19 May 2019

Camtasia's New Features Improve Instructional Videos

Camtasia, one of TechSmith's primary applications, continues to advance. Initially released in 2002, the application gave users a way to document computer programs. Users of the company's SnagIt application, which has limited video capabilities, will find Camtasia to be far more capable.

Seventeen years ago, the operation was basic but still remarkable because it provided new capabilities that gave documentation specialists the ability to do more than create printed documentation. Screen shots and text are valuable, of course, and SnagIt seems to be the most commonly used application for capturing screen shots. But video is more powerful.

Being able to see an application in operation and to hear an expert describe the use adds a new dimension to instructional videos and marketing videos.

As with SnagIt, Camtasia has two components: The Camtasia Recorder captures screen video and, optionally computer video and a separate narration track; the Camtasia Editor makes it possible to add and remove video segments, add titles and transition effects, include music, and record a full narration track.

The editor's operation is surprisingly easy to learn despite having multi-track capabilities for both video and audio.

The editor can import additional video files in addition to Camtasia's proprietary TCSPROJ format to be combined with the screen sequences and accepts a variety of audio formats. Once imported, the files are placed inside the TCSPROJ file, which serves as a container for video, stills, and audio.

Camtasia projects can be exported as zip archives so that they can be moved to other computers and finished projects can be exported in standard video formats such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, AVI, and Adobe Flash. TechSmith also provides specialized output settings for videos that are intended for playback on computers, social media, and mobile devices.

 Click any small image for a full-size view. To dismiss the larger image, press ESC or tap outside the image.

The user interface has changed little and includes (1) tool selections and (2) tool options on the left edge of the screen. The (3) timeline and any (4) added transitions, filters, or action at the bottom of the screen. The video itself takes up the (5) largest part of the screen and (7) properties are displayed for whatever is selected to the right of the video.

Camtasia 2019's new features include audio leveling, mouse cursor smoothing, editable keyboard shortcuts, and improved support for themes that include logos or other images.

• Audio leveling improves the sound of videos by adjusting audio tracks so that the playback levels are consistent.
• Cursor smoothing is similar to audio leveling in that it makes mouse movements that might have been somewhat jerky during recording to be smoother and easier to follow on playback.
• Keyboard shortcuts are almost always a welcome addition for advanced users of any application. Efficiency is improved when users can keep their hands on the keyboard instead of having to repeatedly use the mouse to select menu items.
• Themes, which have been around for the past several versions, now can accept the user's own images or logos for more consistent branding.

Camtasia in Action

I created two versions of a 16-second video to illustrate my favorite new feature, cursor smoothing. It's not uncommon for someone who's making a video to fumble around a bit with the mouse cursor. With Adobe Dreamweaver open, I fumbled around intentionally a lot in turning four paragraphs into bullet points. Instead of just selecting the paragraphs and clicking the bullet point icon, I moved the mouse toward the menu bar starting at about 3 seconds, fiddled around a bit until about the 9 second mark, and finally selected the paragraphs at 12 seconds and clicked the bullet point icon. This kind of mouse movement annoys and confuses viewers, but it's a common problem because people tend to move the mouse around when they're talking.

Here I've turned on cursor smoothing and Camtasia eliminated the initial fumbling around so that the mouse cursor doesn't appear until about the 7 second mark, quickly selects the four paragraphs, and clicks the bullet point icon. This simplifies the video and eliminates non-essential mouse movement to avoid perplexing viewers. The clip could also be edited to be shorter unless the extra time is needed for the soundtrack.

These two short videos also illustrate cursor highlighting, which makes it easier for viewers to follow the cursor. Highlighting is a useful feature, but not a new feature.

To illustrate Audio Leveling (which is referred to in the application as "Audio Compression", I recorded a few seconds of an Adobe Lightroom Classic screen. There's no video activity here, just the audio. The unprocessed file starts and ends normally, but the middle few seconds are nearly inaudible.

Then I applied audio compression and the result was better, but will sound overdone to audio professionals because of the amount of compression added. That was necessary because I created an intentionally horrid audio example. Peaks in the normal part of the file were at -6dB, peaks in the quiet section were -21db, and peaks in the slightly too loud section at the end were at -3db. Our ears detect changes in volume in a non-linear way and a difference of 1dB is perceived as a slight change in volume, 3dB is a moderate change, and 10 decibels is perceived by the listener as a doubling of volume. What's surprising here is not the slightly over-processed sound but the fact that an improvement this good could actually be made.

TechSmith says that Camtasia now has ten times the number of keyboard shortcuts compared to what earlier versions had. This means two things:

• Previous versions of Camtasia had virtually no keyboard shortcuts.
• Developers have been busy adding yet another useful feature to the 2019 version.

The shortcuts are divided into nine categories: Animation and effects, canvas options, program options, project options, timeline editing, timeline navigation, captions, markers and quiz options, and library options. Users can also redefine existing keyboard shortcuts.

When the production is complete, it's time to export the file so that others can use it. Built-in export settings can prepare exports for ScreenCast, Vimeo, YouTube, Google Drive, and TechSmith Video Review. There are also options to save the exported file locally and a custom production option that allows the user to specify all of the export options.

