30 Oct 2020

SnagIt 2021 Adds Time-Saving Features

Many people consider documentation to be the job of specialists, and that's true. But sometimes it's also a job that should be handled by those who know how something works even if they aren't "documentation specialists".

SnagIt is one of those applications that seems to get better every year. Sometime around 1990, the director of client support where I worked showed me an application she had discovered from a small Michigan company. The company was called TechSmith and the application was SnagIt. What was clear immediately was that I needed this application because I was tasked with creating marketing materials for the sales team and also some of the documentation.

By today's standards, the 1990 version of SnagIt it was probably primitive, but new features were added every year and there hasn't been a time when SnagIt wasn't on my computer. If you're counting, that's 30 years.

You see the results of SnagIt every week in TechByter Worldwide. It's an application that loads each morning with Windows, and it's used many times each day to capture images that I use to explain something to a friend or to illustrate how a program works. There are other screen capture utilities and both Windows and MacOS computers have the native ability to capture images from the screen, but SnagIt makes it possible to turn a simple image into something that communicates.

 Click any of the small images for a full-size view. To dismiss the larger image, press ESC or tap outside the image.

New in 2021

The first thing you'll see when you install SnagIt is the larger number of image sharing options that are available from inside the application.

The Simplified User Interface function is probably the most interesting addition for 2021. Let's say that you have a website form that users frequently fill out incorrectly. Maybe the user needs to fill in their email address and you've found that too many people make typographical errors. Because you respond to them by using their email address, an error here is serious.

So you put a reminder below the field on the website form to remind people that the email address needs to be correct, and the problem persists. So then you create a screen shot to document the process, add a highlight, and include a reminder. Some people still miss the message. What if you could create documentation that clearly highlights the problem area and excludes everything else?

It would be possible to cover or blur everything but the essential field, but that could easily be a job that takes 10 or 15 minutes. SnagIt's new Simplify function examines the image to identify colors and then obscures details. This happens in less than a second. To complete the process, just select the overlay shapes that hide the part of the image you want to call the user's attention to and delete them. For even more emphasis, add a highlight and perhaps some explanatory text. The process that might previously have taken a quarter of an hour is now complete in less than a minute.

Clearly, this is a trivial example. Most people know how to specify a valid email address, but this would be a real time saver when there's a need to document a complex form.

Here's another possible use. Maybe you have a relatively complex screen and you need to retain the full screen view for context. You could (1) draw a box around the information you want the viewer to see, but that leaves a lot of extraneous information on the screen. There are two potential problems with this: First, the viewer may be distracted by the other information and waste time reading it. The more serious problem would involve a screen that contained proprietary information that you don't want the viewer to see.

The Simplify function covers all text on the screen with a single click, and all that's needed to highlight the individual line is to (2) delete the shapes that cover the information you want the viewer to see. The context and layout are retained, but the private parts are hidden.

Those who use SnagIt a lot probably use the Library module frequently to find previous captures. If you remember which day you captured an image, you can (1) scroll to that day, but a more useful option is often the (2) list of applications that SnagIt was used to capture.

Selecting Firefox reveals that I use SnagIt 276 times in 2020 so far to grab screen shots in the browser. These are listed (3) in order by date, so if I'm looking for a Firefox capture from July, my search is immediately limited to just 61 images, not 276 for Firefox or 790 for all applications in 2020.

When I find the image I'm looking for, I can (4) share it using any of 20 sharing options, or I can select several images and use the batch conversion wizard to rename the files and output them in any of several common formats for use in documents, publications, or the web.

Not Just for Documentation Specialists

I probably would have laughed if someone suggested in 1990 that SnagIt should be distributed beyond the company's documentation specialists, support personnel, and advertising staff. Who else would need such an application? Today that opinion would seem shortsighted.

TechSmith has been positioning SnagIt as an application that's needed by key employees, and the reasoning is solid. Most companies have dozens, and maybe hundreds, of applications that are used by employees. Every employee might interact with a time clock application every day, but might need to access the tax reporting section of that application only once per year. Or maybe the calendar application -- something that's needed only when someone wants to schedule vacation time.

