The KNOW-HOW BEHIND SNAGIT…

The KNOW-HOW BEHIND SNAGIT…
This is a quick “how-to” guide of capturing content with SNAGIT software and not a comprehensive explanation. For a further
explanation of SNAGIT software consult their online tutorial videos at http://www.techsmith.com/learn/snagit/tutorialindex.asp
From time to time, you may need to include images from the computer screen in your PowerPoint presentation, MS Word
Documents, or web pages. SnagIt allows the quick and easy creation and mark-up of screen images for use in other
applications. SnagIt is a little different than most applications you may be used to because it actually disappears from time
to time when you are using it. This is ok, the application is simply removing itself from the screen so as not to appear in
the final image.
1. To open the SnagIt application go to the Start menu and select SnagIt from the programs menu.
2. Once you have selected Snagit, the application's main interface should appear. It looks like this:
When you configure SnagIt, you are telling it how you'd like to handle your screenshots. You can select what type of
capture you'd like to make, where that capture goes after you take it, and how the computer will handle it. It's a good idea
to have these things in mind when you open SnagIt.
SnagIt can capture several types of data, including text, video, and websites. Since we're dealing with screenshots for
inclusion in a paper or web page, we'll be capturing images. If it is not already selected, as in the image below, click on
the Image Capture button.
Next we'll choose what the subject of our screenshot will be. You see the following profile choices: Region, Window, Full
Screen, Scrolling window, etc. See below for a description of each.
A
B
C
F
G
H
D
E
I
J
K
A. Region allows you to capture a region of a window that is not outlined by borders or edges.
B. Window allows you to capture a selected window and its elements (i.e. frame, scroll bars, open menus,
toolbars)
C. Full Screen allows you to capture everything showing on your screen (desktop). This includes all menus,
toolbars, and active windows
D. Scrolling window (Web page) allows you to capture a scrolling window (such as a Web Page). Enable the
AutoScroll feature in order to do this.
E. Web page (with links) allows you to capture a web page and keep the active links.
F. Scrolling window to PDF allows you to capture pdf-formatted documents.
G. Menu (time delay) allows you to capture drop-down menus.
H. Object allows you to capture miscellaneous content (mouseover content, etc.)
I. Images (web page) allows you to capture website images.
J. Text from window allows you to capture various text from windows on your computer screen.
K. Record screen video allows you to capture screen shots from video.
We'll begin by taking a screenshot from of the HCC website from the Internet Explorer browser.
To activate SnagIt, click the Capture button. The
SnagIt interface will disappear, but don't be alarmed
- it's working for you in the background.
When you mouse over the Explorer window, SnagIt
will highlight the region that will be captured. After
the region I'd like to photograph is highlighted, I
simply click the mouse button and the photograph is
taken.
Immediately after you take the screenshot, SnagIt
will open a capture preview window so you can look
at the image you have just captured.
You will notice several tools are available which will
allow you to modify the image, but first you may
want to save the image.
Clicking Save As... will open a dialog box. You may
now name your image and save it as the file type
you would like. I'll name it "hcc" and save it as a
JPEG image.
The Paint Tools area (left of screen) has the following options available for you to modify your
captured image (in order from top to bottom, left to right). Simply click on an option to select it in
order to work with your image. After clicking an option you will see additional features concerning
that option below the Tools area.
Pan - Navigate the entire image using the mouse rather than the scrollbars for quick viewing.
Zoom - Zoom in and out using the left and right mouse button.
Selection - Select a portion of the image for copy, cutting, pasting, image effects, etc.
Eyedropper - Select any color from the image by clicking the left and right mouse buttons.
Line - Draw a line on the image.
Arrow - Draw an arrow in the image.
Shape - Draw any rectangular, rounded rectangle, elliptical or polygon shape.
Highlight - Highlight any rectangular region of the image with any selected color.
Paintbrush - Draw freehand on the image.
Stamp - Apply the selected image as a stamp.
Callout - Create shaped callouts with text.
Text - Type text on the image.
Fill - Flood-fill an enclosed area using any color.
Airbrush - Spray paint can.
Eraser - Freehand erase.
The Tasks (right of screen) area has the following options available for you to modify
your captured image (in order from top to bottom, left to right):
The Effects category consists of:
Edge Effects - special effects that you place around the outside edge of your capture. You can add these
effects either as a filter before capturing or within Capture Preview window or SnagIt Editor after
capturing.
Spotlight & Magnify - allow you to select a portion of the capture and modify it using a magnification
effect as well as darkening and blurring effects.
Perspective & Shear - move the corners of a bitmap in the fashion of a parallelogram.
Watermark - add a graphic file in a fixed location in the image capture. You can add logos, titles,
signatures, banner ads and more. Graphic files in BMP, GIF, or, JPG format can be used as watermarks.
Border - add a border around the capture. Using the border options, you can select a width for the
border and its shadow, put the border outside or inside within the image, apply a 3D effect to make it
look raised, select highlight and shadow colors, and more.
Caption - add a caption, formatted to your specifications, during the capture process. You can use
captions to include a time/date stamp, system-related data, a title or any free text within your capture.
You can also customize the font, color, and placement of your captions.
The Size category consists of:
Resize Image - allows you to easily change the overall size of an image to any desired size.
Resize Canvas - allows you to change the size of the canvas. This is the area surrounding the capture.
Trim - cut the outside borders of images you capture. You can trim the top, bottom, and sides of your
capture, or any combination of these.
Rotate & Flip - flip or mirror a selection of the capture or the entire capture and rotate the capture by
the number of degrees specified.
The Color category consists of:
Color Depth - change the capture's attributes that are associated with a color depth.
Color Editing - allows you to access several Color Editing tasks such as transparency, color correction,
histo-contrast, and more.
Image Processing - modify your captures in many different ways. Use one alone, or combine them to
get exactly the right look. Select the Image Processing link in the Tasks pane and a task page displays
showing your choices. Click to select the one you wish to use.
The Action category consists of:
Links/Hotspots - create or modify links and hotspots in a capture. Once hotspots are created, you can
click on one to view and modify the properties of that hotspot or to reposition and resize the hotspot.
You can only see the hotspots when you are in the Link/Hotspots Tasks Page.
When finished editing your captured output, make sure it is in the desired format (select by using the correct item in the
dropdown menu as shown).
By clicking Done on the main toolbar (top of window) you will be asked if you want to close the preview window and go
back to the Capture area. Save As will let you save and resave it under different names. Copy All copies the entire
captured item in the clipboard to be pasted elsewhere. Print will print out the selected item. Send E-Mail will attach the
item to an email. Catalog stores/categories the item in a folder for access later. Send with FTP will upload the item to a
file or web server. IM will let you send the capture using Instant Messenger. Program allows you to open the captured
item in another program.