PS 20.0.6 Making numbered circles for user guide

[ToddDS]

Hi.

I am trying reporduce something made long ago by someone in my company:  Screen captures of software interfaces that have circles here and there with a solid color background and white number. 

These images will end up in a Word document and each circle with a number will corrospond to the numbered paragraphs in the document, detailing what each numbered part of the screen capture is or does.

What is the proper way to make that kind of identifier or marker in Photoshop? I am surprised they do not already exist as some sort of insertable icon. 

Also, what is best practice for creating straight lines that would lead from such an identifier marker to, say, a toolbar icon or start button, etc.? These would be at all sorts of diaganal angles. 

Thank you.

[Lumigraphics]

Photoshop has an ellipse tool which can draw circles, and a line tool with optional arrowheads. You might create the numbers and save then as custom brushes.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/drawing.html#understanding_shapes_and_paths

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/creating-modifying-brushes.html

[mark@headTrix]

This is easily created in Photoshop but you have to know how to use Photoshop.

You can simply create a circle with the Ellipse tool and add a stroke or a fill to color it, and then use the text tool to create the number 1 and select white for your color. Once you like it, you can save the file, and then choose File>Export>Save for Web and save your image out as a transparent GIF or transparent PNG. Then you can simple double-click the T in your layers panel which will select the layer, the text on the screen, and the text tool... and you can press "2" for the 2nd button and then again File>Export>Save for Web ... then repeat for as many buttons you need. Just make sure the bottom-most layer (background layer) is either deleted or you turn the visibility off (click on the eyeball in the layer) so the file has a transparent background (you will see a gray and white checkerboard background - that means its transparent.)

TO draw a straight line you can use the line tool (in the same location as the Ellipse tool, just above the hand tool at the bottom). If you look in the options panel above you will see a tiny gear icon that will allow you to change the thickness of the line, the color, and even add arrowheads if you desire!

hope this helps!
Good luck!
mark

[davescm]

You can easily do that using the ellipse tool, line tool and type tools. However many screen capture applications allow you to add such numbers and symbols directly. These symbols, for example, were added in Techsmith's Snagit which I use for screen captures for this forum.

Dave

[jane-e]

"These images will end up in a Word document and each circle with a number"

Hi Todd,

Have you considered using the drawing tools inside of Microsoft Word? I did this by inserting symbols from Wingdings 2 into transparent frames and changing the font color. I drew the arrows with Insert > Shapes.

If you do this in PS, Illustrator, or Snag-it, you will make a PNG. Editing will be done there, so hope that you do it right the first time. When you do it in Word, it will be vector, so you can easily change the size, color, direction, etc., on the fly.

Jane

[jane-e]

"What is the proper way to make that kind of identifier or marker in Photoshop? I am surprised they do not already exist as some sort of insertable icon."

You can use the same Wingdings 2 typeface in Photoshop as well as shown above in Word. Use the Glyphs panel and change the color. Save as a png for Word.