TIP - 'SnagIt' & Image Mapping

This post is only a little taste, a teaser, of what you can achieve using SnagIt. It isn't simply a 'screen capture' utility, it can be used to produce small objet d'art.

 

 

Can you spot the Google Ad?

 

If you combine a 'good' graphics programme (GIMP is 'Open Source' and FREE) with 'WLW', it is only your imagination that limits what you can produce for the edification of your visitors. Let me put it another way; why would you spend hours behind your camera capturing exotic and unusual subjects, and then serve them up in a frying pan rather than on an elegant Wedgewood dinner plate?

OK, that was a bit of an arrogant statement, but my point is that, despite some of the limitations that Blogger imposes on the average user, you can post images that grab the imagination!

The 'girlies' I have used here have featured before when I showcased  'Thickbox', another great little FREE script. The girls are only a bit of eye-candy and you shouldn't hold it against me!

SnagIt can easily insert 'hotspots' on an image that takes you to a new page when the graphic is clicked. This is called 'Image-Mapping', but it is worth it. Once the hotspots have been created on a single graphic image you can direct the viewer to just about anything you care to link to.

You can do exactly the same thing without needing to invest in a software programme. Visit the Poor Person's Image Mapper page and give it a test run. I am always ready to field questions if you run into trouble!

You won't regret it ...

 

TIP - Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool is a screen-capture tool that allows taking screenshots (called 'snips') of an open window, rectangular areas, a free-form area or the entire screen. Snips can then be annotated using a mouse or a tablet, saved as an image file (PNG, GIF, or JPEG file) or an HTML page, or e-mailed.

If you are using Windows Vista Home Premium or higher - OR - Windows XP Tablet PC Edition with the Experience Pack, then read on. If you are using any other flavour of Windows, you're out of luck! Of course, the Snipping Tool will be included in Windows 7, but I suspect that the 'lesser' versions, like the 'Basic' offering, will also be crippled!

My preference for taking 'snips' or 'screen captures' has always been TechSmith's SnagIt, but that piece of magical software is a $49.95 package. And my intention has always been to point you to free software, and it doesn't come much 'freer' than a programme you already have on your computer, albeit well hidden!

Here's how to find it: choose Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Snipping Tool. If you don't see it there, it may not be activated. Go to Control Panel and open Program and Features (you may have to click Programs first). In the task pane on the left, click Turn Windows features on or off. If necessary, click Continue when prompted by UAC. Scroll through the list of features, check the box next to Tablet PC Optional Components, and click OK. Turning on these features gives you not only the Snipping Tool, but also the Tablet PC Input Panel, Windows Journal, and other stylus-related features. All totally useless if you don't have a Tablet!

If you've found it, and/or activated it, and placed a shortcut icon on the desktop or wherever you feel comfortable placing it, then click on the icon (I've stopped saying 'double-click' as many users, like myself, prefer the 'single-click' method) and this is what you'll get:

The simple start screen.

 

Pretty straightforward as you can see. Choose the type of snip you wish to make and off you go. The monitor screen will go all blurred ...

 

The screen goes all blurred.

 

... and this is what you get when you've completed the snip:

 

The completed snip ready to be processed ...

 

And just to be perverse, here is a 'screencap' of the 'Snipping Tool' taking a snip of the 'SnagIt' window. I did it to show that it is as easy to take a snip of a window, as it is to take snips of a 'Free-form Area', 'User-defined Rectangle' or of a 'Full Screen':

 

A captured window ...

 

Go play ...

 

TIP - WLW Exposed

I have spent some time exploring the many attributes of 'Windows Live Writer' and it continues to surprise me with its versatility.

Your needs will probably NOT be as demanding as mine (I'm a 'geek' who likes to push the envelope), but even for the simplest of tasks, like putting up a new post, this little gem is going to make your life so EASY that when you start to use it you'll wonder how you managed without the darn thing!

This is truly a WYSIWYG editor of unparalleled excellence, because you actually type into the space allocated to you by your blog template. So, what you see in the window is exactly what you get when the post is published. You can format your paragraphs with the alignment of your choice, 'left', 'right', 'centred' or 'justified' (as this post is). It spell-checks as you type, underlining your spelling mistakes just like a word processor does, so there is no longer any excuse for those hilarious 'typos'. You can even select to  'bold', 'italicise', 'underline', 'strikeout' or 'change the colour of the font' on the fly.

What's not to like about that?

And none of this requires you to get your hands dirty with HTML and CSS. The programme does it all for you, although, in its typical Microsoft way the code produced isn't necessarily 'standards compliant'. But I don't suppose you care about that little nicety if you are an 'average' blogger. You should, but I won't hold it against you!

If you haven't already tried it out you're probably wondering what all the hype is about. So I suppose a couple of graphics are in order. I haven't planned any of this, so I shall post and edit, look at how things are being displayed, change formatting to 'present' the post as I'd like it to be presented, then click on the button that says 'Publish', and it is done …

 

I use 'SnagIt' almost exclusively for my screen captures and this programme comes with a plug-in that allows me to use SnagIt directly from this window. That's a 'wooo-hooo' for me!

 

Of course, the graphics 'sizing', 'placement' and 'effects' are far superior to anything I've seen in any other WYSIWYG editor. And the three little tabs at the bottom of the window, 'Edit', 'Preview' and 'Source' do exactly what they are intended to. 'Edit' is the pane I've shown in the screen captures above. 'Preview' is a preview of your post as it would appear on your site, including banners and sidebars. 'Source' shows you the HTML source code, something I am very grateful for as it gives me a chance to insert the little 'extras' that aren't included. I still have to investigate whether little bits of JavaScript and other HTML formatting can be added to the programme, but if it can't I am not going to get bent out of shape about it.

 

The graphic above is there to emphasise the 'power' of the various features of the programme. When you set up the 'Options' tell the programme to not allow you to publish until it reminds you to add a label or two. You still have the choice of publishing a post without a label, so it will only remind you, not refuse to publish. You can also defer publication date, just like you would do in Blogger, but the option is there for you if you wish to use it.

When I discover more, I'll let you know.

Enjoy, really enjoy, your blogging …