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RE: Is Photoshop a good tool for screenshots?(long)
Subject:RE: Is Photoshop a good tool for screenshots?(long) From:"David Knopf" <david -at- knopf -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 5 May 2002 11:43:47 -0700
forcarolynne -at- shaw -dot- ca wrote:
| We use FrameMaker to develop the document. It is then converted into a
MIF
| file and imported into Robohelp 2000 for online. My manager, who does
the
| online conversion, would LIKE to have the screenshots in print just
import
| smoothly into Robohelp, but this doesn't work for 2 reasons:
| 1) Images are poor quality once imported
| 2) Callouts and lines created in FM come out misaligned once
imported.
| I don't know of a good way to do what is being asked.
<snip>
| My solution proposes that we invest in a good imaging tool such as
| Photoshop, where I can take the screenshot, use Photoshop tools to
create
| callouts on a different layer and then and then merge the layers to
export
| the PSD file into JPEG for print and do the Save for Web to export
| into GIF for online. My understanding is that you have to manipulate
the
| screenshot for these different media anyways because they have
different
| requirements (i.e. resolution, file size).
|
| Does anyone know of a better way to do this process? Is the solution
that
| my manager wants one that can be achieved or do we have to, as I
propose,
| create and maintain the screenshots separately?
Instead of investing in Photoshop and changing your workflow around to
accommodate the limitations in RoboHelp's FrameMaker import, I'd suggest
you consider investing in WebWorks Publisher, which will solve the
problem you are experiencing with callouts in your graphics and will
also make it possible for your manager to fully automate the process of
generating online Help from your FrameMaker source files.
WebWorks and RoboHelp Certified - RoboHelp MVP
Member, JavaHelp 2.0 Expert Group
Moderator, HATT & wwp-users
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