Font changes to bold unexpectedly

[rlane]

I'm trying to update a pre-existing image with text callouts so that the text appears without
a border and is in normal Arial font.

I worked with the image as follows:
- The original image had been created in photoshop and saved as an EPS file.
- Using illustrator, I removed the callouts and exported it as a PNG file.
- Using Capture,I added callouts (using the text box feature) to the PNG file.
The text is set to Arial font with font-size of 12pt.

Bacause I want the text to appear without a border in the image, I changed the following
settings on the Appearance tab of the text box properties:
- "Line" set to "white" and "0" pixels.
- "Fill start" set to "Transparent" (note that if I set this to default, the borders of the text
box do not appear in Capture but do appear when output to PDF or CHM.)
- "Fill end" set to "default".

This appears as expected in Capture. However, if I view the PNG file outside of Capture, or
include it in a Flare topic and output to either a PDF or CHM file, the text appears as
though it had been set to bold font.

Does anyone know why this occurs and how to stop it from appearing in bold font?

Thanks.

[SteveS]

Sounds a bit odd...

Are you working at zoom other than 100% (normal)? Or is there some form of scaling going on when saving the image?

[rlane]

I'm working at 100% scale in Capture. If scaling is taking place when I save the image, it's not apparent to me.
I tested the image in Flare without changing the image's size and also by changing its size with the sizing icon.
During the PDF build process there is a message in the list indicating that the graphic is regenerated for "print" medium. The same message appears during the CHM build, but the medium reference is applicable to the CHM medium.

[SteveS]

If you create webhelp or a chm does the font change?

[GarrettDRussell]

I know this thread hasn't been touched in awhile but I am having the same problem. When I edit an image I have in Flare with Capture and save my edits that include callouts, that text in the callout becomes bold. It only happens to certain images and not all of them.

I converted a Frame document to Flare and "Generated Images with Callouts". These images were generated as JPGs so I was able to edit them in Capture. Upon editing them and adding callouts, the text becomes bold. It is not bold or even bold looking in Capture but when I insert the image in Flare or save it and it updates live in Flare, suddenly the text becomes bold.

I have tried changing the font family and font size. I have also increased the size of the callout text boxes to see if the text was just squished. None of this worked. I am working with Capture V6. Does anyone have a fix for this?

The photo in Capture after my edits:

Before.JPG

The photo in Flare after I have saved my edits in Capture:

After.JPG

Thanks,
Garrett

[SteveS]

Looking at the image you have posted it appears the 'after' image has resized, so it is now smaller.

Any form of resizing will create unwanted effects such as this as the imaging software attempts to make lines (including fonts) visible. If the line is one pixel wide it will appear 'bolder' in a smaller image.

Similarly, any form of compression in a jpg is lossy, heavy compression can cause very visible artefacts.

Try using png as your image format, and find out why the image is being resized. It maight be something on the img tag, or you might have set an output resolution that is causing havoc.

HTH

[GarrettDRussell]

The before and after images are the exact same image. I haven't resized the after. I right-clicked the original image in Flare, selected Edit with Capture, made my call out edits, and then saved the image in Capture. It then updates in Flare all on it's own. Is there a resizing process that goes on during that edit that Users are unaware of? If so, is there a way of stopping Capture or Flare from automatically resizing images.

I'm not entirely sure that I have resized any images. The only image editing that I do Flare is by right-clicking the image and select reset size. I assumed this reset the image to it's natural or original size. Is this not the case? I only do this before editing text in Capture as well. It just seems to be the after product of editing text in Capture is being bolded.

All of my images are already JPGs when I convert them from FM. Are you suggesting I make them PNGs after I convert them into Flare? Do you know if there is a way to do this with Capture or will I need to use Photoshop (which I do have access to)?

The images I posted do look like different sizes. It may have been the way I took the screenshots so I retook them hoping these new images may help:

Before.JPG

After.JPG

Does this change anything? If you still suggest I make my photos PNGs I will give that a shot. Thank you for the assistance!

-Garrett

[SteveS]

I don't have access to Flare/ Capture at the moment, so I'm relying on my memory (uh-oh).

In Capture you can set the output resolution, both for 'normal' and print outputs. You could try disabling print output and setting 'normal' to default (ie, don't set a value).

If you are opening a jpg image in Capture and editing it before resaving you are going to suffer from a loss of image quality because JPG is a lossy format. In this case save the changes as a PNG to prevent any further loss of quality. I'd also set the image quality to its maximum setting. Images will be larger, but better quality.

HTH

[gswart]

I'm running into the same issue that Garrett had with callouts. Just wondering if anyone figured it out. I'm using Capture v6 and Flare v10. I'm working with a PNG and seeing the exact same weirdness with the font changing to bold.

Thanks!

[atomdocs]

Hi, I see this too.

After some tinkering, I suppose it is a bug.

It affects text both in rectangle objects and in bubbles.

It happens when the background of the object is set to transparent. (Callout 1 below.)

If the rectangle or bubble has a background colour assigned, it does not happen. (Callout 2 below.)

If a callout is half on, half off another object that does have a background property, the part of the text over the object is ok, but the part of the text over the transparent part of the image is not ok. (Callout 3 below.)

Here is my image in Capture:

Capture going bold - in Capture.png

And here is the output (HTML5):

Capture going bold - output.png

Definitely odd. We should file a bug report.

