Quick answer: Open Snagit, select the All-in-One tab, and click Capture. When the orange crosshairs appear, hover over the window you want to capture. Orange directional arrows appear. Click the down arrow for a vertical scroll or the right arrow for horizontal. Snagit scrolls and stitches the content into a single image automatically. If the arrows don't appear, use the manual Scrolling Capture method instead.
Last month I needed to document a 23-step onboarding flow that lived inside a web app. The visible window showed maybe 11 steps at a time. Snagit scrolling capture got the whole thing in one shot, annotations included, with no manual stitching. Most people only use the auto-scroll method, though, and that's the one that breaks most often. This guide covers both methods, the pre-capture steps that prevent most failures, and the specific fixes for Chrome on Mac, Excel, and Kaspersky.
Snagit Scrolling Capture in 2026: Auto-Scroll vs Manual Scrolling
Snagit gives you two ways to capture content that extends beyond the visible screen. Auto-scroll uses orange directional arrows that appear over the window; Snagit handles the scrolling automatically. Manual Scrolling Capture (formerly called Panoramic capture) lets you select a region yourself, then scroll while Snagit records and stitches the frames.
Most documentation only covers auto-scroll. That's fine when it works. I've set up Snagit on enough machines to know that auto-scroll breaks more often than people expect, usually because of security software, browser configuration, or apps that don't expose scrollable areas to Snagit's detection. Knowing both methods means you always have a fallback.
Auto-scroll is faster and produces cleaner output on pages that load completely upfront. Manual Scrolling Capture gives you more control, works on apps that block auto-detection, and is your primary option when the orange arrows never appear.
How to Run Snagit Auto-Scroll Capture on Windows and Mac
Open the Capture window and select the All-in-One tab. Click the Capture button, or press Print Screen on Windows or Control+Shift+C on Mac. The orange crosshairs appear.
Move the crosshairs over the scrollable window, not a region within it. This is where most people go wrong. You hover over the window as a whole. Orange directional arrows appear at the edges: up, down, left, right, and a center arrow for the full scrolling area.
Click the arrow for the direction you need. Down for a long webpage. Right for a wide spreadsheet. Center to capture everything in both directions at once.
Snagit scrolls automatically and opens the result in Snagit Editor when it finishes. The capture is already stitched into a single image. From there you can crop, annotate, or export in your format of choice.
One thing to know: the center arrow triggers a full auto-scroll in both directions. On long pages, this produces images over 10,000 pixels tall. That is rarely what you want for documentation. Use the directional arrows and let the capture run to where you need it, not to the absolute end of the page.
How to Use Snagit Manual Scrolling Capture (Formerly Panoramic)
Open the Capture window, go to the All-in-One tab, and click Capture. When the orange crosshairs appear, click and drag to select a region within the scrollable window. Do not include the scroll bar in your selection.
The All-in-One toolbar appears. Click the Scrolling Capture button, the one with the window-and-arrows icon. A small recording bar appears on screen.
Now scroll using the window's scroll bars or your mouse wheel. TechSmith recommends using the window scroll bars for the most consistent results. Scroll in one direction at a time and keep the speed steady. Fast or jerky scrolling causes misaligned frames at the seams. When you've captured what you need, click Done.
Manual Scrolling Capture also works well as a saved capture profile. If you document the same application regularly, set up a profile with a custom hotkey and skip the Capture window entirely.
The output quality depends almost entirely on how smoothly you scroll. That sounds like a small thing. It is not.
4 Things to Check Before Starting Any Snagit Scrolling Capture
I have watched people run Snagit scrolling capture on pages they haven't prepped, then spend 4 minutes figuring out why the output looks wrong. These four checks take under 2 minutes and eliminate the most common failures before they happen.
Set browser zoom to exactly 100%. Non-standard zoom levels cause stitching artifacts at every frame boundary. 90% zoom looks fine visually but will produce a slightly offset seam on longer captures. Check the zoom level in your browser's View menu before you start.
Remove sticky elements before capturing. Fixed-position headers, cookie banners, and chat widgets are visible at every scroll position, so they repeat throughout the final image. In Chrome or Firefox, open DevTools (F12), select the element in the inspector, and delete it. This only changes your local view for the current session. The site is unchanged.
Maximize the browser or application window. A larger window means fewer scroll iterations and fewer seams in the output. Snagit's stitching algorithm is accurate, but every seam is a potential artifact. Fewer seams means cleaner results.
Scroll through the page once before capturing. Lazy-loaded images only render when you scroll near them. If you haven't scrolled the page at least once, those images show up as blank gray boxes in the final capture. Scroll through everything, go back to the top, then start the capture.
Snagit Scrolling Capture Not Working: Fixes for Chrome, Excel, and Kaspersky
The TechSmith support article on scrolling capture failures stays general. That is fine as a starting point. But three specific situations need specific fixes, and the generic advice doesn't get you there.
Chrome on Mac, arrows don't appear or capture fails: Chrome 68 and later blocks JavaScript from AppleScript by default. Snagit uses AppleScript to drive scrolling on Mac, so this breaks the feature entirely. Open Chrome, go to View, then Developer, then check "Allow JavaScript from Apple Events." You have to do this manually in every Chrome profile you use. Snagit cannot set this on your behalf.
