Capture an Individual Button

[sboyd]

Hello,

Sorry if this has already been brought up. I'm very new to the app. Please direct me to the correct thread, if there is one.

I want to capture an individual button in a toolbar and paste it to my document. For example, it could be the "New Blank Document" button from Word. After I have captured the toolbar, can I isolate this button alone and import it to a Flare doc?

Thanks!
Sean

[lacastle]

With Capture open, if you press Ctrl+Shift+R (capture region), you will get a "cross-hairs" selection box to drag around the button you want to capture. (search for Capturing a Region in the Capture help)

You could also use the Rectangle Mode button on the Capture Editor tool bar to crop an image down to the size of the individual button.

[lacastle]

Here are the pages in the Capture help:

http://www.madcapsoftware.com/support/w ... Region.htm

http://www.madcapsoftware.com/support/w ... d|Cropping

[sboyd]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried both methods and they work well. However, I need to use photo editing software to crop the background surrounding the button.

Can I rework a capture to this level of detail using Capture only?

Thanks!

[lacastle]

You want just the image (and not any surrounding background)? You can use the Polygon (or oval) mode instead of Rectangle mode to crop, but if it were me, I'd probably use Photoshop.

I don't think Capture has a transparent background setting. See http://forums.madcapsoftware.com/viewto ... =18&t=5769 .

[SteveS]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried both methods and they work well. However, I need to use photo editing software to crop the background surrounding the button.

Can I rework a capture to this level of detail using Capture only?

Thanks!

Hi sboyd,

Welcome to the forums.

Capture allows you to crop your capture - the feature's called bounding box from memory (I don't have access to a box with Capture at the moment). The biggest disadvantage is capture doesn't allow you to zoom, so precise cropping is a bit of a hit and miss affair. I find the best way is to remember the cropping inculdes the pixels under the crop frame as well as those inside it. It's on the first tab in the properties dialog for your captured image.

HTH

[sboyd]

Thanks for the replies. I will continue to use Photoshop to refine my button captures.

[doc_guy]

I do exactly this in Capture.

Here is how I do it:

1. Maximize the window. (This is helpful if I ever need to re-capture the image.)
2. Take a full-screen capture
3. Save the image as the button name.
4. Press CTRL + SHIFT + P (or right-click on the image and select "File Properties")
5. On the Image Effects tab, click the Select Rectangle button.
6. Move/resize the orange rectangle to select the region you want displayed.
7. Click Ok.
8. Click Ok.
9. Save the file.

Now if your button changes and you need to re-capture the image, you can just open the image, and from the File menu, select "Recapture..."

If the button is in the same spot, the new image will work perfectly. If the button has moved slightly, you can change the crop rectangle in the File Properties.

No need to use Photoshop (although it MAY be faster....)

[trent the thief]

Thanks for the replies. I will continue to use Photoshop to refine my button captures.

Submit it as a feature request. I know with certainty that a couple other packages can capture a single button.

[forfear]

I do exactly this in Capture.
....
Now if your button changes and you need to re-capture the image, you can just open the image, and from the File menu, select "Recapture..."

If the button is in the same spot, the new image will work perfectly. If the button has moved slightly, you can change the crop rectangle in the File Properties.

For some reason i think Capture tends to recapture from the same spot depending on how i launched Capture to take the screenshot...i notice if launch capture from Flare (the setting doesn't seem to apply) and only when i run Capture standalone (Start > Programs > Madcap....)

i have not tested this extensively...but just a quick thought as i remember this

[ccardimon]

Thanks for the replies. I will continue to use Photoshop to refine my button captures.

Submit it as a feature request. I know with certainty that a couple other packages can capture a single button.

Yes indeed they can. Strange that Capture seems really behind the times on this one.

Snagit has an Object Capture feature that lets me capture any clickable button, linked text, or linked image. Extremely useful. After you activate the feature, you click the button you want to capture. The image of the button shows up in the Snagit Editor. It never needs to be cropped. All you have to do is name it if you want and then place it in your document.

As much I want to learn Capture, Snagit seems miles ahead in this department.

[SteveS]

Capture can capture a button. The feature you are looking for is Capture UI Element on the Capture menu.

