Screen Captures with Stamps and Shadows

[Jim Barrow]

>>Roger Bell wrote:
>Linda Sims said:

>>[]Has anyone given much thought, completed any research, conducted
>>usability tests, or adopted a standard regarding applying stamps, >>such as a tear effect, and shadows to screen captures in technical
>>documentation?

>[]Nor would I use add drop shadows to a graphic, 
>as I find that it clutters the screen.

I am really intrigued by this.  Personally, I have a difficult time in trying to describe drop shadows as 'cluttered'.  It definitely makes documentation look richer though (IMHO).

So I went to Apple thinking that they, above all others, would use drop shadows in their manuals.  They do, but not in the way you may think.

First, they keep all landing screens flat (no tears or drop shadows).  What is shadowed are any pop-up windows that appear on those landing screens.

What *really* caught my eye was their use of callouts.  Ay carumba...I can't stand callouts.  Now *those* make a page looked cluttered :^)

<http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Welcome_to_Mac_OS_X_v10.4_Tiger.pdf>