 100 MB. Capture history and images require additional space based on your usage. You can configure retention limits.

Capture

What capture modes are supported?

Area — Select any rectangular region
Active window — Capture the focused window automatically
Full screen — Capture the entire desktop (all monitors)
Scroll capture — Automatically stitch a scrolling page into one image
MP4 recording — Record screen to video
GIF recording — Record screen to animated GIF

How do I capture a specific window?

Trigger area capture
Hover over the target window; it will be highlighted
Click to capture just that window
Or use the dedicated Active Window hotkey

Can I capture multiple monitors?

Yes. Full screen capture captures all monitors. You can also select regions spanning multiple monitors.

Why is scroll capture not working on my application?

Scroll capture requires the target window to respond to scroll wheel events. Some applications (games, video players) don't support this. Try the standard area capture instead.

Editing

Can I edit captures from other applications?

Yes. Open any image file with CyberSnap:

Right-click an image → Open with CyberSnap
Drag and drop an image onto the CyberSnap editor
Command line: CyberSnap.exe --editor "path\to\image.png"

What file formats can I export to?

PNG — Lossless, best quality
JPEG — Smaller file size with adjustable quality
BMP — Uncompressed bitmap

How do I blur sensitive information?

Open the capture in the editor
Select the Blur tool
Draw over the area you want to obscure
The blur is permanent once saved

OCR & Translation

What languages does OCR support?

CyberSnap uses Tesseract OCR, which supports 100+ languages. The language is auto-detected from your Windows display language.

How accurate is OCR?

Accuracy depends on image quality. For best results:

Use high-resolution captures
Ensure good contrast between text and background
Avoid skewed or rotated text
Select the correct OCR language

Can I translate extracted text?

Yes. After OCR, click Translate in the OCR Result window. CyberSnap supports Google Translate and MyMemory translation providers.

Why is OCR not detecting any text?

The image may not contain recognizable text
The OCR language may not match the text language
The image quality may be too low
Try adjusting contrast or resolution

Upload & Share

Where can I upload captures?

FTP/SFTP — Your own server
S3-compatible — AWS S3, MinIO, Wasabi, Backblaze
ImgBB — Free image hosting
Imgur — Community sharing
Webhook — Custom integrations
CyberSnap Share — Built-in sharing server

Are upload credentials secure?

Yes. Your credentials are protected with Windows DPAPI (CurrentUser scope, so only your Windows user on that machine can decrypt them) and stored locally. They never leave your machine. The built-in shared fallback keys (ImgBB, CyberSnap Share) ship as AES-GCM ciphertexts embedded in the app.

Why did my upload fail?

Common reasons:

Invalid credentials: Check username, password, or API key
Network issues: Check your internet connection
File too large: Some providers have size limits
Server timeout: Increase the timeout in settings

Can I use CyberSnap Share without my own server?

The default CyberSnap Share server is provided by CyberGems. For self-hosting, see the CyberSnap Share documentation.

Updates

How do updates work?

CyberSnap checks for a new release once shortly after startup. When one is available you get a silent toast with a changelog peek; clicking it opens About, where you can view the release page, download, or skip that version. Nothing ever downloads without your click.

Can I skip an update version?

Yes. In About → updates, Skip this version silences that release (no toast, widget badge, or tray LED) until a newer version appears. Checking manually or starting a download re-arms notifications.

Troubleshooting

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning on install

Expected for new releases until Windows builds enough reputation for the file; see Installation & Setup: click More info, then Run anyway.

Hotkeys don't work

Check if the hotkey conflicts with another application
Verify hotkeys are configured in Settings
Restart CyberSnap after changing hotkeys
Some applications (games) may capture hotkeys exclusively

CyberSnap doesn't start

Use the official installer or extract the complete portable ZIP. Both include the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime and FFmpeg; no separate runtime installation is required.
Check Windows Event Viewer for errors
For a source build, install the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime or publish self-contained. The official per-user packages run without administrator privileges.
Check antivirus isn't blocking the application

Captures are black or blank

Some applications use hardware acceleration that prevents capture
Try disabling hardware acceleration in the target application
On laptops, ensure the dedicated GPU is used for CyberSnap

The Capture Widget is not visible

Check Settings → Widget → Show widget
The widget may be behind other always-on-top windows
Verify the widget is docked to the correct monitor edge

I don't see the tray icon

Windows hides new icons behind the overflow (^). Drag CyberSnap onto the taskbar, or use the first-run tip's Open Windows Settings button
Anytime: Settings → General → Startup → Keep CyberSnap visible in the tray opens Taskbar settings and auto-opens "Select which icons appear on the taskbar"
Search pintrayicon in Settings search to jump straight to the row

Why do new captures stack instead of replacing the preview?

Since v1.13 the preview holds up to 15 captures as tabs. Switch with click or Ctrl+Tab, close one with Ctrl+W, right-click for Close / Close all / Reopen last closed tab
The auto-close countdown only runs with a single tab

Why don't Space/Enter reach my app while recording?

While recording, Space/Enter are routed to the recording bar (pause/stop) so you don't accidentally click buttons in the app being recorded

Where is Help when I need it?

Every window menu (Settings, Gallery, Editor, Preview, Video Trimmer, OCR result, Capture Widget) has a Help submenu with the contextual wiki page, the CyberGems website, update check, and About

High CPU usage during recording

Reduce the recording quality or frame rate
Use a smaller recording region
Close unnecessary applications
Use MP4 instead of GIF for longer recordings

Privacy & Security

Does CyberSnap collect any data?

No. CyberSnap does not collect, transmit, or store any personal data on external servers. All data remains on your local machine.

What data is stored locally?

Capture images and recordings
OCR-extracted text
Settings and preferences
Upload credentials (encrypted)
History database

Can I use CyberSnap offline?

Yes. CyberSnap works fully offline. Only upload and translation features require internet access.

Contributing

How can I report a bug?

Open an issue on GitHub Issues with:

CyberSnap version
Windows version
Steps to reproduce
Expected vs actual behavior

How can I contribute code?

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Submit a pull request
Describe your changes in the PR description

How can I help with translations?

UI strings are in JSON files under src/CyberSnap/Localization/. Submit a PR with your translation.

How can I donate?

See the Donate section on the main README.