Hi, you keyboard whiz readers! I needed to make a change in this month's featured application at the last minute. Because of some previous damage to my computer, the Captivate download did not work properly. No matter! Camtasia is an excellent tool that can do a lot of what Captivate does for less money. Unfortunately, Camtasia is no longer freeware, but you can download a 30-day trial version, as I did.
Last month we discussed vector graphic applications, using Freehand as a paradigm. This month we switch to raster applications, using Paint Shop as the model.
You say it is impossible to minimize your mouse use in a graphics program. Well think again! While you will undoubtedly need the mouse for actual drawing, many graphics operations can be simplified with keyboard shortcuts.
Hello again to all my faithful readers! I apologize to you for my unintended summer hiatus over the past few months. During part of this time, my PC was under repair for a few weeks, and the only Internet connection that I could muster to collect my email was a pathetically ancient, dial-up modem, too slow to post anything.
Your help authoring can become much more efficient if you learn the necessary shortcuts. Similar to my previous columns, keyboard shortcuts are not an "all or nothing" affair. Learn the shortcuts that make your help authoring easier. Although I have only worked with Robohelp, I think it is safe to assume that other help authoring tools utilize similar shortcuts. Whenever you need to learn a new help authoring application, or any application for that matter, always experiment with the various shortcuts offered.
