In addition to screencasts and infographics, HelpXplain can also be used to take and edit individual screenshots. You can add callouts (text bubbles), texts, shapes, arrows and additional images and then save as a normal static image (PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF). At the same time, you can also save in HelpXplain's own .xplain format so that you can edit all the individual components of your screenshot later.

 

See Editing Images and Screenshots in this chapter and the Editing Images and Elements chapter for more details on editing images and adding shapes, effects and other enhancements to them.

Make the screenshot

Select New in the File menu and select the Screenshot icon. The HelpXplain window is hidden and the Screen Capture dialog appears.

The most important setting here is the option to include a delay. This gives you 5 seconds to open a dialog or menu before the screen "freezes" for the capture. see the The Capture Tool for full details on all settings.

Position the capture dialog over the window you want to capture and configure any options there that you want to change. If you want to capture open menus or dialogs activate the Delay option. Then you will be able to open the menu before the capture begins.

The screen "freezes" and switches to Screenshot mode. All the elements on the screen that are visible are now individually selectable – menus, dialogs, windows etc. However you cannot open new elements.

Click to select the window, dialog or menu you want to capture.
SHIFT+Click to add elements to the selection (window, dialog, menu).
CTRL+Click to capture with the cursor in the current position.
Click the Capture icon to capture without the mouse cursor.

The screenshot is inserted in a single slide in the HelpXplain editor.

Crop the screenshot

1.Select the Edit tool in the top right corner of the image and adjust the crop window. You can also drag the image inside the crop window to position it without moving the crop window. Then click on the check icon to apply. You can also select Crop in the Picture Tools/Image menu.

2.Adjust and drag the crop frame. Hold down SHIFT and drag the corners to maintain the aspect ratio (relation of width to height).

3.Click on the check tool in the top right corner to apply. You can also drag the image inside the crop frame to change its position without moving the frame.

4.Cropping is non-destructive. The full image always remains available and you can adjust the crop later.

5.Click on the screenshot again, open the Size menu in the Home tab and select Fit Slide to Objects to adjust the slide container to the cropped screenshot. (Also available in the right-click context menu.)

Adjusting the slide is necessary because all content in HelpXplain has a slide as a container. When you save an image it actually saves everything visible inside the slide, so you want the slide borders and the image borders to be the same.

Save a HelpXplain .xplain version for editing

Always save a HelpXplain .xplain version for future editing. Select Save As in the File menu and choose HelpXplain as the file type to save. This saves everything in a single file with the extension .xplain.

Save an individual slide as a static image or dynamic SVG

You can save individual slides as a static image or fully-scalable SVG vector image. This is ideal for screenshots, for example. Right-click on the slide in the Slides list and select Export in the context menu. You can copy the current slide to the Windows Clipboard as an image, or export it as a static image or as a dynamic and scalable SVG vector graphics image.

Save options:

•Clipboard: Copies the slide to the Windows Clipboard as a static image

•Picture: Save as a static image (PNG, JPG, BMP or TIFF) or an SVG vector image

The Favorites tool

You will often create elements that you want to reuse. You can do this with the Favorites tool in the Home tab:

Creating Favorites:

1.Select any element or multiple elements in the current slide.

2.Right-click on the element and select Add Selected Object to Favorites in the context menu.
OR
Click on the Favorites tool and select Add Selected Object.

Using Favorites

Select an element in the Favorites preview, then click in the editor to insert it.

Managing Favorites

Select Manage Favorites in the Favorites menu. The favorites are shown in a standard Xplain editor window, just like a slide.

Save all slides as static images

Select Save As in the File menu and choose Static Images as the file type to save. If there are multiple slides this will save all the slides in the project as individual images. You can then save as PNG, JPG, BMP or TIFF.