[ccardimon]

Capture can capture a button. The feature you are looking for is Capture UI Element on the Capture menu.

Close but no cigar.

That function is grabbing the entire screen, not just the button/object I want.

What am I missing?

[trent the thief]

You're going to have mixed results using the button capture. I don't know exactly why, but the library that the developer used plays a part in whether you capture the button, the entire toolbar, or the whole window.

That is true whether you are using capture, snag-it, hypersnap, or any of the other popular capture tools..

[ccardimon]

I've had great results using Snagit for capturing objects such as buttons. That's I'm still using Snagit and not Capture.

[trent the thief]

I've had great results using Snagit for capturing objects such as buttons. That's I'm still using Snagit and not Capture.

If you notice that snag-it grab a button where capture can't, submit it as a feature request. Dev can't work in a vacuum.

[ccardimon]

I've had great results using Snagit for capturing objects such as buttons. That's I'm still using Snagit and not Capture.

If you notice that snag-it grab a button where capture can't, submit it as a feature request. Dev can't work in a vacuum.

I'm pretty sure I already did. Their response? "Of course Capture can do this. Just do that." But what they said to do doesn't work.

I have submitted a dozen or so feature requests. They're probably blocking me as spam by now.

[trent the thief]

I've had great results using Snagit for capturing objects such as buttons. That's I'm still using Snagit and not Capture.

If you notice that snag-it grab a button where capture can't, submit it as a feature request. Dev can't work in a vacuum.

I'm pretty sure I already did. Their response? "Of course Capture can do this. Just do that." But what they said to do doesn't work.

I have submitted a dozen or so feature requests. They're probably blocking me as spam by now.

What's the name of the app?

[ccardimon]

Of which application are we speaking? You mean Snagit or Capture?

[trent the thief]

Of which application are we speaking? You mean Snagit or Capture?

the application whose button eludes capture

[ccardimon]

Of which application are we speaking? You mean Snagit or Capture?

the application whose button eludes capture

Don't recall offhand. I know that Snagit has an Object Capture Mode, made for buttons, hot-links, and such. Once I'm in that Object mode, I click the button, and it show up in Snagit's image editor.

the previous advice I received here regarding Capture seemed clumsy in comparison. I was told to capture the entire screen, then narrow things down from there using Capture's region functionality.

Um, why would I do that when Snagit offers a one-button mode for grabbing button-like objects? Click and you're done.

[trent the thief]

Of which application are we speaking? You mean Snagit or Capture?

the application whose button eludes capture

Don't recall offhand. I know that Snagit has an Object Capture Mode, made for buttons, hot-links, and such. Once I'm in that Object mode, I click the button, and it show up in Snagit's image editor.

the previous advice I received here regarding Capture seemed clumsy in comparison. I was told to capture the entire screen, then narrow things down from there using Capture's region functionality.

Um, why would I do that when Snagit offers a one-button mode for grabbing button-like objects? Click and you're done.

Earlier versions did not capture buttons. That's why you got the advice about doing region captures and then touching up the capture.

Capture V5 has button capture. But, like all screen cap applications, YMMV. There are some UI objects that aren't captured yet. Much depends on the libraries used to create the application. If Madcap knows that Capture has a problem with a certain application, then finding out is a step towards rectifying that situation. Useful feedback is always good.

[ccardimon]

After messing around a bit, here's some feedback. Neither Snagit nor Capture did really well at grabbing the Quote or Exclamation buttons from this very page, but Snagit did better.

Capture grabbed the entire bloody page, but Snagit grabbed only the line containing the Quote and Exclamation buttons, as well as the linked text on the left.

I'm not quite sure how to boil that down into a coherent feature request for MadCap to improve their UI capture element, but there you have it. MadCap must separate the Window OR Button features into a Window feature AND a Button feature.

[ccardimon]

Okay, I boiled it down and submitted it as a feature request. Who knows.

[trent the thief]

Well, thanks for doing that.

Remember, a capture of a web page button will be the entire rectangle, including the transparent pixels, not only the shape you see on rollover or when depressed.

UI elements are often not as they appear in a web app