View source for Email From Richard

Fred,

Thanks to Rene for helping out with it.  It will be a GREAT help!

I have a few additional comments and questions:

- First, what type of computer will Rita be using?  Windows or a Mac?
  If Windows, will she be using XP?  My preference would be that all the
  screen shots be taken on a Windows XP machine with the default XP
  theme (although this only affects shots that include the window border).
  I'm OK with using a Mac with the X o/s, but I do want to move us away
  from the current mix of different shots from different computer systems.

- Besides Analytica 4.0, I think the only software Rene will need is Snagit 8
  and Adobe Acrobat (not simply Acrobat Reader); I'll explain why below.

- Max's description of the process is essentially what I envision.  I would like
  for Rene to create a folder for each chapter of the documentation, so her directory
  structure would look something like:
     Tutorial
       Chapter1
          <screenshots>
       Chapter2
          <screenshots>
       etc.
     UsersGuide
       Chapter1
          <screenshots>
       Chapter2
          <screenshots>
       etc.

- As for indicating what screenshots go where, I can give a few suggestions, but Rene can us whatever method is most efficient for her that also provides a very clear mapping of screenshots to where they go in the documentation.

My initial suggestion is to work from copies of the documentation in PDF format and use Acrobat to add comments to the file.  The comments can be positioned in the document to indicate exactly where they apply.  She can insert comments with the file name for new screen shots and also add comments for any mistakes or confusing portions of the document, highlight text that she wants us to review, etc.  (I.e., she can add any editorial comments she has while working her way through the tutorial.)  I've attached a single page PDF to show what I mean.

Alternatively, she could simply create a list in Excel or Word that lists all the pages in the tutorial and gives the name of each screen shot file for that page (if more than on on a page, we will assume the files are given in top-down order).

- The trickiest issue is what resolution and size to use for the screen captures.  Snagit has two input settings that will be very useful: Capture Active Window and Capture Fixed Region.
These will allow Rene to set the Analytica window up to be the right size and then take the screenshots without having to resize each one.

What I don't know right now is what is the optimal screen shot size and resolution. I believe Maylene knows this, so I'm cc'ing her.  The current documents allow for images up to 4" wide (they can be a bit wider, but this is the preferred limit to the width).  In looking at the current files, we use a variety of DPI resolutions.  For printing, multiples of 75 DPI (e.g., 225 dpi, 300 dpi, et.) cause the least jagginess.  For screen display these should be multiples of 92 dpi (this actually depends on your monitor; my new monitor, for instance, uses 97 dpi).  Maylene had a formula that gave the clearest resolution for PDF files with a magnification of 125% and I think we should stick with that (unless we are changing the page size and format, which Max is thinking about).

- As for the type of graphic.  Rene can save the files as either JPGs or PNGs.  I would strongly suggest PNGs.  These look the best across different platforms; they are also more compact than JPG files, and they do not lose information as much as JPG files do if you crop or otherwise edit them.

- All screenshots should be in color.  The PDF version of the documentation will be in color.

- As for working concurrently, that is fine, where we know exactly what the final document will look like.  For example, the tutorial will be mostly unchanged, so she could start on that now.  In editing and reviewing the tutorial, Max and/or I may see about folding in some of the new features.  In that case a few additional screenshots will be needed, but could be added later. 

The tradeoff, of course, is time vs. efficiency.  If Rene were to wait until the content of the documentation is complete, she could be most efficient, but would have to wait a while.  If she starts now there will be some need to redo some of the work.  I think that's fine for the tutorial, but I can't say, yet, where that will work for the other parts of the documentation.