Tutorial: Create a PDF with a Web Browser
I'm branching into screencast tutorials and my first attempt revolves around the simple process of creating pdfs through the print tools in Web browsers.
You can see the screencast here.
I'm an amateur screencaster (as you'll see), but here's how I created this particular tutorial:
- Snapz Pro was used to film the screencast and record the audio track. I used the same settings outlined here and the results were excellent.
I used a Logitech USB microphone for the audio, but I'm not all that happy with the results. In future attempts I'm going to toy around with the input levels and make sure I'm much closer to the mic.
- I imported the final Snapz Pro video into Flash and transitioned it into an .flv embedded in its own .swf. I then created a second .fla file for my movie container. This container template includes a generic title sequence and a play button. Whenever I create a new tutorial, all I need to do is access the container template, save it with a different name, then tweak the title text and associate the container .swf with the movie .swf (this is done through some simple loadmovie script). So far, the workflow has been great.
- I used Flash's publish setting to generate the embed code in an html file, but I'll eventually create my own html template and stylesheet. For the time being, the Flash method works pretty well.
I initially thought I could import the final Snapz Pro file into iMovie and add a title card and simple transitions, but the output was god awful. A little digging revealed this is a common problem, which is why I opted for the more arduous Flash route.
Questions and comments are welcome!
More Recent Stories:
• iPods and Violent Crime, Together at Last
• The Real Format War Has Yet to Begin
• New Currency in a Free World
• Web Analytics Stay Ridiculous
• Time for the "Oh My God It's Cold" Stories
• Memo to Jerry Yang: Use Your Shift Key
• Tutorial: Create a PDF with a Web Browser
• What's Behind that Multimedia Presentation?
• Microsoft Courts Yahoo with $44.6 Billion Deal
• Wi-Fi Comes to Boston Commuter Rail