These less-used applications can be confusing, but the ability to use them properly is no less essential. So TechSmith has been promoting SnagIt as an application that every subject matter expert should have. Subject matter experts today include employees who are familiar with applications that other employees use infrequently. They are the people who receive calls and emails from other employees who need to know how to schedule a vacation or obtain their year-end tax form or change their home address in the HR system.

The people who receive requests for help then need to stop doing their primary jobs and help others. But what if they could take a few hours to document the process and make it available on the company's intranet? That's the justification for installing SnagIt on their computers.

Using Templates and Color Schemes

SnagIt's templates feature that was introduced in 2020 allows users to combine screenshots into step-by-step instructions and guides. Templates have been improved in the 2021 version to make it possible to re-arrange, add, or delete steps.

Artificial intelligence has been added to improve color schemes. SnagIt can identify colors, typefaces, and other elements. and then the user can store them as a preset. Once created, these presets can be reused and shared with co-workers to ensure consistency.

TechSmith says that customer requests have been addressed in SnagIt 2021. "Various system improvements ensure that captures are now triggered faster, scaled more smoothly, and displayed better in the editor. And thanks to the smoothing effect, drawn lines in the Pen tool appear clearer and smoother."

 SnagIt is no longer just for documentation specialists

Whether you're someone whose sole or primary job is documentation, or someone who is a subject matter expert, or even someone who only occasionally needs to help others learn how something works, SnagIt is an excellent choice.
SnagIt 2021 is available for Windows and MacOS for $50, and users with earlier versions can upgrade for $35. TechSmith includes a maintenance agreement with all new purchases and updates so that users will have access to SnagIt Certification training, support, and a free upgrade to the next version. Additional details are available on the TechSmith website.
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Short Circuits

Adobe Max: The Really Big Show

October's Adobe Max program usually attracts around 15,000 people from countries around the globe. This year there were nearly 500,000 registered attendees. The primary differences were that those who attended all got in for free.

If you're thinking that this sounds like Woodstock, well, maybe. Unlike Woodstock, though, there was never any intent to sell tickets this year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adobe Max was virtual. A three-day virtual conference with keynote addresses, product demos, and more than 300 breakout sessions -- and nobody had to leave home.

Nobody had to pay airfare or spend hours in a plane. Nobody had to pay for lodging in a strange city. Nobody had to rush from one breakout session to another and hope to get a seat close enough to the front to see what was going on. There were no drunken, late-night parties. (Well, perhaps there were, if a few creatives stayed up late with their cat or dog.)

 Click any of the small images for a full-size view. To dismiss the larger image, press ESC or tap outside the image.

Those who work in any creative endeavor have seen massive changes this year. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayan acknowledged the difficulties, described some of the company's initiatives to assist students and teachers, and called on those who create photographs, music, videos, publications, and other works to keep on creating because they help hold us together.

New applications and updates do not arrive without bugs, and that is the case for some of the 2020 Adobe Creative Cloud new versions and application updates. Dreamweaver's text editing has improved immensely, both in the design panel and in the code panel; but text editing in the Photoshop version released on 20 October was unusable. When the user clicks into a text object, the cursor is not visible and dragging to select text does not highlight the selection. Because it's unclear where the cursor is or what has been selected, editing text is a nightmare. Fortunately, there's a quick and easy temporary workaround that involves modifying the setting for how Photoshop uses the computer's graphics processing unit (GPU).

Long-time Adobe users will be familiar with those kinds of bugs, and Adobe typically releases updates to correct the errors within a few days. Because I'm picking on Photoshop, perhaps I should describe some of the new features and enhancements: There have been big advancements on the IPad version of Photoshop that was introduced as last year's Max as essentially a proof of concept. Now it's much more usable. On the desktop, Photoshop has a sky replacement function to help users improve images in which the original sky was boring. The most interesting new feature is neural filters that are somewhat similar to the lenses that are available on mobile devices in Photoshop Camera. These filters can remove JPEG artifacts, adjust an image's overall color, and even modify the expression, hair, and age on photographs of people.

Adobe's chief product officer, Scott Belsky, explained that life-long learning is even more important than ever.