The 2019 version adds and improves several features and it also marks the beginning of a plan to accelerate updates and it creates a kind of hybrid plan. Camtasia still comes with a perpetual license, which means that the 2019 version will continue to function when the 2020 version is released. The company now offers year-long maintenance agreements that allow for automatic updates when new versions are released.

New users will pay $250 and users of any previous version can upgrade for $100. The maintenance agreements are priced at $50 and includes priority technical support and a certification process for advanced users in addition to the annual updates.

 Camtasia is the easiest way to create instructional videos

Anyone who needs to create instructional videos — whether for marketing purposes, education, or user support — should at least take a look at Camtasia's free trial. Available for Windows and MacOS, this is the application that makes it possible for those who aren't video production professionals to create presentations that look like they've been created by pros. The more time you spend becoming familiar with the extensive feature set, the better your videos will be, but even a new user should be able to create a usable production after watching some of the introductory videos.
Additional details are available on the TechSmith website.

Short Circuits

Watch Out for Malware

Everybody wants your money and installing malware on your computer is one means to that end. It's not difficult to avoid malware, but it does require a certain amount of caution.

A recent McAfee report showed a big increase in malware that's designed to grab banking credentials and once crooks have that information, they also have your money. While being careful won't guarantee that you'll never be victimized, it does go a long way toward ensuring your computer's safety and your financial safety.

McAfee recommends making five steps part of your everyday computer security procedures.

Don't install apps from unknown sources. You may receive a text message or an email with a link. Even if the link is from someone you know, wait and think. I recently received a private message from someone I know and trust, but the message didn't sound like my friend. It was about a United Nations "grant" program. The message was from a scammer who had created a phony account. Read messages carefully. Does the message "sound" like the person who sent it? And before downloading anything, research the developer, read reviews, and look at download statistics.

Ignore unknown senders. Be careful with messages in general, but be on high alert when you receive a message from someone you don't know.

Download only from a developer's website or from Google's, Microsoft's, or Apple's store. Treat any link from any chat group as suspect. If you want to download an application, go to the developer's website to get it -- and do that by typing the URL, not by clicking a link.

Secure your mobile devices. Smart phones and tablets have a lot of proprietary data, so make sure that you have mobile security applications and that you use a virtual private network application whenever you connect to a public Wi-Fi system.

Pay attention. New threats are developed constantly so it's important to be vigilant and to watch for any hint of malicious activity.

Beware Fakebook Accounts

Using Facebook becomes a greater challenge just about every day. The number of fake Facebook accounts (I call them "Fakebook" accounts) seems to be increasing faster than they can be deleted.

I receive frequent friend requests from people like "Sexton Benley", which is almost certainly a fake name created by a computer program that was written by someone who doesn't really understand how US English names are constructed. I've also receive friend request from "Jonny Mmah Mary", "Mercy Stone", "Austin Vivian", "Lucy Todd Morris", "Amy Jessica", "Alexander Grand", "George Rose Mercy", "Cassandra Hunt Chrstine", and many more. These all purport to be women even though some of them have names like Austin, Todd, Alexander, and George.

Besides featuring banner and profile images of women who are wearing very little, most of the profiles have few or no friends and the people are invariably self employed or not employed. They are always single. Their timelines are blank except for a few copies of the same photo. The accounts are always new; in one case, the sender's account had been active for 22 minutes. These are not friends requests that should be accepted because they are fakes.

Although I can't prove it, I suspect that most of the users have been created by Russians supported by Vladimir Putin's government with the intent of further dividing an already fractured United States. That's because virtually all of these friend requests immediately follow my interaction with a political website. I report these profiles to Facebook and they are quickly removed.

Facebook users also receive friend request from people they're already friends with. The scammer has created a phony account using someone else's name and profile image. What's the point? Scammers want information and they can get more of it if you're their friend.

Friends, of course, have access to all the information you restrict to "friends only" and, depending on how you've adjusted security settings, may also have access to your friends list. Once someone is your friend, you might be more likely to click a link that's been posted to your timeline and the link could be used to install malware on your computer.

The ploy I described initially -- sending a revealing image of an attractive person -- already has a name. It's called "cat-phishing". These are sometimes used to establish pen-pal links so that the scammer can convince the victim to send money.

It's not difficult to spot a Fakebook friend request.

Do you know the person or have any friends in common? If not, proceed with caution. If you know the person and you're already Facebook friends, the request is almost certainly from a fake account. If you receive a request that you believe is a fake account trying to impersonate someone you know, search for the friend's name. For this example, I used my own name and found at least two fake accounts using my name.

Two of the three potentially fake accounts had no timeline, no friends, and no photos. In both cases, I reported the accounts as fakes. The third had no photos, but did have a few friends, so I didn't report it. It's not difficult to report a fake account and the screen shot shows the process you can use when you find accounts pretending to be you or someone you know.

If the friend request is from an attractive person of the opposite sex and particularly if that person is showing a lot of skin, take a look at the profile's friends. If there are no friends or only a few friends, the account is suspect. If the account has only friends of your sex, it's probably a cat-phishing account. And if the account is one that's been created recently, it's even more suspect.

The scammers know that some people will be suspicious, so sometimes the friend requests come with a statement that says the person had to create a new account. That's rare, but it can happen. Someone who legitimately had to create a new account will no longer be posting to the old account, so check the old account to see if it's still active. If you still don't have a definitive answer, send a private message to the friend's old account and ask about the new account.