Introduction
Screenshots are not required but can be helpful for reinforcing concepts and breaking up walls of text. This section provides best practices for taking and modifying screenshots. Keep these concepts in mind as you create screenshots.
Effective screenshots
When taking a screenshot, carefully consider what content to include and what to cut. The screenshot should be tightly focused on the important information; don't include unnecessary information. Here are some examples of ineffective and effective screenshots.
Examples
Imagine you are describing where to find the "Schedule an Appointment" link in the myWalden portal and want to include a screenshot of the link. There are a number of ways to frame the link in an image.
Entire portal page: This image shows so much of the portal it is challenging to find the link. There is no need for the border on either side of the page. In addition, the image would have to be enormous to be sharp. This example is scaled down, making it fuzzy, but even at this size, it is too large.
Click the Academics tab, then click the Schedule an Appointment link, located in the Research & Resources section under the Current Courses.
Cut portal page: This image cuts out the extraneous border, the portal header, and the Walden University footer. It is better, but it is still a lot of visual information.
Click the Academics tab, then click the Schedule an Appointment link, located in the Research & Resources section under the Current Courses.
Focused image: This image focuses in on the important information, namely where to find the link. To create even more clarity, circle the link and cut away the extraneous links below, while still leaving enough content to orient the reader to the page.
Click the Academics tab, then click the Schedule an Appointment link, located in the Research & Resources section under the Current Courses.
To provide the ultimate in clarity, provide two images, one to orient the student to the appropriate tab and one to the link. Then provide a link out to the entire image showing the full page.
Click the Academics tab.
Then click the Schedule an Appointment link, located in the Research & Resources section under the Current Courses.
Adding arrows and circles
Most screen capture software has a number of editing tools you can use to add elements to your images. Even MS Paint has a number of useful features. These elements include things such as arrows, circles, and text boxes. There are a few things that can make your image elements more effective.
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Be consistent in your use of color. Use the same color for all elements within the same resource, and try to be consistent within your department. Red is the recommended element color in Springhare products.
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Be consistent with line weight. Use the same weight for arrows, circles, boxes, etc. Clean and simple lines are better than fancy lines. The idea is to draw the reader's attention to the content, not to the fancy line pointing out the content.
Here are some examples of image elements:
Adding text and text boxes
When adding a text box to a screenshot, size the text box so the text flows evenly. Try to keep the amount of white space around the text consistent. Generally, the text is black and the box borders are red. See the box standards below the examples.
For example:
In this example, the text in the first screenshot is framed by the consistent white space around it. By keeping the white space border consistent all the way around the text, the text box is clean, easy to read, and as small as possible.
In this second example, the text is against the border on the left, but there is a gap on the right. In addition, the top and bottom borders are different than the left border. This example is still OK, but could be better.
In this third example, the border is different on the top/bottom, the left side, and the right side. In addition, the top and bottom borders are so large they are making the text box considerably bigger than necessary. This is not acceptable.