Kaspersky Internet Security: Kaspersky can break Snagit's window detection completely, which is what makes the orange arrows appear. Adding a Snagit exception inside Kaspersky does not fix this. The only confirmed fix is to fully exit Kaspersky from the system tray before capturing, then restart it afterward. Right-click the Kaspersky icon in the taskbar and choose Exit.
Excel auto-scroll fails or produces duplicated rows: Snagit's auto-scroll in Excel requires that all scroll bars are visible in the window. If you've hidden them in Excel's settings, or if you're working in Page Layout view, auto-scroll will fail or produce repeated sections. Chart sheets and custom views are also not supported. TechSmith's documented workaround: select your data range, copy it, open Snagit Editor, and use File > New from Clipboard. This bypasses the scrolling mechanism entirely and produces a clean capture of the selected area.
Snagit's toolbar appears inside the capture: This was a known bug before Snagit 2024.1.0. If you're on a current version and still seeing it, go to File > Capture Preferences > Capture tab on Windows (or Snagit menu > Settings > Capture tab on Mac) and enable "Hide Snagit during capture and remove Snagit controls from completed captures."
Mac App Store version of Snagit: The App Store version does not support scrolling capture at all. Apple's sandboxing restrictions prevent it. Web capture via URL is also unavailable in the App Store version. If the orange arrows never appear on Mac and none of the above fixes help, check where you installed Snagit from. You need the version downloaded directly from TechSmith's website.
Snagit Scrolling Capture vs ShareX vs CleanShot X for Full-Page Screenshots
Most comparisons treat these tools as roughly equivalent for scrolling capture. They are not.
| Feature | Snagit 2026 | ShareX (Free) | CleanShot X (Mac, $29) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-scroll capture | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manual scrolling capture | Yes | No | No |
| Horizontal scroll capture | Yes | Limited | Yes (since v4.8) |
| Works in desktop apps (not just browsers) | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Excel scrolling capture | Yes (with caveats) | Limited | No |
| Built-in annotation editor | Yes | Basic | Yes |
| Capture profiles and hotkeys | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Price | See techsmith.com | Free | $29 one-time (Mac only) |
Snagit vs ShareX Scrolling Capture
ShareX handles vertical scrolling capture well on most browsers. For straightforward web documentation it works. What it does not have is a manual fallback. When auto-scroll fails in ShareX, you're stitching screenshots yourself. Snagit's manual Scrolling Capture is a real alternative that produces clean output. For anything beyond standard web pages, especially desktop tools, internal software, or wide spreadsheets, Snagit's window detection is more reliable across a wider range of apps.
Snagit vs CleanShot X Scrolling Capture
CleanShot X added horizontal scrolling capture in version 4.8 (May 2025), so that gap no longer exists. Where it still falls short is manual scroll control: CleanShot X only has auto-scroll. If auto-scroll fails on a page, you're out of options. Snagit's manual Scrolling Capture is a real fallback that CleanShot X doesn't offer. CleanShot X also stays largely browser-focused; desktop application capture is partial. If you're on Mac and documenting web content exclusively, CleanShot X is a credible option. If your work touches desktop apps or requires fallback control, Snagit is the better choice.
Snagit Scrolling Capture FAQ
Does Snagit scrolling capture work on Mac?
Yes. The Mac shortcut is Control+Shift+C instead of Print Screen. Chrome on Mac requires an extra step: enable Allow JavaScript from Apple Events under View > Developer in Chrome. Without that setting, the orange arrows may appear but the capture will fail or produce incomplete output. If you downloaded Snagit from the Mac App Store, scrolling arrows won't appear at all due to Apple's sandbox restrictions. You need the version from TechSmith's website directly.
Why don't the orange scrolling arrows appear in Snagit?
Three specific causes cover most cases. Kaspersky or similar security software blocking Snagit's window detection. The page having multiple nested scrollable areas that Snagit can't isolate to a single scrollable region. The Mac App Store version of Snagit, which does not support scrolling capture. In any of these situations, switch to Manual Scrolling Capture as a workaround.
Can Snagit capture a full Excel spreadsheet automatically?
Auto-scroll works in Excel when scroll bars are visible and you're in Normal view. Page Layout view breaks it reliably. Chart sheets and custom worksheet views are not supported. If auto-scroll fails, select your data range, copy it, open Snagit Editor, and use File > New from Clipboard. That method works in all Excel views regardless of scroll bar settings.
Does Snagit support horizontal scrolling capture?
Yes. In auto-scroll mode, click the right-pointing orange arrow instead of the down arrow. In manual mode, scroll side-to-side yourself while the capture records. Wide Excel sheets and applications with horizontal layouts both work with this approach.
How do I stop Snagit from capturing the toolbar in scrolling mode?
This was fixed in Snagit 2024.1.0. On Windows, go to File > Capture Preferences > Capture tab and enable "Hide Snagit during capture and remove Snagit controls from completed captures." On Mac, find the same setting under Snagit menu > Settings > Capture tab.
Is Snagit scrolling capture better than ShareX?
For vertical scrolling of standard web pages, ShareX is comparable and free. Snagit is clearly better for horizontal captures, desktop applications, anything requiring manual scroll control, and situations where auto-scroll fails. If you document anything outside of standard web pages, the manual Scrolling Capture method alone separates Snagit from ShareX in practical use.
Does Snagit work offline for scrolling captures?
Yes. Snagit does not require an internet connection to capture or edit. The scrolling capture feature works entirely locally. The only feature that requires connectivity is the TechSmith Assets integration for stamps and templates.