eHelp » Team eHelp » Making screen shots

1. Open the program from which you want to make screen shots. Leave it open, and open Macromedia Fireworks.
2. Capture the screenshot: alt-[PrintScreen] to capture a window, [PrintScreen] to capture the whole screen. If you have a menu open, alt-[PrintScreen] will close it, so use [PrintScreen] instead and crop as necessary later.
3. Create a new image in Fireworks, File/New.
   
4. The new image will have the dimensions of the item on the clipboard, which is the one you just captured. Select OK.
   
5. Paste from the clipboard, Edit/Paste or ctrl-V.
   
6. Crop as necessary using the Crop tool.
7. If the image is wider than around 620 pixels even after cropping, resize it (Modify/Canvas/Image Size...) or crop it further
8. If resizing makes the image blurry, use Filters/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask....
9. To add arrows, go to the Shape tool and select Arrow.
   
10. The resulting arrow has blue handles that control its size and aspect ratio, and yellow handles that control shaft width, pointyness, and whether there is a bend in the shaft. Experiment with the handles to get an idea of what they do.
    
11. Arrows on eHelp pages should have a fill color of red (#FF0000) and no outline.
    
12. Place an arrow on the page and adjust its size and shape. You will position and rotate it later.
    
13. To rotate an arrow, use the Scale Tool
    
    or the options in Modify/Transform.
    
14. Place the arrow where you want it.
    
15. You can copy an arrow and paste it to create additional arrows with the same size and shape. If you especially like an arrow, paste it into a new file and use File/Save to save it (you can open that file later, copy it, and paste it into your current work).
    
16. Now you're ready to make your graphic. Select Export Preview....
    
17. Your screen shot should be saved as GIF or PNG 8, never as JPEG. Your screen shot will likely have 128 colors or more. You want to reduce the number of colors to reduce the file size, and change the palette so that the fewer colors adequately reproduce the original. Good all-around values are Adaptive palette and 32 colors. Since you can preview the result, you can experiment with other settings. Note that the file size is also calculated for you.
    
18. Congratulations, you have created an annotated screen shot. Repeat until done.