Academic Tech Tips

If you teach, train or support computer users, using screen captures can be an efficient way to provide instructions.  Taking multiple screen shots and formatting your images in a word processing program can be time-consuming.  Screen Steps is an all-in-one program that allows you to capture images, add text and annotations then export your document to Word, PDF, html or a blog or Web page.

Cost – 39.95 with the option to take an additional 15% education discount: http://www.bluemangolearning.com/screensteps/purchase/

Screen Steps Help Resources:
http://bmls.screenstepslive.com/spaces/screensteps/manuals/screensteps

Cooliris is an app for iPhone and iPad users that provides an interactive slideshow view of images and videos you find online.   The Cooliris plugin is currently compatible with:  Flickr, Facebook, Instagram,  and more.  Once you install Cooliris, all you need to do is mouse over  images and videos on many supported sites, then click the Cooliris icon to launch a full-screen slideshow photo viewer.   With this tool, you can quickly and effortlessly browse through hundreds of images in a Google search.

Check the Features page to learn about browser compatibility.

A screenshot is an image taken of the computer screen or a portion of the screen. These images can be useful for creating a demonstration of a program or even for recording a problem on your computer. You can easily take a screenshot on a Mac or PC without installing additional software.

For PC

1. On the upper right-hand side of your keyboard, press PrtScn.
2. The screenshot will be copied onto your clipboard. Open any image-editing program like Paint and click on Paste or use the keyboard command: Control-V.
3. Save the image.

For Mac

1. On your keyboard, press Command (Apple Key) – Shift – 3, in this order, to capture the entire screen.  Or press, Command – Shift – 4 to highlight and select an area of the screen to capture.
2. The image will be saved to your desktop.

Screen Capture Software

If you are interested in more advanced features for taking screen captures, there are quite a few useful programs out there.   SnagIt, for PC, allows you to edit your image by highlighting areas, adding call-outs, arrows, text and more. Snagit is very useful for creating tutorials; it runs about $50.  SnapzPro, for Mac, enables you to record anything on your screen and save as a Quicktime movie; it runs about $70.

With the increasing amount of information available on the Internet, means for consuming online resources are constantly evolving and becoming more image driven.  Many sites use images to represent news from around the world. Seeing an interesting picture  may expose you to a topic that you wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.

BBC News posts a daily slideshow in the Day in Pictures section.

Google News offers the option to put the top news stories into an image view.

Visit the  News in Pictures website to see a comprehensive  listing of websites that feature pictorial news.

With Kwout, a Firefox Add-on, you can take screen shots of any Web page that you’d like to display as an image.  The distinguishing feature of Kwout is the use of an image map, which allows hyperlinks within the screen shot to remain active and clickable. The image above is an example of a screen shot taken using Kwout; notice that the links are active within the image.

To start using Kwout, you will need to first install the Kwout Firefox Add-on.   Users can easily share an image that includes an image map on a blog or social networking site, using the embed code that Kwout provides. There is also the option to post directly to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and other sites.

Once an image is included in a Word document, it is embedded as part of the file.  If you would like to use an image that is part of a Word document, luckily there is a quick and easy way to extract and save images from Word.  Saving a Word document as a Web page (from Word 2000 on) will separate the text from images as separate files.   

To save your document as a Web page, select (File > Save as) then choose Other Formats.  From the pull-down menu, next to Save as type:, select (Web page *.htm; *.html), then save.  Two components will be saved; a folder, which will contain the image files along with a separate .htm file. Find the image files you’d like to use and you may delete the rest, since you will still have the original Word document.

If you’ve ever worked with photo-editing software, you’re probably aware of the numerous file formats for saving digital images, ranging from JPG to GIF to TIFF.  Some formats are proprietary to specific software, while others can be used across programs and platforms.  There are several factors to consider when selecting an image format, such as how the image will be used (prints, slideshow presentation, Web) or whether or not you will need to continue editing the image later.  In this week’s tech tip we’ll provide some basic information and best uses for the more common image formats.

Saving Images
When you click on an image to view it, a photo-editing program that came installed on your computer such as Windows Picture and Fax Viewer or Apple Preview may open it.  If you have a digital camera or scanner, the software that came with your device may open your image. Or you may use Adobe’s higher end tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator. The images that your digital camera produces are most likely JPEGs, however when you download an image from the Web, it can be in a variety of formats.  If you wish to change the format of an image, click Save As in the image-editing program that you are using. Before changing the file type, keep in mind how you plan to use the image.  Follow the guide below to help you choose the best file format for your image. 

Common Image Formats

BMP (Bitmap)
An older format typically used for graphic elements on Microsoft applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Paint, etc.. BMP files are uncompressed, meaning they can create extremely large files. Keep in mind that bigger files can be less versatile for email transfer and posting to the Web and can also take up more disk space.   

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
Typically a Web-based format, GIF allows images with fewer than 256 colors and little pixel information to be displayed at a higher quality. It’s ideal for graphic images with few colors such as logos or Web page navigation icons that you want to place on the Web.

JPG/JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group)
JPGs are a commonly used format for photographic images (most digital cameras output JPG images). Compression rates for JPGs are adjustable; JPGs that are moderately compressed lose very little quality from the original image.  JPG images also have a 24-bit color scheme, which enables subtleties in complex images to be displayed. JPGs are very versatile and can be used for photo prints, slideshow presentations and Web-based applications. 

PDF (Portable Document Format)
PDFs are generally used to maintain both textual and graphic information such as a newsletter or brochure. PDFs are a standard for making such materials available on the Web for download.  

PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
This format was developed to replace the older GIF format for use on the Web. However, unlike a GIF formatted file, PNG allows for a wider range of color use.

PSD (Photoshop Document)
This format is used to save Photoshop projects midway through completion. It is especially helpful with multi-image or multi-layer projects that you have not completed or may want to return to edit later. Do not use this format to save an image you wish to use outside of Photoshop.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
Generally used for print images, the TIFF format allows varying degrees of compression and a 24-bit color scheme. Because it allows for a completely uncompressed file, it is most often used for professional printing of high-resolution images.

Compression
If you intend to email an image or post it to the Web, it’s a good idea to reduce to the file size for accessibility purposes.  Here are links to previous tech tips that provide information on free photo-editing software solutions and steps for resizing images.

Free Photo Editing Tools

Resize Photos Fast

Resizing Photos and Making Banners with Paint.NET

Resize your Digital Photos in Windows XP