Here is another video previewing some of the features coming to ScreenSteps 2.7. We are getting very close to having a public beta available but we still wanted to show you some of the new stuff.

This preview is all about annotations. We will be highlighting two new features that may seem small but that will have a big impact on your day to day use with ScreenSteps: drop shadows and annotations.

Drop Shadows

In 2.7 you will be able to add drop shadows to any of your annotations. Drop shadows not only look nice, but they make the annotations “hover” above your screen captures or images. This makes it much clearer what part of the image is your annotation and what is the original image.

Smart Selections

Smart selections are one of those subtle changes that make a world of difference. In previous version of ScreenSteps, working with different types of annotations could be a little cumbersome. To reposition different types of annotations you needed to use the Select tool, or choose the annotation tool that matched the annotation you wanted to reposition.

Not anymore. In ScreenSteps 2.7 you easily select, reposition and resize any annotation, regardless of the tool you have selected. We think that you will really love this improvement.

The Sale Just Got a Little Staler

Today (Wednesday, November 25th) the ScreenSteps discount went down to 30% off. If you haven’t purchased ScreenSteps yet be sure to take advantage of the offer today (30% off is still a great deal). Just use the coupon code THANKS. Be sure to do it today though. Tomorrow the discount will drop to 20%. You can order ScreenSteps here

ScreenSteps 2.7 Preview

We wanted to show you a bit of what is coming in ScreenSteps 2.7. We are always trying to make it easier for our users to communicate visually and ScreenSteps 2.7 is going to make a major improvement in that area.

Two big features coming to 2.7 are:

• Copy lesson to clipboard
• Drop shadows

Below is a video showing off the copy to clipboard feature. You can now copy the contents of your ScreenSteps lesson to the system clipboard and paste it into a new email message.

This is going to help you use ScreenSteps in a completely new way. Some great uses of this feature will be:

• Customer support
• Submitting bug reports
• Demonstrating the flow of an application to a colleague
• Any type of visual communication via email

We hope to have a public beta in the coming weeks. With 2.7 we are still trying to help you do more than just capture screens. We want to help you communicate visually. This upgrade will be free for all 2.x owners so, if you purchase during this weeks sale you will be entitled to the 2.7 upgrade at no additional cost. We think you are going to love this.

Starting Today! The Sale that Goes Stale

Last month we had our biggest sales month ever and two weeks ago we had our biggest single sales day ever. Thank you so much to all of you who are using ScreenSteps and especially all of you who are telling your friends and colleagues about it.

To thank everyone for their support and to celebrate Thanksgiving we are having a Thanksgiving sale. But this isn’t your standard sale. It’s the “sale that goes stale”.

Monday and Tuesday – Fresh – 40% off of all Blue Mango Products

Wednesday – Like day old bread – 30% off

Thursday – Why are you shopping anyways? You should be eating turkey – 20% off

Friday – stale – 10% off

The sale begins now (Monday, November 23, 2009) and isn’t combinable with any other offers. The percentage off can be applied to ScreenSteps Standard, ScreenSteps Pro, or to the first three months of a ScreenSteps Live account.

For ScreenSteps Live the discount applies to the first 3 months of your plan. So, if you signed up for a Solo ScreenSteps Live account at $19/month you would only pay $11.40/month for the first three months. This applies to any plan.

All you need to do to take advantage of the sale is use the coupon code: THANKS

• Purchase ScreenSteps Standard or Pro
• Sign up for a ScreenSteps Live account

NOTE:

• This coupon code is not combinable with academic discounts and won’t work in our academic store
• The coupon code is only applicable to new ScreenSteps Live accounts

We have just prepared a new video that shows how you can create a visual knowledge base in under 10 minutes using ScreenSteps Desktop and ScreenSteps Live.

Visual knowledge bases combine images and text to provide clear answers and instructions to your customers and users. Visual knowledge bases have the following advantages:

• They have full text search – unlike video libraries.
• They have clear visual information to help users complete tasks quickly – unlike traditional, text-based, knowledge bases.
• They are easy to update when things change – unlike video libraries.
• They are faster to create than either a video library or traditional knowledge base.

The video goes through the entire process of creating a visual knowledge base including:

• Signing up for an account
• Going through the new account setup wizard
• Configuring your ScreenSteps Desktop software to post to ScreenSteps Live
• Posting your first manual to ScreenSteps Live
• Customizing the design of your ScreenSteps Live site

You can view the video below.

The new account setup wizard on ScreenSteps Live really makes it easy to get your ScreenSteps Live site up and running quickly.

Webinar – Creating Visual Knowledge Bases with ScreenSteps Live

A lot has been added to ScreenSteps Live over the last month. To help introduce existing users to the new functionality and introduce new users to ScreenSteps Live we have scheduled a webinar for this Friday, Nov. 20, at 10am EST. Topics covered will include:

• The basics of creating visual knowledge bases
• Understanding the difference between buckets and manuals on ScreenSteps Live
• Introduction to the new “tasks” feature
• Introduction to new color customization options for spaces on ScreenSteps Live

We will of course leave time for answering questions from attendees. You can register for the webinar here:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/943393976

We hope to see you there.