Cancel a capture.

[Kat se gat]

I'm new to Capture. If I use Snagit and start a capture I can abort it using the ESC key. I searched through the options in Capture but I can't see any keystroke listed or available that will do the same. Is it possible to abort a capture in Capture?

[atomdocs]

There doesn't seem to be. Although, if you do a basic capture (not a window), you can cancel straight out with a single click. I also like the Snagit ESC function. We should put in a feature request.

[Kat se gat]

Tom, I've just started ed my 30-day support freebie so I'll ask the support crew about this. It's a very useful feature in Snagit and it'd be helpful if you could do that in Capture as well.

[Kat se gat]

Tom,

I thought I'd like to add something for you or anyone else to debate. I'm not bashing Capture but there are some things that it and Snagit can and can't do which the other can. I see a possibility here for both products to complement each other. My idea is this:

1. I'll start my screen capture in Snagit as its All-In-One mode is really excellent. I'll save the capture and any post-editing in Snagit's proprietary project file format which is vector based.
2. If there is anything I want to do in Capture I can use Snagit's output as a bitmap for example and open it in Snagit's editor.
3. I can setup Capture's rectangular capture to grab what's in Snagit's editor. That way, it would, in theory, be a doddle to grab the same rectangle dimensions again in Capture which should guarantee I'll get the same content, more or less.
4. I can then do any post-editing in Capture that I can't do or is difficult to do in Snagit and then save Capture's output and put it into Flare. True, I could do that with Snagit's output file anyway but I'm looking at bringing both together to solve a shortfall in either product.

I can appreciate there may be potential gotchas that'll chomp my butt later but as a starter it might be do-able in practice if and when I need to.

To be honest, I think I'd probably use Snagit for most simple screenshots as it's just a PRINT SCREEN away which suits the way my pudgy ten thumbs like to work! Having experimented with Capture last night I can see some very useful things that it can do. So much to learn...sigh.

[atomdocs]

Hi Peter,

I think that is a good practical approach. I agree that each tool excels in places where the other doesn't, and I also run Snagit for simple non-Flare stuff.

For step 2, couldn't you skip the "save to bitmap" part in Snagit and just use Capture to grab the native scene in Snagit?

Alternatively, you could create your scene in Snagit, save to bitmap, and then open the bitmap in Capture (no need to fiddle with Capture's less good capture function...)

Alternatively 2, is it possible to set Capture up as a destination for Snagit's Share > Program function? I use that all the time with Photoshop. (Just tried to configure it now, but couldn't find the settings in Snagit.)

For me, the real value of Capture is the integration with Flare, which cuts out several steps from my third-party image-to-editor workflow. I also, I much prefer the behaviour of Capture's editor - auto-canvas, for example. I just hate editing in Snagit. It's definitely a case of chips and beans, but anytime I am working on a Flare project, I always use Capture. Despite it's current weak spots, I still love it because it saves me time.

Thanks for investigation work Peter, let us know if you get an answer about ESC too.

[Nita Beck]

Although I too can't find a keyboard shortcut for canceling a Capture capture, one can click the little x in the upper right corner of the Capture controls, the one with the big red button.

[atomdocs]

Hi Nita, thanks, good point. Hopefully MadCap are planning some Capture improvements, including ESC.

Peter, thinking about your workflow, unless you are going to edit captures in Capture itself (e.g. add/update captions and other overlays), there is no real benefit of going through Capture. If you are doing post-capture editing in Snagit, you may as well go straight into Flare with a bitmap. To get the power of Capture, you need to do your editing in Capture. I know a lot of people don't like it, but sacrificing a bit of finesse saves a lot of effort in the long run.

[Kat se gat]

Nita. Yes, I see the red X and that's okay to use. I never really noticed it before.

Tom, Thanks for your feedback about the integration points. That was what I had in mind to do. If I don't need Capture specific editing I can slam-dunk the bitmap direct into Flare. I'd still save the Snagit file as an editable format. Like you know, if you add new elements to a Snagit capture and save it as a bitmap only you lose the ability to edit the elements unless you've saved the vector file as a Snagit project file. Another thing I like about Snagit is that it has a very good collection of stamps.

Something else I like about Snagit is that when you do a capture you can nudge the start and end capture points a pixel at a time using the arrow keys. I couldn't see a way to do that in Capture so maybe the dev team will add that as a nice-to-have as well.

If Madcap and Techsmith could join forces and merge the best of both we could have a new product called perhaps, Capit or Snagture?

[Nita Beck]

Another thing I like about Snagit is that it has a very good collection of stamps.

It's very easy to create the equivalent of Snagit stamps in Capture, for example, to use as "letter callouts" or "number callouts." Use the rectangle or oval tool to create a square or circle, set the border properties as desired, set the background color and type (e.g., solid, gradient) as desired, enable and set a shadow if desired, and on the Rich Text tab type a letter or number, then save. Then you can save the object on the Capture palette, so it'll be very easy to use it whenever needed. And there's no need to have 20 stamps, running from number 1 to 20, or a bunch of stamps for A, B, C etc. Once you place the object from the palette, it's a quick operation to change the digit or letter in the "stamp" to a different digit or letter.

I've also created an equivalent object that has a "tail" that I can point to something on an image. For that, I start with a bubble object, and then I set all the properties as needed, as I did with the rectangle or oval object, and then save that to the palette too. Once I place the object on the image, I can stretch and position the "tail" as needed, although I admit it's a lot of "by eye" positioning. I haven't found a way to constrain the tail to, say, being perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical or to 30 or 45 degrees.

I still do use SnagIt for some operations, but I use Capture more and more. Yes, Capture is a bit geeky and lacks some features, but the tight integration with Flare is worth the time I've invested to figure out how to use Capture. I especially like how easy it is to recapture an image. The only thing I *really* dislike about Capture is the torn edge effect. It's ugly.

[atomdocs]

I'd still save the Snagit file as an editable format.

Peter, I agree, that is good time-saving workflow. I do the same with Inkscape for non-Flare callouts.

Something else I like about Snagit is that when you do a capture you can nudge the start and end capture points a pixel at a time using the arrow keys.

Yep, I love that too, was disappointed not to have that in Capture.

It's very easy to create the equivalent of Snagit stamps in Capture, for example, to use as "letter callouts" or "number callouts." ... Then you can save the object on the Capture palette, so it'll be very easy to use it whenever needed.

Nita, absolutely, palettes are great in Capture. This function works much better than Snagit's implementation. It would be great if we could export and share palettes too. Capture might gain more ground if the community could contribute.

I haven't found a way to constrain the tail to, say, being perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical or to 30 or 45 degrees.

Constraining would be great. I find I have to zoom in quite a way to get stuff angled properly. I put in a feature request about this last year.

One thing I miss is the range of line/arrow styles and caps that Snagit has. If there were more preset line/arrow options, and with angle constrain, Capture would cover all my requirements.

[atomdocs]

Too late for my last post: I found where palette files live. Not difficult really, they are in Documents > My Palettes I never really go looking in there for files. So we could share palettes. Maybe MadCap could host them, like skins and templates?