![]() ![]() End users love pictures, and the correct screen shots make the difference between useful, effective training materials and documents that aren’t read. ![]() This week, I’d like to share a couple of the tricks I use routinely as a technical writer and trainer. The and methods of capturing screen shots are acceptable for one-shot deals, but you shouldn’t use those methods for every screen shot in your document. Instead, find a screen-capture program that you like, and get in the habit of using it every time you create or update documentation.įor my writing and training jobs, I rely on SnagIt, from TechSmith Corporation. ![]() In “Create figures for your training materials with SnagIt,” I called version 4 of the program “a dream come true for technical writers.” Version 5.2.1, released in summer 2001, is the best version yet. I’ve noticed a recurring theme when supporting coworkers and clients who are using SnagIt for the first time: They don’t fully understand how to take advantage of the timesaving options. Here are some of my cardinal rules of using SnagIt. The eyedropper tools make it easy to select the colors you want to change or swap. I’ll close with a tip that made me the hero with a client. A software company wanted to create a paper form on which end users can handwrite information before they sit down to enter records into the computer. So they used SnagIt to capture the application’s data entry screens. Unfortunately, the color scheme of the data entry screens was such that the forms were difficult to read, whether the documents were printed on monochrome or color printers. ![]()
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