Old Image Used in Capture V5

[Josh101]

Hi Everyone,

Similar questions to this one have been asked already, but I didn't see any answers. I'm using Capture V5. In my previous documentation release, I took screenshots and added some rectangles from the editor to highlight relevant areas of the screenshot. Fine. The rectangles remained editable. Everything worked perfectly.

Now I'm updating the docs for the current release and capturing new screenshots. I save the new screenshots overwriting the old ones, naively thinking I could just reopen the image in Capture and reposition my rectangle highlights, but no, the old screenshot is there instead of the new one. The only way to get the new image in there is to delete the props file and essentially start over and redraw all of the rectangles.

In my opinion this kind of defeats the whole purpose. I could have just stuck with SnagIt and made the rectangle highlights permanent in the first place.

So my question: Is there a sensible workflow for Capture so you can update your screenshots and not have to redraw all of the highlights or other edits you have added to the image? If not, what's the point of using Capture at all?

[SteveS]

Hm. I think you are seeing the intended behaviour, the Props file contains the original image in all its glory and is used to create the final image. That's why the props file can be huge...

Capture has a feature that allows you to 'retake' the image. I haven't played with it but it might be worth giving a go.

HTH

[Nita Beck]

Yeah, I've struggled with this one, too. Maybe there is some magic way that I haven't yet figured out, but my workaround is this:

1. Rename the image file from within Flare, perhaps by adding "_OLD" to the end of it. But when Flare prompts me to update links, I don't update. (This will be clear in a second.) By renaming the image file, the .props file is also renamed. Then I open the image file in Capture.

2. Take my new screenshot and add it to the Flare project, using the original filename, so it'll already be linked to. Then I open this new image file in Capture. So at this point, both the old and new image are open.

3. In the old image, I copy all of the objects I want to carry over to the new image. I switch to the new image and then paste in the objects. Finally, if I need to reposition any, I do that.

4. Close Capture.

5. Back in Flare, delete the "_OLD" image, which will also delete its .props file.

BTW, I haven't tested out how source control might complicate this workflow.

In Capture 6, there is a command on the File menu to swap in a new background image, but I can't get it to work. Capture won't let me save the image because it says it is in use. (Hmmm, I wonder if I should quit Flare, if that'll make it work... But I digress.)

HTH

P.S. At MadWorld, I attended a FABULOUS session by Paul Pehrson (our very own DocGuy). Paul, do you know some magic we are missing here, a la Capture 5?

[Josh101]

Thanks both for your replies. Steve, I don't see a retake option in the Capture help. Maybe it wasn't in v5?

Beth, your solution sounds almost as bad as mine. Mine is shorter though:
1. Delete both the image and props file.
2. Start over.

That was meant to be a joke, though the joke is probably on me. Seriously though, that seems to be the only option, and I think that's essentially what your solution is doing as well. Capture seemed to have the right idea, which was to leave the base image alone and any additions were left editable. The problem is they didn't give us a way to update the base image, which I have to update practically every release. Plus now we've got props files for every image that we also have to add to version control. At least with SnagIt you knew what you were getting. Your additions end up as part of the screenshot permanently, and when you want a new screenshot you have to start over. No surprises there.

Anyway, hopefully someone will come up with a brilliant solution to this. I'm out of ideas.

[Nita Beck]

Don't know who Beth is...

My solution means I don't have to redo any callous or other objects, just copy and paste them. That's the timesaver for me.

Yeah, this isn't really a viable solution when source control is also involved.

[Josh101]

Sorry Nita, don't know where I got Beth either.

Thanks for your reply though. Sometimes it's nice to know it's not just me and others are frustrated with an application as well.

I think Capture has a lot of potential as a product, just wish MadCap would dedicate some time to make it work well.

[doc_guy]

The recapture button should be there in Flare v5, as I've been using it for more than 4 years, but I don't have a copy of Capture 5 to check this on.

In theory, you capture an image in Capture. When you are ready to re-capture, you go to the File menu and click the re-capture button/link.

Can somebody with Capture 5 post a screen shot of the File menu?

[doc_guy]

Oh, it's also worth noting that you have to actually TAKE the original capture in Capture if you want to re-take it later.

The other option would be to open the XML file (the .props) file and find the section that has the XML for the rectangles you need and copy them into the new screen capture .props file.

