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Re: Screenshots: Clearest way to indicate button/link/tab to click?
Subject:Re: Screenshots: Clearest way to indicate button/link/tab to click? From:jmarchant -at- adelphia -dot- net To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 3 Nov 2005 11:10:02 -0700
I inherited documentation (all in MSWord) with an excess of red arrows.
They are a uniform line weight but are scattered at different angles,
placements and lengths. While they stand out well against our gray-blue
color scheme, they almost disappeared when printed in black and white.
I am keeping a few arrows but in many cases replacing them with red
ovals or round-cornered rectangles. Rectangles are used when the ovals
would slop over onto adjacent elements that are important.
To solve the contrast problem, here's what I do in Word: Line weight is
1.5 point.
(1.) Place and size the arrow/oval/rect.
(2.) Select it and use CTRL-D to duplicate it. (The duplicate will be on
the top graphic layer, which is where you want it, but offset from the
original.)
(3.) Reselect the original. Change its line weight to 3 points and its
color to white.
(4.) Reposition the duplicate on top of the white one.
(5.) Select both and group them.
This white-edge technique, like shadowing, also gives a
pseudo-three-dimensional pop to the emphasis.
I use Snagit and often include the cursor arrow in the screen grab.
Then, to show that "clicking here makes something happen there," add an
arrow and/or an oval/rect.
> Hello all,
>
> In a screenshot, which is the clearest way to indicate a link/button/tab to
> click...
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