Jing is a screencasting

Screencast

A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. The term screencast compares with the related term screenshot; whereas screenshot is a picture of a computer screen, a screencast is essentially a movie of the...

 computer program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 launched in 2007 as Jing Project by the TechSmith Corporation

TechSmith

TechSmith Corporation is a software company developing screencasting tools for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS such as Camtasia and Snagit. The company was founded in Okemos, Michigan in 1987 by William Hamilton. In 1990 they created Snagit, their most popular and best-selling product.TechSmith, which...

. The software takes a picture or video of the user's computer screen and uploads it to the Web, FTP, computer or clipboard. If uploaded to the web, the program automatically creates a URL

Uniform Resource Locator

In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....

 to the image that can be shared with others. Jing is compatible with Macintosh

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 and Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

. Users must sign up for an account before using the software.

Its simple format and the ability to quickly upload screencasts has made Jing useful for virtual reference

Virtual reference

Virtual reference is the remote, computer-mediated delivery of reference information provided by library professionals to users who cannot access or do not want face-to-face communication. Virtual reference service is most often an extension of a library's existing reference service program...

 in libraries

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

.

On 6 January 2009, TechSmith released Jing Pro, a paid premium version of Jing.