[Nita Beck]

Paul, sometimes taking the screenshot with Capture... and recapturing an updated one with Capture ... isn't possible. That's my situation. Capture is not installed on the machine from which we are taking screenshots. We take them with SnagIt and save them as PNGs and bring them to our machines. Then we put them in our Flare project and from there open them in Capture to add callouts and other objects.

In Capture 6 (so this won't help the poster), there is some command for swapping in a new background, but I cannot get it to work. I want Capture to swap in the updated image for the original image, but it won't, telling me the file is in use.

(Sorry, I don't mean to appear to hijack this discussion.)

(And, Paul, I'm glad you are in this discussion now. After MadWorld, you are now my Capture idol!)

[Nita Beck]

The other option would be to open the XML file (the .props) file and find the section that has the XML for the rectangles you need and copy them into the new screen capture .props file.

Oh, that's a geeky and fast workaround! Thanks!

[ajturnersurrey]

I think the way it is intended to work in Capture 5 or 6 (I use both) is that having marked up a photo with call outs etc... you save that markup quite separately as a profile. The profile can then be readily applied to any new screen capture at a stroke.

The problem, I realise, with this approach is that it is only worth the bother of saving a profile and reapplying it to things (albeit very quickly as a batch) when there are several files that need the same mark up. So my profiles tend to be limited to things like defining a print version size.

Otherwise I can confirm I have tried the approaches already described and most often resort to taking a new screenshot and copying across one markup item at a time from the old image. A facility to select all of the markup items at once and copy them across as one would be a big step forward in my view!

[Nita Beck]

Hey, ajturnersurrey....

If it's not too much trouble, would you edit your post (if it needs it) to clarify if you are talking about Capture props (property files) or Capture profile files? Those are two different things. It is a props file that holds callouts. There is a one-to-one relationship between an image file and its props file. By contrast, a Capture profile file can be applied to many images files in order to set something about them all the same, such as background or scaling, as you describe. (And maybe they can also hold callouts, though I'm not sure of that. Hey Paul, do I have that right? I'm still taking in your wonderful presentation at MadWorld in which you talked about profile files.)

I just don't want those who read this post to get confused between "props" and "profile" files.

Thx.

P.S. ajturnersurrey, I actually assume that you know the difference between a props and profile file. I am seeking clarification (if it's even needed) for benefit of others reading this thread.

[SteveS]

... Hey Paul, do I have that right? ...

No. you're right Nita. The props file contains the original image and all the callouts etc that have been added. It allows you to redit the image down the track. You can crop it in a different way, or (in my cae) fix the spelling errors in the callout...

For example, opening a props file in a text editor:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<fileProperties>
    <ImageOverlay Profile="C:\Users\Steve\Documents\My Profiles\MyProfile.capro" ProfileHash="65dfbba0b81c70fc826b62379be205ae" ScreenRectangle="-10,151,1140,565" CapturedWindow="adr91  [Compatibility Mode]">
        <OriginalImage ExportFormat="png" medium_print_EnableFormat="false" ComputedWidth="1140" ComputedHeight="565" Format="tiff">

Palettes, on the other hand, are where you store reusable content. So, once you get a callout that matches your corporate style guide you can add it to a palette so it is always availble. Palettes can also bs shared with colleagues (there was a post a week or so ago...).

HTH

[Nita Beck]

Right. I hadn't even been thinking of palettes, but thanks for the reminder. But there is a file known as a profile, right? So we've got .props file, palettes, and profiles.

[ajturnersurrey]

To confirm I am talking about the "profile" used by your image.

By default you just have MyProfile.capro
You will see this in the tool bar is identified by the words CurrentProfile:MyProfile but you are free to create and save others and you can later apply them to images as a batch process. If you choose View > Profiles you can see what defaults are linked to the profile currently associated with an image - under the "Shapes" tab you will find any callouts that are associated with that Profile, but you can also set other things you will recognise as your properties settings. (If decide you want to add callouts you have drawn on an image to the underlying profile. Copy the item from the image tab then go to the Profiles > Shapes tab and paste it there.)

Think of it as a two stage process.

Stage one: The profile (.capro file) applied to your captured image defines how it looks as a default, say, for all images in one manual or one chapter.

