Capture 5.0 image resizing issues

[elad1]

I have been using Capture 2.0 and just got 5.0...yeah, it took a while for the pointy-hairs to buy new licenses. When you capture an image using 2.0 or 5.0 and resize it, it looks fine in both products. When you insert an image (no matter the type, ie: jpg, png, gif, etc) and resize it in 5.0, it very quickly pixelates and any fine detail in it is lost. I did not have this problem in 2.0 and plan to continue using it until the problem is fixed.

I have reported this issue to MadCap, but they do not plan to fix this as part of a 5.x patch...we'll just have to buy the 'fix' in 6.0. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this bug in 5.0.

[Techno]

Yes, I have the same problem, made worse by the fact that I have to re-capture quite literally HUNDREDS of application dialogs originally created in Windows XP, now required from Windows 7. Ironically if I use the Windows 7 Snipping Tool saving as a .jpg, and import that, it's O.K.

And to add insult to injury, if you capture a dialog, (Alt + Ctrl + a) with Windows Aero turn on, the image is clipped. This has also been reported to Madcap. The work-around to to capture a region, but this is annoying and very time-consuming.

[RamonS]

Recapture hundreds of images just because W7 looks a little bit different than XP? I'd tell my boss that there are better things to do than that....unless there really aren't.
One round of applause for screen portraits!

Sorry, can't give any pointers for the issue itself. Do you have a support contract as well? If yes, the license for the next version is included.

[Techno]

I wouldn't necessarly disagree, but the marketing guys want what they sell and promote to appear as up to date as possible.

I don't know about elsewhere, but in our market segment in the UK, Windows 7 has taken off, especially among Vista users.

[RamonS]

Well, Vista just sucks, no wonder why the Vista users jump on Windows 7. I think it depends on the industry you are dealing with. Our clients tend to lag behind a lot and it is difficult to get them off Windows 20000 and in some cases DOS. The old clunkers do what they need them to do and there is no budget for new stuff anyway.
The Windows 7 upturn is slower than expected. Windows 7 doesn't provide anything new compared to XP that would make the expense a reasonable investment. So W7 will crawl its way in through hardware replacements and the fact that there isn't anything else Microsoft offers. Since IT folks love monocultures XP will go away no matter how much we users like it (and hate W7).

That said, it really doesn't make sense to me to redo all the screenshots. If a user is so confused by the slightly different look of the screenshots then no document or help in the world will help them. And after updating the screenshots all those users on the 'old' Windows versions will potentially get confused. I think a good point for a switch is when the new version reaches 50% of share among all versions. Then again, using the classic view throughout makes even that a moot point. The classic view has many advantages for the TW, especially the lack of round edges makes taking screenshots much easier and cleaner. The smaller title bar also makes the images to be smaller and the titles are easier to read.
I gave up arguing with marketing folks, they live in a different world that often has no similarity with reality.

[doc_guy]

Well, one way to get around this is instead of taking this screen shot:



Take this one:



Then what you are doing is removing the operating system from the equation. I've done that with success in some situations -- especially when I'm documenting a Java-based app that can be deployed on Windows or Linux systems. Depending on your application, your mileage may vary.

I've found that it works best, usually, when you use styles for the img tag (or classes of the img tag) to create a border around the image.

[RamonS]

Great suggestion! I additionally recommend to create an img style that automatically draws a 1px black frame around the image. That makes it look like an image and not like a bunch of stuff floating in mid air.