A new manual is a good first draft. Most people spend a few minutes checking the steps, adding a tip or two, and removing anything that wasn't needed. This page covers the words and the order of the steps. For the pictures, see Fix the pictures.
Open a manual
Library › click a manual
Click any manual in the Library to open it. To find one quickly, type in Search titles and every step… at the top of the Library, or press Ctrl+K. For more on finding and filing manuals, see Your library.
Saving is automatic
You never need to press save. Sopycat saves a moment after you stop typing. Moving, adding or removing a step saves straight away. The status near the top shows Saving…, then Saved. If it says Unsaved, the last change hasn't been saved yet.
Every time a manual changes, Sopycat also keeps a copy you can go back to. See Go back to an earlier version.
Change the title, summary and labels
These are at the top of the manual.
- Title: click the title and type. A good title says what the task is, for example "Issue a refund in QuickBooks".
- Summary: click When should someone use this? (optional) under the title and add a line. It shows under the title, including at the top of the PDF.
- Labels: click + add a label, type a word, and press Enter or type a comma. Labels help you group and find manuals in the Library. A recorded manual already has one label, the name of the program it was recorded in.
- Who keeps this up to date? lets you name an owner and set a date to check it again. See Name an owner and a review date.
The header also has Pin, which keeps the manual at the top of the Library, plus Follow along and Save as PDF.
Rename a step
- Click the step's title, next to its number.
- Type the new name. It saves by itself.
Keep titles short and start with what to do, like "Click Save" or "Choose the customer". To see how Sopycat names steps, see How steps get their names.
Write the instructions
Under each picture is an instructions box. Click in it and type. Use it for the detail a new person needs: why this step matters, what to check, what to do if something looks different.
The toolbar above the box has:
- Font and size
- Bold (Ctrl+B), italic (Ctrl+I) and underline (Ctrl+U)
- Text colour
- Bulleted and numbered lists
- Add a link (Ctrl+K), for a link to a web page or another document
- Clear formatting, to take the styling off selected text
You can paste text from Word or an email. Sopycat cleans off Word's formatting so the step keeps the same look as the others.
If you recorded your voice, you can turn what you said into the instructions with Use these words. See Use your words as the instructions.
The step menu
Library › open a manual › a step's ⋯ menu
Each step has a ⋯ menu with everything you can do to that step.
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Move up, Move down | Moves the step one place. |
| Change picture | Picks a better moment from the recording, or a new picture. See Pick a better moment. |
| Split this step… | Makes a new step from another moment inside this one. |
| Merge with next step | Joins this step and the next into one. |
| Add a step after this | Adds a blank step, a picture, more recorded steps, or steps from a video file. |
| Blur something | Hides something private in the picture. See Blur something private. |
| Hide the number, Show the number | Takes the step number off this picture, or puts it back. |
| Add a box, Remove the box | Adds or removes the highlight box on the picture. |
| Remove step | Deletes the step. You can undo it for a few seconds. |
Put the steps in order
- Open the step's ⋯ menu.
- Choose Move up or Move down. Repeat until it is in the right place.
The step numbers and the numbers on the pictures update by themselves.
Remove a step
- Open the step's ⋯ menu and choose Remove step.
- A message says "Step N removed" with Undo. Click Undo within about 8 seconds if you change your mind.
Split one step into two
Use this when one step covers two things, for example when Sopycat missed a click.
- Open the step's ⋯ menu and choose Split this step….
- Drag the slider, or play the recording, to the moment the second step starts. The shaded part of the bar is this step.
- Click Make a new step from this picture.
The new step goes right after this one, with that picture and a box to drag onto what was clicked. It has no words yet, so give it a title. Splitting only works on steps that came from a recording. You can undo a split for about 10 seconds.
Merge two steps into one
- Open the ⋯ menu of the first of the two steps.
- Choose Merge with next step.
The two titles are joined, for example "Click Save, then close the window", and the first step's picture is kept. You can undo a merge for about 10 seconds. The last step has nothing after it, so it can't be merged.
Add a step
To add a step at a certain place, open the ⋯ menu of the step before it and choose Add a step after this. To add one at the end, use Add a step below the last step. You can choose:
- Blank step: a step with no picture, for a note or a check.
- Picture from a file…: a step with a picture from your computer.
- Picture from the clipboard: a step with a picture you have copied.
- Record more steps here…: record the missing part of the task. See Add more steps to a manual you already have.
- Steps from a video file…: make steps from a screen video you already have, in mp4, webm, mov or mkv. Sopycat didn't see your clicks, so check the names and boxes afterwards.
Quickest way to add a screenshot: press Windows+Shift+S, capture part of the screen, then click in Sopycat and press Ctrl+V. The picture becomes a step after the one you selected, or fills a selected step that has no picture.
Make a manual without recording
Library › New manual
Click New manual at the top of the Library to start an empty manual. Add steps with Add a step, from pictures, pasted screenshots or blank steps. You can still record steps into it later.
More options for the whole manual
Library › open a manual › More options (⋯)
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Move to folder… | Files the manual in a folder. See Your library. |
| Share as a web page, Save as text file, Save as Word document… | Saves a copy to share. See Save and share a manual. |
| Make a tutorial video, Remove the tutorial video | Makes or removes a video of the task. See Save the tutorial video. |
| Record more steps…, Add steps from a video file… | Adds steps to this manual. |
| Transcribe my narration | Writes down what you said. See Record your voice. |
| Ask staff to confirm they read this…, Who has read and done this… | See Track who read and did a manual. |
| Compare the steps with the screen… | Checks whether the program still looks the same. See Compare the steps with the screen. |
| Make a copy | Makes a second manual to change without touching this one. |
| Earlier versions | Goes back to an older copy. See Go back to an earlier version. |
| Numbers on the pictures | Turns the step numbers on every picture on or off. |
| Show the files | Opens the manual's folder in File Explorer. |
| Rewrite from the recording | Writes every step again. See Rewrite everything from the recording. |
| Delete this manual | Moves it to Recently deleted. |
If someone else is editing it
In a shared library, a banner tells you when someone else has the manual open. You can read it without editing, or choose Edit anyway. Editing at the same time can mean one person's changes need sorting out later, so it's best to agree who edits. See Share a library with your team.
Delete a manual
- Choose More options (⋯) › Delete this manual.
- Click Undo on the message straight away if that was a mistake.
Deleted manuals go to Recently deleted in the sidebar for 30 days, so you can get one back later too.
Common questions
How do I undo a change?
For a removed, split or merged step, click Undo on the message that appears. For anything else, use More options (⋯) › Earlier versions and put back a copy from before the change.
Can I get Sopycat to write the steps again?
Yes, with More options (⋯) › Rewrite from the recording. This replaces your edits, so read Rewrite everything from the recording first.
Can I edit while the manual is still being written?
Wait until Writing your manual has finished. You can leave the page and come back, and a Windows notice tells you when it's ready.
Didn't find it? Search every page, or ask us.