Follow the Screener

(REVISED IN 2020)

When I first became a staff training instructor over 20 years ago, if we wanted to illustrate how to use a particular software or navigate a certain website, we had to take screen-shots that we saved as JPEG images, to which we would add text showing where to click or what to do. Then we'd import the images into MS-Word or WordPerfect documents. I wrote training manuals for hospital employees to use payroll software, patient record databases, or MS-Windows programs. If we were really fancy, we'd prepare a PowerPoint slideshow.

In recent years, trainers have been using screen-capturing software to track their mouse movements on screen that they can incorporate into a video illustrating how to use a particular software or web-based interface. Many librarians have used Zoom or similar software to screen-capture, as shown in the video below.

Miss Deb's Digital Tips 2: Rosetta Stone (2020),

by Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library

There are dozens of different screen-capture software brands available, including Snagit, Ashampoo Snap, Faststone Capture, FullShot Pro, ScreenHunter Pro, Hypersnap, Easy Screen Capture, CaptureWiz Pro, Any Screen Capture, and SPX Instant Screen Capture, all of which range from roughly $20-$80 each.

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