How to add annotation to a step in a step-by-step guide

An annotation is an element you can add to a step in a Step-by-Step Guide. It appears as a card on the step image, with an icon, a title, and a description. You can add one annotation per step.

Annotations come in four types, each suited to a different kind of message:

• Quick Note: a small piece of context or clarification that helps the step make sense.
• Key Insight: a detail worth pointing out, like a reason behind a step or a tip that saves time.
• Announcement: something new or changed that the viewer should know about, such as an updated setting or feature.
• Alert: a caution, like an action that can't be undone or a step that's easy to get wrong.

Why use Annotations

A guide's step description explains what to do. An annotation covers everything around it, such as a caveat, a shortcut, a warning about an action that can't be undone, or a detail that's easy to miss.

How to add an annotation

1. Open the Step-by-Step Guide you want to edit.
2. Click the step where you want the annotation to appear.
3. In the Edit panel, go to Add elements and click Annotation. The Add annotation panel opens on the right.
4. Select a Type: Quick Note, Key Insight, Announcement, or Alert.
5. Enter a Title. This is the first line viewers read, so keep it short.
6. Enter a Description. You can format the text with bold, italics, underline, bulleted and numbered lists, and links.
7. Under Position, click a cell in the grid to set where the annotation sits on the step image.
8. Click Apply. The annotation appears on the step.

How to edit or delete an annotation

1. Hover over the annotation on the step image and click the pencil icon. The Edit annotation panel opens with your details filled in. Edit any field and click Apply.
2. To delete, click the delete icon at the bottom of the panel, then confirm.

Best practices

• Set the position away from the part of the screen the step is about. An annotation placed over the button you're pointing at defeats the purpose.
• Match the type to the message. Reserve Alert for actions with consequences, so it keeps its weight when viewers see it.
• Keep the title to a few words and put the detail in the description.