Camtasia Continues to Perfect Video Documentation

TechSmith's SnagIt application is essential for anyone who needs to document on-screen processes on websites or in any kind of on-line or print publication. Although SnagIt has limited video capture capabilities, advanced video documentation is best done with TechSmith's other primary application, Camtasia.

Following the lead of many other software companies, TechSmith has abandoned version numbers. The current version is Camtasia 2018. That decision makes a lot of sense because TechSmith was late to MacOS, so Windows versions had one number and the MacOS version had a lower number.

In this version, TechSmith has improved the library functionality in the Windows version and added it to the MacOS version. Camtasia captures, edits, produces, and exports video sequences. It's important to understand that Camtasia is not Adobe Premiere, which is intended to edit and produce video sequences from a camera. Camtasia is a tool that's designed for documentation specialists.

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Although Camtasia is more basic than Premiere and therefore easier to learn, it's not an application that you can open for the first time and master in a day. But if you spend 30 minutes watching TechSmith's introductory tutorials and another hour or so experimenting, you should expect to be able to create basic documentation videos within a day or two. Those who have experience with other video editors or an earlier version of Camtasia will make a quick transition to the 2018 version.

TechSmith also offers a complete series of instructional videos that address using the program's more advanced features — and there are a lot of those. For this review, I'll limit the topics to what you might reasonably expect to master after watching the 5 introductory videos.

Recording captures the full screen of your primary monitor by default, but it's easy to change this if you want to capture just a small part of the screen. If your computer has a webcam, you can turn it on. Audio is on by default and you can select the appropriate audio input if your computer has more than one. After you press the big red button, Camtasia reminds you about which button to push when you want to stop recording and then starts a 5-second countdown to showtime.

Camtasia's interface is similar to that of most video editors.

1. On the left edge of the interface, under the Record button, you'll find a list of tools: The media bin, the library (kind of like a media bin on steroids), annotations, transitions, behaviors, animations, cursor effects, and more.
2. The next panel to the right will display tools or components that are related to the tool you select. The media bin, for example, will hold any audio, video, or other media files you've imported for the current project.
3. TechSmith calls the large panel in the middle of the interface the Canvas. You may know it as the stage or production monitor. It's where you see what will be on the screen in the finished video.
4. If you enable the Properties panel by clicking the Properties icon near the lower right part of the interface, you'll see context sensitive controls for whatever tool or component you've selected.

The Timeline, which occupies the full width at the bottom of the screen contains all of the active components in the video you're working on. You can create any number of tracks and name them appropriately.

5. I used 2 music tracks so that I could cross-fade the music as needed.
6. The narration track contains the audio that I recorded separately in Adobe Audition. Camtasia can record audio as you're recording the sequence and I did that, but I prefer to record the actual audio for the program separately.
7. Overlays include items such as overlay graphics, titles, call-outs, and more. I never have more than 2 such items on the screen simultaneously, so there are just 2 overlay tracks.
8. The main video track is at the bottom of the Timeline and it can contain animations.
9. The Play Head is used to move through the video and to position the cursor when you need to cut video or audio.
10. You'll find the playback controls directly above the Timeline.
11. A Zoom control is used to enlarge or reduce the amount of information on the Timeline.

The timeline is flexible. In addition to being able to add tracks as needed, the tracks can be resized as you work on a video.

1. My timeline had two music tracks.
2. Within the music tracks, you control the volume by setting anchors and dragging the volume line up or down.
3. Overlays can be added above the video tracks, which is how I created several boxes and arrows that called out items on the screen.
4. The main video timeline is where transitions such as fades are added between individual clips.
5. It's also where animations are added. When the image is zoomed in or panned, you're seeing a transition effect.

I created a sample video using Camtasia 2018 by recording the process of importing and preparing a series of photographs in Lightroom, editing one of the photographs, and the exporting images for use on Facebook. The video is just under 7 minutes long.

The video uses (3 times) a free intro that I downloaded from the Camtasia wesbsite and 3 of the free audio files. For casual users, the free assets provided are sufficient, but those who produce a lot of training videos should take a look at the paid options. Users have access to few royalty-free video assets that include customizable intros, outros, lower thirds, animated backgrounds, icons, and music tracks. A paid subscription version ($200/year) allows access to 600,000 royalty-free assets.

