Introduction for new users
Updated on
One of the main goals of ScreenSteps is to make it fast and easy to author great looking, visual documentation. In order to meet that goal we offer two articles editors. One article editor is available in the ScreenSteps web browser application. The second article editor is a desktop application that you download and install.
The approach we generally take is:
- Use the desktop client for any authoring that involves working with images at all. The desktop has a screen capture tool built in along with annotation tools.
- Use the web interface if we just need to make quick edits to the text of an article.
If you haven't done so yet, we strongly recommend you view our ScreenSteps Basics Course to give you a quick understanding of some of the basic concepts behind ScreenSteps.
Selecting which editor to use
The two buttons located next to an article's title can be used for selecting whether you would like to edit on the Desktop or on the Web respectively.
There is also the option to select from the article's action menu
If you don't see the Edit on Web option then the article you are trying to edit was created in an older version of ScreenSteps. The web editor only works with articles that are stored in the new format. After you edit the article in the desktop editor you will be able to use the web editor the next time you want to make an edit.
1 Comment
Add your comment
Authoring Content
Overview of Authoring 9
- Introduction for new users
- How to Download and Install the ScreenSteps Desktop Editor
- Using the ScreenSteps desktop editor
- Create your first article in ScreenSteps
- What is the Launch Pad?
- Opening the Launch Pad
- The New Desktop Editor (with Workflows)
- Change my profile settings
- How do I update the ScreenSteps desktop editor?
Writing Articles 44
- How to Create an Article
- Understanding the article, checklist, and workflow articles types
- How do I rename an article?
- How do I edit an article?
- Add new content to an article
- Which text formatting options are available?
- How to Create an Article Template
- Use an article template
- Code format vs. Code block
- Add additional search terms
- Styling callout text blocks
- How to indent and outdent content (make a heading a subheading)
- Create a foldable section
- Update/Edit Hyperlink
- How to add a link to a heading within the same article, another Article, Chapter or Manual
- Add a Hyperlink to an External Web Page
- Create an Inline Link
- How to indent or outdent items in a list
- How to hide the inspector panel in the desktop editor
- Adding file attachments to an article
- Give a Heading an Anchor Name
- How to auto-number headings
- How to Embed HTML (and Add Video to ScreenSteps Articles)
- How to find the embed code for adding video from YouTube into a step
- Merge cells in a table
- Add columns and rows to a table
- Spell check
- Continue numbering from a previous text field
- Create a table of contents in an article
- Create a checklist article
- How to convert an article to a Checklist or Workflow or regular Article
- Converting a heading to a different content block type
- Create a Glossary
- How do I unpublish an article?
- How to Enable Copy to Clipboard for a Paragraph Content Block
- How to Set a Default Article Template for a Site
- How to embed a quiz/assessment into a ScreenSteps article or course
- How to Reference an email address in an article
- Taking Screenshots on Mac isn't working – showing blank desktop and no apps are visible
- Spellcheck Not Working on Web Editor
- Error while saving article because link to article, chapter, or manual has been removed from site
- Add additional search terms to an article using the Author Action Panel
- Creating an article from an audio recording
- Are my guides followable? (Digital Guide Checklist)
Working with Images 22
- How to capture images
- How to configure the keyboard shortcut for capturing images
- How to add existing images
- How to open the capture palette
- How do I resize images and the image canvas?
- How to Auto Scale Your Images
- How to add multiple images to image content
- What it looks like when you add multiple images
- How do I select images?
- How to replace an image
- How to Edit the ALT Text for an Image
- Adding a border around an image
- How to set the image export format
- How to crop an image
- How to capture an open menu
- Adding screenshots from a mobile device
- Change the order of images
- What size screenshot should I get?
- Export images from an article
- How to Turn Automatically Generated ALT Tags On/Off
- How to add a GIF to an article
- Using the built-in screenshot tools in Mac or Windows to capture images
Working with Annotations 11
- How to add annotations to your images
- How to blur information in images
- How to change the number sequences
- How to add letters to a sequence annotation (workaround)
- How to change the opacity in the rectangle tool
- How to align annotations
- Using annotation presets to create a standard look
- Change text color of a text annotation
- How to create an annotation preset from an existing annotation
- Change the color of the text box annotation border
- Change the size of the sequence annotation
Article Management 11
- What is a draft?
- How to use drafts
- How do I unpublish an article?
- How to generate a preview link before an article is published
- How do I show (publish) or hide (unpublish) an article?
- How do I publish a draft version of an article?
- How to Create an Article Template
- Use an article template
- How to move or copy headings and other content blocks from one article into a new article
- How to Save an Article
- Overview of the Author Action Panel
Working with a Team of Authors 10
- How to Assign and Set the Status of an Article
- How to Provide Feedback to Editors (Using Notes)
- How do I notify another author about a change that needs to be made?
- How to Notify Someone that They've Been Assigned an Article
- How to View Revision Notes and Other Activity for an Article
- How to View All Revision Notes
- How to View the Content Block Associated with a Revision Note
- How to Reply to a Revision Note
- How to Get Feedback on a Specific Manual
- Assigning Articles or Changing Status using the Author Action Panel
Workflow Articles 3
Certifying Content 8
- Content Certification - Foundational Knowledge
- How to Set a Default Certification Cadence
- How to Track Certification for an Article
- How to Certify or Recertify the Contents of an Article
- How to Manage the Content Certification Process via Reports
- How to Require/Not Require Process Owners for Article Certification
- How to Assign a Process Owner for Certifying Articles
- How to set the certification expiration of an article to a specific date
Troubleshooting 11
- Why is the screen black or gray when I try to capture the screen on Windows?
- When trying to capture a screenshot my screen shifts or resizes
- Generating a Log to Troubleshoot Internet Issues
- Sending ScreenSteps support information about your computer system
- Why does ScreenSteps freeze when I try to capture the screen?
- Failed Connect error
- How do I locate the image files used in the desktop article editor?
- Authorizing ScreenSteps to capture images on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later
- ScreenSteps Desktop won't open
- "Unable to initialize spell checking library" error
- Locating Crash Logs on Windows
Article Requests 6
Video 7
- Video Overview
- How to upload video
- What type of video/audio file can be used and what is the maximum video length that can be uploaded?
- How to change the video thumbnail
- How to reuse the same video in multiple articles
- How to record video within ScreenSteps
- How to Get Embed Code for a Video in Vimeo
Other Resources
- Overview of ScreenSteps
- Organizing Content
- Customize Your Site
- Integrations
- Admin Tasks
- Permissions
- PDFs
- Contextual Help
- Creating Courses
- Single Sign-on and SCIM
- Notifications
- Announcements
- Accessibility
- Example Content
- Best Practices
- FAQs
- Course Materials
- Migrating Existing Content to ScreenSteps
- Salesforce and ScreenSteps
- Implementation Guides
- AI (Beta)
Recently Updated Articles
- Add or Modify Users in Bulk Using CSV Upload (Including Adding Remote Users)
- How to Make a Site Hidden from Search Engines
- Using the built-in screenshot tools in Mac or Windows to capture images
- ScreenSteps Allowlist Domains and Public IP addresses
- How to Convert an Article from Legacy to New ScreenSteps (Schema 5)
Anna Kelian
The link in the introduction to " view our ScreenSteps concepts videos" redirects to the homepage.