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Product screenshot checklist: crop, label and verify

An original Afield capture illustrates what to preserve, how to write a useful caption and which changes require a new screenshot.

In this article

Choose the question a screenshot should answer before editing it. To explain where a reader can inspect a company match, preserve the company identity, the relevant navigation and the explanation panel. A decorative frame cannot compensate for unreadable text.

Retained Afield company-detail capture showing a company header and Overview, Signals and Actions tabs.
Retained interface capture used for this editing example. The company claims displayed inside it have not been independently verified here; the image illustrates the panel’s layout.

What this capture can and cannot show

The image above shows where the Overview, Signals and Actions tabs appear. It also contains a long company explanation. Keep that distinction in the caption: a picture of an explanation is not independent proof of the explanation’s claims, and an older capture may differ from the current interface.

Editorial taskKeepCheck before release
Explain tab navigationCompany header and all three tab labelsThe named tabs still exist in the current product.
Discuss the match explanationThe relevant panel, with text large enough to inspectSeparate observed company facts from the product’s interpretation in the article.
Show only one controlEnough surrounding UI to locate itThe crop does not hide a required preceding step.
Show sent or published statusThe destination record and actual statusA draft or generated text cannot stand in for a completed external action.

Prepare the figure without changing its meaning

  1. Retain the original file. Record the page, product state and capture date if known; mark an unknown date rather than guessing.
  2. Crop unrelated browser chrome or empty margins. Preserve any context the instruction needs.
  3. Use a fresh, higher-resolution capture if the text is unreadable. If an enhanced derivative is used, label it and compare every visible label, number and date with the original.
  4. Put callouts outside the interface or make their editorial origin obvious. Do not add a control that the product lacks.
  5. Inspect the figure at the actual article width and on a narrow screen. Offer the original image separately when readers need to examine detail.

A compact handoff record for the editor

Source: company-detail-en.png
Purpose: Orient the reader to the company-detail tabs
Known provenance: Retained interface capture; capture date not established
Content boundary: On-screen company claims not fact-checked for this article
Permitted changes: Crop surrounding space; resize for display; add external caption
Must remain exact: Company name, scores, dates, tab names and explanation text
Release check: Compare with current UI if used as a step-by-step product instruction

For dense content, transcribe the part needed for the explanation into selectable HTML and verify it against the source. Use a labeled diagram if you need to explain a concept that no capture shows. Keep the original image and its derivative together so the next editor can start from the source.

Related reading

Prepare and revise a complete draft

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