The first 20 animated intros on the TechSmith Camtasia downloads site are included with Camtasia 2018 and are already present in the program's library. Many more are available to subscribers.

The same is true for audio tracks. I found 23 that are available without a subscription and used 3 of them in the test video. Many more are available to subscribers.

TechSmith also provides images and icons for download. I wasn't able to find any free photographs, but several groups of icons can be downloaded without additional charge.

Numerous sources exist for free, open-source images that are eligible for Creative Commons licensing. If you find nothing there, Adobe's stock plan ($360 annually), TechSmith's $200-per-year program, and other paid programs are worth considering.

The theme manager helps users to maintain consistency across a single project or from one project to another. Create a named theme and define foreground, background, and accent colors that will be used for call-outs, shapes, arrows, and other assets. You can also define a typeface so that type will be used consistently throughout the project.

The library is in the tools panel on the left side of the screen. Selecting an asset category displays a list of free assets and offers the option to download more if you've signed up for the annual plan. For assets that include sound or motion, you can preview it to identify the one that fits your needs.

When the video is complete, you can export it as a file on your computer using any of several presets, create your own presets, or export to Screencast, Vimeo, YouTube, or Google Drive.

For my test video, I recorded the full screen on a high-resolution monitor (2560x1440 pixels). Exporting a high resolution video for use on the internet has been problematic in the past. By "problematic" I mean "tearing out what's left of your hair, shouting at the cat, and questioning your sanity for even thinking about creating a video."

Camtasia rendered the video, connected to Vimeo, and uploaded the file with only minimal work on my part — giving the video a name, providing a description, including some key words, and selecting the privacy setting. Vimeo processed the file and published it.

 If you create documentation videos, Camtasia might save your sanity.

A software support technician introduced me to Camtasia in 2002, not long after TechSmith released version 1.0 and I was impressed. Sixteen years later, I'm still impressed. If you need to create video documentation, it's unlikely that you'll find a better application. The 2018 version enhances Camtasia for Windows and brings Camtasia for MacOS in line with the Windows application.
Additional details and a 30-day trial download are available on the Camtasia website.

Short Circuits

Browser Security Is No Longer an Afterthought

Browsers developers have been concentrating on security for severals years. Microsoft touts Edge as being more secure than the competition. Google makes similar claims about Chrome. And Mozilla is testing a new security tool called Firefox Monitor that's intended to alert users if their accounts have been compromised.

Firefox Monitor will be in a future release, but version 61 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android was pushed out to users this week and it has some worthwhile new security features, starting with the ability to block operations that rely on the insecure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) unless the document itself is an FTP document. The change deprecates non-secure HTTP and pushes forward the company's effort to force adoption of secure HTTP (HTTPS).

A full explanation is on Mozilla's website.

Version 61 also implements Transport Layer Security specification 1.3 that was released in 2014. TLS is the encryption protocol that allows networked applications or devices to exchange information privately.

The planned Monitor function is expected to let users see the details about sites and other sources of breaches and the types of personal data exposed. It will then recommend actions users can take to protect their privacy.

Mozilla will begin testing the Firefox Monitor tool with about a quarter of a million users and plans to roll it out to all users as soon as they're satisfied that it's ready for general release.

The Art of Selfies for Non-Millennials

A bit tongue-in-cheek perhaps, One Travel took advantage of National Selfie Day (June 21) to explain the art of taking a good selfie. "If you're not a millennial," the company's news release said, "the art of the selfie might seem a little intimidating." If you find that you're even more intimidated when you want to look great and also show off all the activities you're doing on your getaway, they have some suggestions.

Clearly this is a self-serving news release that's intended to get the name "One Travel" in front of as many people as possible, but it also included some really good information. So I'm willing to play the game. If you're thinking about going somewhere on vacation, here is One Travel's website, where you'll find more useful travel information. Now the selfie how-to [along with my comments].