Stage two: You might further modify the properties (saved to your .props file) and add object layers away from their initial profile settings to customise an individual image. This is why an updated profile never gets reapplied to an image unless you choose to do it. You have to use the little buttons with a "P" on them at the bottom of your screen to detatch an existing profile and reapply it or apply another profile, even then you will be asked to decide whether you want to allow the shapes (callouts) from the profile to be applied along with other settings or not.

The MadCap help pdfs are helpful on how to edit your profiles and apply them to a batch of files, once you realise it is not just your .props file that is dictating how an image looks.

[doc_guy]

Yes. That is correct! Sorry I disappeared from the conversation for a while.

After MadWorld, you are now my Capture idol!

Nita, you are too kind!

[sdcinvan]

First, thank you to all for explaining how to use this aspect of Capture - truly appreciated! But the provided solutions are really only viable when you are changing the occasional image. This workflow is not scalable to large amounts and frequent image changes.

Capture image - edit in Capture - update source image - open Capture with new image - transfer elements (either in Capture or XML) from originally Capture edited image - Save - Repeat each time an image is updated

Am I the only one who thinks this workflow is seriously ridiculous?

That the .props contains a copy of the image and provides no way to easily replace it without a whole lot of extra steps!

Like many tech writers doing software documentation, most of my images are automatically generated. I don't use Capture to 'capture' the images but I have begun using Capture to resize and annotate many of the images. I assumed that my frequently updated images could be sync'd and quickly updated in Flare. Did I assume incorrectly?

Someone please tell me that I am misunderstanding something here because I have about 52 images to update and I am not keen about having to manually edit the XML on each of these! If this is the case, this is the most egregious issue I have encountered with Flare/Capture to date.



I sure hope I am wrong.

Thank you.

[Nita Beck]

Shawn, yes the .props file that accompanies the image actually embeds information about the original image within it. But you can easily update the background image, albeit via a manual process.

Use either the Recapture command or the Replace command. For replace, you would need to take a new capture, but then save it to some temp location with some temp name. In Capture, select Replace and then select that temp image. Voila, the image in Capture is updated, without any need to copy any objects from one file to another file, although you might need to adjust the positioning of objects if things moved on the image.

I don't know of any way to automatically replace the background image.

[sdcinvan]

Shawn, yes the .props file that accompanies the image actually embeds information about the original image within it. But you can easily update the background image, albeit via a manual process.

Use either the Recapture command or the Replace command. For replace, you would need to take a new capture, but then save it to some temp location with some temp name. In Capture, select Replace and then select that temp image. Voila, the image in Capture is updated, without any need to copy any objects from one file to another file,

Thanks Nita, you have always been a lifesaver.

The Edit tab > Replace is a 1000x better than the alternative that I read in this thread. So, thank you for that and I will use it for now. However, this is still inefficient over a long term. I am in a start-up and our products are changing faster than I can output document versions. Not being able to automatically update images in Capture is hugely disappointing!

although you might need to adjust the positioning of objects if things moved on the image.
I don't know of any way to automatically replace the background image.

Fortunately, that is the least of my worries. Most images will change without requiring object adjustments.

I cannot figure out why Capture needs to embed a secondary copy of the image in the .props file. I know of other image tools that just store meta data in their .props equivalent files so what Capture is doing just doesn't make any sense.

[sdcinvan]

Shawn, yes the .props file that accompanies the image...

Thank you again, Nita! I really appreciate your quick response. Now I can go home with the assurance that I am not completely lost on this issue.

[Nita Beck]

I cannot figure out why Capture needs to embed a secondary copy of the image in the .props file.

I don't think it's embedding a secondary of the image, but rather is replacing the ONLY copy of the image in the .props file.

And you're welcome, and now go home and relax!

[doc_guy]

FWIW, I totally concur with Nita. Most of the time you don't have to do any fancy work in XML to replace an image in Capture.

If you originally took the image in Capture, then use the Recapture option. It remembers the screen size and location, so if you are consistent about window placement when you do screen shots, you don't even have to re-drag the capture area.

If you didn't take the image in Capture, but used Capture to annotate/re-size the image for use in Flare, then you should use the replace background option. The tricky part here is I'm not exactly sure what happens if the ratio isn't the same as the original image. Hopefully it expands to cover a larger image, but you may want to play with that to see what happens. I take all my captures with Capture, so this hasn't been an issue for me.