Annotating Screenshots in Snagit

Ok, so you’ve taken a bunch of screenshots, but now what do you do? Annotating screenshots in Snagit is a great way to highlight the most important features and details in your images. Whether you want to add arrows, shapes, text, stamps, or callouts, the Snagit Editor has a bunch of tools to help you create engaging and informative annotations.

In this article, I’ll show you some of the tools I like to use to annotate my screenshots.

Why Annotate Snagit Screenshots?

Annotations not only make your screenshots more visually appealing but also help your audience understand your message more clearly. For example, if I have a screenshot of an input form for a database, I can use arrows to point out the specific parts of the screen I want my user to focus on. Or, I might want to add a callout with some explanations of different components. Snagit’s annotation tools give me the tools do this effectively.

Adding Arrows

Arrows are a simple and effective way to point out key elements in your screenshot. They’re useful for drawing attention to specific buttons, menus, or areas of interest.

1. Open your screenshot in Snagit Editor.
2. From the Toolbar, select the Arrow tool.
3. Click and drag your cursor to draw an arrow pointing to the desired area.

Once you’ve drawn your arrow, you can use the Properties Panel to customise the thickness, colour, and style of the arrow. For example, I might want to use bold, red arrows when emphasising action points to make them stand out on the screen.

Using Callouts

Callouts are ideal for adding explanatory text to your screenshots. They’re basically speech bubbles and are good for labelling features or providing your readers with extra instructions.

1. In the Toolbar, click the Callout tool.
2. Choose a style from the options (speech bubble, rectangle, cloud, etc.).
3. Click on your screenshot to place the callout and type your text.

You can adjust the size, colour, and font to match your needs. I often use callouts to add some extra guidance in training materials, and the flexibility in design helps keep things consistent.

Highlighting Areas with Shapes

Shapes like rectangles, circles, and lines can be used to frame or underline important parts of your screenshot.

1. Select the Shape tool from the Toolbar.
2. Pick a shape (rectangle, ellipse, etc.) and a colour that contrasts well with your image.
3. Drag your cursor over the area you want to highlight.

For example, I frequently use a rectangle to emphasise a section of a form or settings menu to draw attention to it without blocking the content.

Adding Steps

Steps are a good way to add icons to show numbered sequences.

1. From the Toolbar, select More > Step.
2. Browse the available categories and select a step option.
3. Click on your screenshot to place it.

I often use steps for marking numbered sequences in a process.

Highlighting Text with the Highlighter Tool

If your screenshot contains a lot of text, the Highlighter tool can make the critical parts stand out.

1. Choose the Highlighter tool from the Toolbar.
2. Select the colour and transparency level.
3. Drag over the text you want to highlight.

I use this tool often for emphasizing key points in software settings or user instructions.

So, the next time you take a screenshot, don’t just leave it plain, try adding some arrows, callouts, or highlights to make it informative and easy for people to use. Give Snagit’s annotation tools a try, and you’ll see how they can take your screenshots from bland to “How did you do that?”

Happy annotating!