Screenshot & Annotation

Screenshot & annotation in CodeExpander is an all-in-one capture and edit flow: region/window/fullscreen/scroll and Pin overlay, then straight into the editor to annotate (arrows, highlight, blur, text), style, OCR, copy or save. Trigger from tray or shortcut (e.g. Cmd+Shift+A). Multi-monitor: captures the display under the cursor.

What capture modes are supported?

Multi-monitor: Captures the display under the cursor automatically.

Shortcut configuration (Settings → Screenshot):

You can also assign independent shortcuts for fullscreen, window, scroll, and delayed capture.

Annotation & Styling

Annotation Tools

Editing operations: Undo (Cmd/Ctrl+Z), Redo (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z), Clear all.

Background Styling

• Background type: Gradient presets / solid color / pattern
• Corner radius: Adjust screenshot corner radius
• Shadow: Add shadow effect
• Padding: Add margins around the image
• Device frames: macOS dark/light, browser dark/light, terminal presets
• Watermark: Text or image watermark with position settings
• Presets: Save current style combination for one-click reuse next time

Color Picker

Invoke during capture with shortcut; supports:

• Color formats: HEX, RGB, HSL, OKLCH
• Real-time screen pixel color preview
• Copy color value to clipboard

OCR

• Run OCR on capture or selection; copy or insert result; supports multiple languages.
• Engine selection (Settings → Screenshot): Auto-detects the best available engine by default; optional manual selection for specific accuracy needs.
• Result display: Modal dialog / Toast copy / Pin window
• All processing is local; no upload to our servers.

Typical scenarios:

• Reading foreign docs: Capture English or Japanese UI text and extract it for translation.
• Processing invoices/contracts: Screenshot documents, OCR extracts key info, paste into spreadsheets.
• Code screenshots to text: Capture code from images, extract text, paste directly into your editor.

GIF Recording ᴾᴿᴼ

• Record selection as GIF: Supports pause/resume; stop with global shortcut during recording
• Recording config: Adjustable frame rate, quality, max frames, cursor visibility, and output size — balance smoothness and file size to fit your needs.
• Post-editing: Timeline trim, add/remove frames, text/image watermark, effects (grayscale/reverse)
• All processing local; no upload to our servers.

Typical scenarios:

• Tutorial creators: Record UI interactions as GIFs for documentation or README files.
• Bug reporters: Capture short reproduction steps as lightweight GIFs instead of heavy videos.
• Remote teams: Share quick visual demos in Slack or chat without uploading to external services.

Save & Output

• Copy — Enter or Copy in editor; screenshot/GIF to clipboard for paste in docs or chat
• Save — Cmd/Ctrl+S or Save As; formats: PNG, JPG, WebP
• Quick save (Settings): Save directly to configured folder without dialog
• Auto-save (Settings): Automatically write to folder when copying to clipboard or pinning

Filename Template

Supports time placeholders, e.g.:

APSDAL_${yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss}.png

Common placeholders:

• ${yyyy} — Year (4 digits)
• ${MM} — Month (2 digits)
• ${dd} — Day (2 digits)
• ${HH} — Hour (24h)
• ${mm} — Minute
• ${ss} — Second

Screenshot Settings

Configure in Settings → Screenshot:

Workflow

• Screenshot history — Recent captures viewable in editor or history for copy/edit.
• Multi-monitor — Capture the display under the cursor.

Typical Workflows

1. Tutorial screenshots: Region capture → arrow/number annotation → background styling (rounded corners + shadow) → copy to document
2. Bug report: Window capture → mosaic/blur sensitive info → copy to colleague or issue tracker
3. Code review: Region capture → numbered callouts for issues → export or copy
4. Design color picking: Region capture → color picker extracts value → copy HEX to design tool