qgn / features / studio
One editor. Stills and clips. Two modes.
Studio is where a capture goes when the clipboard is not enough. Markup to point at things. Compose to make it presentable. Same tools on screenshots and recordings.
QGN used to have a separate annotation editor and a separate video studio. Two windows, two sets of tools, and your framing lost whenever you moved between them. Since 0.1.16 there is one Studio. Open any capture from its preview card and you are in it.
two modes
| markup | compose | |
|---|---|---|
| for | pointing at things | presenting things |
| works on | the pixels themselves | the capture on a canvas |
| saves | back over the original | a new file |
| annotation tools | all of them | all of them |
| background, frame, shadow | no | yes |
Switching modes keeps your framing. A round trip does not throw away the background you set up.
markup
- Freehand, arrows, rectangle, ellipse, diamond and line.
- Text in three sizes. Numbered callouts that count themselves.
- Redaction as a solid block or pixelate. Solid is the default and cannot be recovered. More in annotation.
- A cursor stamp, since captures are taken without the pointer and you may want one where it matters.
- Crop that stays adjustable until you apply it, and can be undone after.
- Six colours, and a single key per tool: V D A S T X C P R.
compose
- Backgrounds: ten gradients, six wallpapers, solid colours, or your own image.
- Saved palettes for the gradients and colours you keep coming back to.
- Frames: none, a plain window, or browser chrome with an address bar.
- Padding, corner rounding and shadow depth.
- Aspect ratio: auto, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16 or 3:2.
More on that in mockups.
clips
Open a recording and Studio adds a timeline. Trim with in and out points. Zoom keyframes are generated from where you clicked while recording, or placed by hand with easing and a focus point. An optional styled cursor with click ripples sits on top. Export to MP4, WebM, GIF or animated WebP, with a size estimate first. See screen recording.
the details that matter
- Marks stay editable. Select one with the pointer, move it, resize it, recolour it, delete it. Fixing one mark does not mean undoing everything after it.
- Marks live in image pixels. They stay put when you crop, change the aspect ratio, resize the window or export at another scale.
- One undo stack. ctrl+z and ctrl+y cover marks and crops alike.
- Zoom and pan. ctrl and the wheel zooms about the cursor, the wheel pans, middle drag pans, ctrl+0 fits again. A 4K capture deserves to be seen at 100%.
questions
What is the difference between Markup and Compose?
Markup works on the capture itself and saves back over the original. Compose puts the capture on a background with a frame, padding and shadow, and saves a new file. Every annotation tool works in both.
Can I edit an arrow after I drew it?
Yes. Pick the pointer with V, click the mark, then move it, resize it, recolour it or delete it. Double-click a text label to fix a typo.
Can I open an image that QGN did not capture?
Yes. The tray menu can open Studio on whatever image is on your clipboard.