[CATERAF]

This was maddening for me for a while too! I have a workaround (which does remove the problem) rather than a solution..

The way I managed to get rid of it is to put in a 'background' of some sort behind the shape. That is, I would add another shape that is white (with either no border or a white border) behind the text that has gone bold. The text will then behave as it should. I assume this would work for transparency on any colour -- just make the shape the same colour as the true background.
I have had some side effects of this sometimes because I then see the 'edges' of the background shape in PDF but this doesn't actually appear when I print. I also don't remember if it happens all the time but either way, the font will lose its boldness and look normal.

Hope that was useful. I think a bug report is a great idea

[SteveS]

Well done you!

Identifying transparency as the culprit...

Definitely lodge a bug report, should be a bit easier to fix now you've identified the trigger.

Lodge bug reports https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback/bugs.aspx

[atomdocs]

I forgot to say, I filed a report at the time. It was accepted as bug report #30612. Keep your eyes peeled for the Capture update. I hope it is soon, and I hope this gets fixed.

[alt_jennifer]

Just saw this thread and thought I would chime in...

I've noticed this bug for awhile too. I actually came up with a workaround that works in some instances, but not all. (I hadn't noticed the transparency connection, so that's helpful for me!)

I found that I would edit the text in a box, and then all of a sudden it was bold, like you all did too. But if I then selected that box and clicked the icon to the right of the Underline, named "Unformat", it would fix the issue, and the text box would look just like it did previously.

The "Unformat" button removes inline formatting, so it can't be used in all situations when inline formatting needs to appear. But if you need transparency but don't need inline formatting, this could help. And now I know that if I need the inline formatting, I can set a background color to fix it too!

Hope this helps someone!

[kgmarie]

FYI - I'm still seeing this issue in Flare 2017. Guess that bug has been sitting around quite a while.

[atomdocs]

I submitted a bug report about this in 2014. It was accepted with ID #30612. I don't think it has been fixed, the problem is still visible in the latest version of Capture. However, Capture hasn't been updated for a while, unfortunately it doesn't seem to get much love at MadCap.

A similar bug has even been reported in other applications (you can find posts about this in the Adobe forums). So it is a generic issue, and the primary cause seems to be the transparency attribute. Very vaguely: it occurs when a vector object (the font) is rasterized and there is transparency involved... (Jennifer, unfortunately the unformat action does resolve this for me.)

I encounter this problem when I add a callout to a capture, and part of the callout is on the capture and part of the callout is on blank canvas that I have created by resizing the capture with the drag handles (the checkerboard). In Capture, it looks fine, but in HTML output, the part of the callout that is on the blank canvas is bold, while the part that is on the capture is normal - see my earlier posts in this thread.

If this is the situation you find yourself in, I have a couple of clunky workarounds. Both involve putting a blank rectangle shape underneath the callout:

Workaround 1) Create a rectangle with no border and with fill color matching your background (presumably white), position it over the part of the callout text that is on the blank canvas, and then use the Sink To Bottom command.

Workaround 2) The method above means you might have to fiddle with the rectangle so that it doesn't also go over the actual capture, as a normal capture is part of the background and will always be at the very bottom of your image. To get around this (getting even clunkier) do the following:
a) Enable the option Automatically Send Captured Image to Clipboard in the Capture settings (might be enabled by default).
b) Create a new blank capture file.
c) Make your capture - a new capture image will be created, ignore this.
d) Go back to the blank capture file and paste.
e) Your capture appears in the blank capture file as a layer (instead of the background), which allows you to create one large white rectangle - make it large enough to hold your capture and your callouts.
f) Select the large rectangle and sink it to the bottom - your capture image is now visible above it.
g) Add your "half on / half off" callouts (still set to transparent) - they will now function correctly in Flare.
h) Doing captures this way solves this problem but may cause other issues if you also want to resize your capture image.

[paintedturtle]

A similar bug has even been reported in other applications (you can find posts about this in the Adobe forums). So it is a generic issue, and the primary cause seems to be the transparency attribute.

Agreed--I've seen this bug with saving MS Word files to HTML to capture the images contained within. I have to individually screenshot images that have text until my graphic artist can recreate.

[atomdocs]

Thanks for the info, paintedturtle, I didn't know that one. It seems to be an industry bug. I hope MadCap are still developing Capture; I love the integration with Flare, but I don't really love the tool. Snagit runs rings around it these days.

[Carsten Pedersen]

Wow just tried to make call outs with MadCap Capture 7 and MadCap Flare 2019, and the bug is still here !!!!

Also noticed that the text looks bold when on the transparent background, making the background e.g. white seems to remove the boldness, but when comparing the fonts in Capture and Flare they look different, even they are supposed to be the same.

I mean, I can do this in MS Paint, and it looks better !!!!

This is not a free tool, we spend lot (and in my opinion too much) for this product line compared to the features and quality.

-cpede

[atomdocs]

Hi Carsten, I agree it is frustrating. The way Capture integrates with Flare makes it so convenient to use, but the total lack of support for Capture is exasperating. Flare users need a screen capture / annotation tool, there is no doubt about that. It's as if Madcap have decided that it is not worth competing against Snagit. But Capture has a unique integration with Flare... we are in limbo. I don't expect this bug will ever be fixed