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SnagIt: Make Video Tutorials With a Screen Capture Tool

I have been using SnagIt for the past month or so, and now I'm having trouble imagining life without it.

SnagIt is a screen capture tool that allows you to capture images, create videos, and capture text. It came highly recommended to me from a client who uses it all the time. 

Since one of the main things I love to do is teach, I've found this tool to be invaluable. Have you ever tried describing how to do something even remotely technical to someone?

No matter how detailed you get, it's never the perfect teaching method because everything depends on the willingness of the person you're teaching to read through all of your instructions and go through your steps one by one. 

There are a lot of people in the world who just don't learn very well with written instructions. Especially if you're teaching them how to do something online, it's really much better to show them. 

Today I was trying to help a person who needed to enable IMAP on her gmail account, and even with the written instructions she was having trouble. 

So, I decided to try out the video part of SnagIt. I just took a video of my computer screen as I went through the steps of enabling IMAP. I did one shoot without audio (sometimes you don't need audio when you're showing someone how to do something online). Then I tried another with audio and I gave verbal instructions of what I was doing on the screen. 

Now, anytime a customer asks me how to enable IMAP, I'll be able to show them how easy it is.  

After I made the video, I uploaded it to YouTube so I could easily share it. 

Here's the video tutorial created with SnagIt:

SnagIt is a software that you buy one time, and then you download it on your computer. It's available for Mac and Windows, and it currently costs about $50. They have a 30 day free trial, so you can get a feel for it before making a commitment.

I've only been using SnagIt for a few weeks, so I've only touched the tip of the iceberg with it. There are so many other things that it can do, like drawing and editing. I can't wait to use this tool more and learn the intricacies of it. 

Creating video tutorials is not only great for sharing with customers/clients who have technical questions about how to do stuff online, but it's also a great addition to your business procedure manual. Now, you can add a video to demonstrate how to do a particular task, rather than just writing out the various steps. 

 

What Time Tracking Software Do You Use?

Independent workers like Virtual Assistants, web designer, graphic designers, or people who bill their clients for their time use time tracking software so that they can keep track of how much time is spent on each client's work. This allows them to bill appropriately.

I've used a variety of time tracking tools over the years, and when I got a new laptop a month or so ago, I decided to re-investigate my time tracking options. 

My initial idea was to use a service that was totally online. I liked the idea of not having to download software on my computer and that no matter what computer I was on, I could see and track my work time. 

MyHours.com

So, the first service I tried was http://myhours.com/. Myhours.com is currently a free service, but their website says that they intend to make it a paid service at some time in the future. 

I have heard a lot of great things about this tool, and it's free after all, so I tried it. Things went well for a week or two. It was easy to use and convenient that it was online. The reporting function was sufficient as well.

I was happy with it until one day I sat down to work and found that MyHours.com was offline. I tried a few times during the day, but it was offline all day. That was kind of scary--what if that happened on a day when I send out my retainer updates? 

I was pretty sure that the site would come back up eventually (it did the next day), but that event showed me that having an online time keeper does have its limitations. If the site goes down, you can't see your time or track it. 

So, I decided to go with the type of time keeper that you can download on your computer. 

OfficeTime.net

Office Time has an impressive website--good reviews from major tech magazines and a lot of information about the product. It also offers a free 21 day trial and a120 day guarantee.

I downloaded the trial, and I've been happy with it so far. I think this is the software I'll be purchasing. 

It's intuitive to use, and they also have videos and tutorials to show you how to do things. You can set up multiple clients, and then projects under each client. The reporting is easy to do, and it even has colored graphs of the data. 

This product comes across as being professional and well thought out. 

There are other time keeping sofware programs available, and I've used a few of them before. The main reason why I went with OfficeTime was the reliability and it looks professional. Out of all the time keeping tools I investigated, this one was the highest priced, but it was still reasonable, and it's a one time purchase after all. 

Other Options...

If you're interested in doing research for yourself, here are a few others to look into:

Time slice: I have actually used Time Slice for many years, and it works just fine. I've never had any problems with it. When I had the chance to try a new time keeping software, I just wondered if there might be something better out there. 

It costs a little bit less than Office Time, and it's a basic time keeping system, so you might want to try it. 

Time Trax (not to be confused with Trax Time):  I have never used this product, but I've heard it recommended by others. This is a software that you buy. 

Trax Time by spudcity: I've also used this program before, for a few years. It worked fine for me. This is software that you pay for. 

Time Stamp: This is another one I've heard about but haven't actually used myself. It's free. 

Task Capture: I've also heard peopel vouch for Task Capture. I've never used it before though. 

If you know of a great timetracking software, please share. What time tracking software do you use? 

How To Uninstall A Program On Your Computer

Have you ever wanted to remove some of the pre-installed programs that came with your computer? 

Lots of times computers will come preloaded with games and anti-virus software that has a free trial period and various other things. 

It is a relief to know that it's not a technical procedure to get rid of it--it's actually pretty simple.

1 - Go to Start on your computer (in the lower left hand corner)

2 - Then go to Control Panel.

3 - Go to Programs-uninstall a program. 

4 - Then, it takes you to a page that lists the programs on your computer. Simply find the one you want to remove, and click the "uninstall" button.

How easy is that?