How Do I Create A Lesson Template?
In order to create a template for use when exporting a lesson to Word you will need a program that can save a DOCX file. This lesson will show you how to use Microsoft Word (Word 2013 running on Windows 8) to do this.
Insert Tag
The only text you need to add to the document is [[SCREENSTEPS_LESSON]]. When exporting a lesson ScreenSteps will look for this text in the document and replace it with the lesson contents.
Show Styles Palette
Make sure that all styles are listed.
Select All Styles from the Select styles to show: menu (1) and then click OK (2).
Add List Number and List Bullet Styles
In order for lists to appear correctly in ScreenSteps output you need to make sure that the List Number and List Bullet styles are in the document. To add the styles insert a single numbered list line and a single bullet list line (1).
Next, select the numbered list line and select List Number as the styles (2) then do the same for List Bullet (3).
Delete Lists
Now you can delete the lists from the document. The List Bullet and List Number styles are still available in the document (the Styles list in this screenshot is being filtered by "In Use").
Add Styles
When ScreenSteps generates the DOCX file it applies styles to chapter titles, lesson titles, step titles, lesson descriptions, step instructions and step images. This makes it very easy to customize the look of your document.
You need to add the necessary styles to your template in order for this to work. Begin by clicking on the arrow next to Heading 1 in the Styles palette and selecting Modify....
Click OK
For Heading 1 you only need to click the OK button. This operation adds Heading 1 to your document as a style.
Add Custom Styles
Now you need to add the styles for lesson descriptions, step instructions and step images. To being click the New Style button.
Create Lesson Description Style
Name this style Lesson Description (1). You don't need to change any other settings though you can if you want. Click OK (2).
Create Step Image Style
The last style you need to create is Step Image. Use this style to add padding around your step images.
Form Step Image Paragraph Settings
Before you click OK click on the Format menu and select Paragraph.
Change Spacing Settings
Change the Before and After settings for Spacing. In this example I'm using 12 pt. This adds a little breathing room around step images and the step title/instructions. Click OK to save the changes. Click OK again to save the Step Image style.
Clear Styling on Tag
After modifying the styles in the document make sure that no styles is applied to the tag. I selected the [[SCREENSTEPS_LESSON]] text and used Clear Formatting to remove any styling.
Paul
How do I position images to the right of the instructions? Can I create a title page?
Trevor DeVore
@paul: On the step where you "Create Step Image Style" you should be able to set the paragraph alignment to right to have your images right-aligned.
Robert Salesas
We seem to have a problem with numbered lists in lessons. The first line is numbered, but the subsequent ones lose the numbering when exporting to docx. Any ideas?
Trevor DeVore
@Robert: I'm not sure what the cause may be. I would suggest exporting a Package of the lesson exhibiting the problem along with the resulting DOCX file and the DOCX template you are using to support at bluemangolearning dot com so we can take a look.
Matthias Flury
Why is the "code Style not present as style in word ?
Trevor DeVore
@Matthias - No particular reason. I've made a note to add this as a style in the next major upgrade.
Ryan Anderson
how do i remove the brackets[] found around my step names when I export to Word? preferably i would like them to not show up when I export.
I am using Microsoft word 2010
Trevor DeVore
@Ryan - ScreenSteps doesn't insert brackets around anything. By chance do you "Show Bookmarks" checked in your preferences? That would show brackets around any bookmarks.
Violet
Is there a way to stop it from adding a page break before each lesson (either in Word or PDF)?
Trevor DeVore
@Violet - sorry, there is not.
Shawn Hank
Is there a way to reorder the individual components of a step? I'd like to have the step text appear above the step image in my MS Word exports.
That isn't a style change per se, I realize.
Just curious if that possible. Are there individual field codes that can be applied to each step component (i.e., step_title, step_image, step_text)? This would make re-orienting much easier, IMHO.
Thanks,
-Shawn
Trevor DeVore
@Shawn - in ScreenSteps 2 there is not. In ScreenSteps 3 (and Clarify 2 which exports to Word) you can specify whether the image appears above or below the step instructions from within the document editor. While this doesn't give you complete control, it does allow you to swap the image/text order for all output.
Shawn Hank
@Trevor.
Okay. How do I get ScreenSteps 3? I am not interested in the online collaboration features, etc. I just want the local desktop app. It seems that the only way to use ScreenSteps 3 is to pay a monthly subscription. Is this correct?
Blue Mango
@Shawn - that is correct. With ScreenSteps 3 we moved to a cloud service. You can read more about it here:
http://help.screensteps.com/m/9096/l/136728-will-there-be-a-desktop-only-version-of-screensteps-3