Make Writing Documentation 101% Easier With ScreenSteps

ScreenstepsIn my consulting work and product creation I have to write a LOT of step by step instructions.

When creating these instructions you basically have two choices:

  1. Use a video screen capture tool to make a walk-through, edit the video down, add voice over, convert to a usable video size and format, upload or send to client.
  2. Create a document using screen grabs, annotate with explanatory text, compile into a PDF, send to client or upload

For the first case I use a Mac application called ScreenFlow, while PC users will likely have heard of Camtasia. These work fine for video, where video is warranted and when you have the time and quiet to do this.

The second though becomes a laborious task. It is necessary to do lots of fiddly little activities, and switch between multiple applications.

That is where ScreenSteps comes in. What it does is enable you to be far more productive with the step by step instruction process, either using the built in tools (all the way from capturing images, adding arrows and annotations, through to exporting as PDF), or by integrating with your favorite applications.

You might think that integrating with your existing tools goes counter to what I just said about it removing task switching, but in fact this app does something very cool and forehead-slappingly obvious that I can not believe I did not already have a utility that does it.

What it does is watches your clipboard and any time you add an image to the clipboard it pastes it into the step by step workflow that you are creating. Once you are done you can stop this “recording” and then go through adding instructions and anything else that needs to be clarified. At the end you can export as Word to finish the document editing part, rather than send directly to a finished PDF.

You can even create your own templates to further automate the process.

There is a free trial, after which you need to buy either

I think it is a bargain considering all the time I will save.

See below for an example that I just exported:

Example

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under Productivity, Software Tools

Comments

One Response to “Make Writing Documentation 101% Easier With ScreenSteps”

  1. Karin H on July 1st, 2009 12:51 pm

    Hi Chris

    I’m a great fan of ScreenSteps and you highlighted ‘only’ two of the features working in/with ScreenSteps gives you.

    Once created you can export the content (lesson) as stand alone using one of the 5 options you showed in the last image. But another absolute fantastic feature is that the same content can be combined, mixed and even crossed with all the other content you’ve created in ScreenSteps.

    So a single blog post becomes part of a mini-course in PDF format, a lesson from one manual becomes an AWeber html messages (I’ve found a way to copy my AWeber template as ScreenSteps html template) and lessons from two different manuals become a new leaflet.
    Easy peasy ;-) The combinations and options of publishing are almost endless, all with just one program: ScreenSteps Pro.

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

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