• Find the Right Angle: A high angle doesn't improve your photos. In fact, angling the phone too much can leave you looking distorted. Instead of holding the camera at an awkward angle, try facing it head-on. Not only will you look proportionate, but viewers will be able to appreciate the scenery in the background. [My extra advice: Consider the weird angles, too. Watch a professional photographer sometime and you'll see a variety of angles being tried.]
• Consider the Lighting: Lighting can make or break your travel selfie. [Maybe that's why it's called "photography" -- light writing.] Nobody is going to be able to appreciate a gorgeous view if the lighting is bad. Natural lighting is absolutely the best, so use it as often as you can. And (the news release says) when it gets dark the flash can be your absolute best friend. [Flash can also be your worst enemy. Avoid it most of the time, but turn it on for pictures taken in strong sunlight to fill in dark shadows.]
• Seek Out Unusual Locations: If you really want your travel selfies to keep your audience intrigued, skip the usual tourist spots. The Eiffel Tower is impressive, but also look for surprising locales to improve your photos and keep them from the usual boring looks. [And when you're photographing tourist spots, try some unusual views.]
• Sunglasses or No Sunglasses: Unless you have legitimately cool-looking sunglasses, skip them for your selfie. All that aside, there are times when sunglasses are acceptable: when you're at the beach or in a ridiculously sunny spot. [I agree totally.]
• Mind the Sun: If you're taking an outdoor selfie, the sun can simultaneously be your greatest friend and worst enemy. The trick to taming the sun and making sure it helps instead of hinders your photographic dreams is to keep it behind you. Try to frame the photo so your head is blocking the sun. This way you get all the light with none of the harshness. You and your surroundings will look radiant. [There are generations of photographers who have taken pictures of people facing the sun. This is a bad practice.]
• Figure Out Your Selfie Smile: Some of us feel awkward cracking a grin on camera. Remember, you're on vacation, so you should look like you're having fun. If a natural smile just isn't natural for you, go for a milder look with the closed-mouth smile, being sure to smile with your eyes. And if you really want to nail that on-camera grin, practice in front of a mirror. Then the next time the selfie mood strikes you, you'll be prepared.
• Beware of the Solo Selfie: Traditionally the selfie is what the name implies, but if you're surfing for the first time, or perched on the edge of a high cliff, you don't want to be battling with a camera. Don't do something risky in the hopes of achieving that perfect selfie. [In other words, don't win a Darwin Award.]

Look What's Back: Fake Non-Delivery Notifications

It's been a long time since I received one of those fake delivery notifications, the ones that try to convince the recipient to open a poisoned file or follow a poisoned link. These scams had nearly dropped off the face of the internet, but apparently the crooks are still able to trick some people.

This message is generally similar to the kinds of messages we've seen in the past, but there's at least one new trick that's apparent. Let's start at the top of the message and work through it.

1. RECIPIENT: Instead of being sent to me, this message shows "undisclosed recipients" in the message's "to" section. The message purports to refer to a single package that wasn't delivered, so why is it being sent to more than one recipient? That alone is sufficient to reveal the message for what it is.
2. ATTACHMENTS: The presence of any attachment makes the message suspicious and two more than doubles the danger signals. Note that one file is a compressed ACE file and the other is a compressed 7Z file. Many file compression systems exist and 7-Zip is generally considered to offer more security than PKZip and WinZip for files that are protected with a password. The choice of ACE is surprising, though. It's an uncommon format that's created by Aces200. Invariably these attachments either contain malware that runs automatically or, more commonly now, contains files that the recipient has to run manually.
3. SALUTATION: If this is a legitimate message about a package I sent, wouldn't the delivery company know my name and not refer to be as "Sir/Madam"?
4. INSTRUCTIONS: The text of the message clearly has been written by someone who doesn't speak English as a first language: "reversed to our Office" instead of "returned to our office" is just the first of several tell-tale indicators.
5. COMIC SANS: Really? No large corporation uses comic sans in a commercial message.
6. INCORRECT CAPITALIZATION: Non-native speakers of English sometimes follow the Germanic style that capitalizes nouns. In standard English, "Documents" would not be capitalized unless it was the first word in a sentence.

The first rule of the internet continues to be Trust Nothing!