One serious problem that hangs over those who create videos and photographs is misuse of their work by those who modify media for illicit political purposes. Belsky provide an update on the Content Authenticity Program that Adobe announced at last year's Max conference.

In coming weeks, we'll take an in-depth look at some of the remarkable updates that applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Audition, and Adobe's other products received in October, at the growing number of applications that are available on mobile devices, and at the company's remarkable collection of mobile applications that are provided without charge.

So ... stay tuned.

Saving Money on Your Smart Phone

Personal finance site WalletHub conducted a survey about smart phone usage as Apple released the latest version of its phone. The survey found that 36% of Americans plan to reduce the cost of their cell phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and although it primarily concerned Apple's phones, the information would seem to apply equally to those who have Android phones.

To help people save money on their cell phone bills, WalletHub created a cell phone savings calculator that compares up-front and continuing costs to help consumers determine the least expensive way to buy the phone.

What's the best way to do that? WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez has some suggestions.

Demand for smart phones remains high, and and about one third of smart phone owners plan to update their phones this year despite high unemployment. The survey shows that nearly half of all Americans who own smart phones say the device is their most important possession. There are reasons for this according to Gonzalez.

About three quarters of survey respondents said that Apple charges too much for its phones, but a nearly equal number feel that buying a new phone is worth going into debt. Gonzales says there are still ways to save.

For full survey details, visit the WalletHub website, where you'll also find a smart phone cost calculator.

Spare Parts

Download Wells Fargo's Cybersecurity Guide

Wells Fargo recently created a 47-page ebook that takes an in-depth look at what individuals can do to protect themselves and their finances online.

One of the most serious threats, according to the Insurance Information Institute is identity theft. Criminals constantly change their techniques. More than 14 million people had their identities stolen in 2018, the last year for which full details are available. That was a decrease from almost 17 million the year before.

Losses in 2018 approached $2 billion. The Insurance Information institute says "criminals are becoming adept at foiling authentication processes, particularly mobile phone account takeovers" that nearly doubled to 680 thousand victims in 2018.

The Wells Fargo ebook addresses procedures that can be implemented with relative ease to protect against some of the most common threats, starting with identity theft. It also describes the steps to take immediately if you think your identity has been compromised.

The ebook also discusses methods to protect against viruses, malware, phishing, and ransomware. Despite what many people think, it's not shadowy individuals who launch these attacks, but crime syndicates. So it's you against a virtual army of attackers.

The ebook puts the danger in perspective, so it's well worth downloading and taking the time to read.

The Feds go after Google

The federal government and most state attorneys general are unhappy with the way Google (and its parent company, Alphabet) do business. The Justice Department has filed suit and the attorneys general are likely to join the suit.

According to the Department of Justice, Google's exclusionary agreements cover just under 60% of all general search queries, and "Nearly half the remaining queries are funneled through Google owned and operated properties (e.g., Google’s browser, Chrome).”

Google says the suit is deeply flawed, of course. The DOJ says Google is a "monopoly gatekeeper", so "countless advertisers must pay a toll to Google’s search advertising and general search text advertising monopolies." But Google says that people use Google because they choose to, not because they're forced to, or because they can't find alternatives.

Don't expect a resolution anytime soon. The DOJ suit is similar to a suit in the European Union. There Google was accused of making exclusive deals with Android smartphone vendors to favor the Chrome browser. The EU fined Google $5 billion in 2018 and Google changed its policies.

Twenty Years Ago: Xerox Planned to Sell the Palo Alto Research Center

In October 2000, I noted Xerox's plan to spin off PARC. The process wasn't complete until 2002.

I said: Say "PARC" to anyone who knows something about the history of computing and you'll get a knowing nod. The Palo Alto Research Center -- just up the street from San Jose, around the corner from Stanford. Literally it's the place where the future was invented, but a place from which the owner (Xerox) was never able to extract a profit.

It wasn't Hewlett Packard that invented the laser printer. That was PARC; HP just licensed the technology. PARC also invented the mouse, the graphical user interface, much of the network technology we depend on today, and the concept for desktop and notebook computers.

PARC is now an independent, wholly owned subsidiary company dedicated to developing and maturing advances in science and business concepts with the support of commercial partners and clients.