Clarify

Clarify Software Review

Clarify by Blue Mango Learning presents itself as a specialized tool for generating step-by-step documentation, a task often required in software support, training, and internal knowledge sharing. This review examines its feature set, usability, and overall effectiveness in fulfilling this specific purpose.

The core functionality of Clarify revolves around capturing visual sequences of actions on a computer screen and transforming them into structured, easily digestible guides. The software facilitates this through a workflow that is, for the most part, intuitive and focused. Users can initiate a capture session, perform the actions they wish to document, and Clarify captures screens at key points or upon user initiation. This captured sequence forms the basis of the step-by-step guide.

One of the primary strengths of Clarify is its ability to then allow users to annotate these captured screenshots effectively. The annotation tools provided are sufficient for most common needs: highlighting specific UI elements, adding textual callouts, using arrows to indicate flow, and basic shape tools. There are also options for obscuring sensitive information directly within the image, which is a critical feature for creating external documentation or guides for users outside of a secure environment.

Crucially, Clarify automatically organizes the captured screenshots into a sequential list, labeling each as a potential 'step'. Users can then add detailed textual descriptions for each step. This integration of visual steps with explanatory text is fundamental to creating effective documentation. The text editor within Clarify is adequate, offering standard formatting options like bolding, italics, bullet points, and hyperlinks.

The structural organization of the document within Clarify is another positive aspect. The interface typically presents the steps in a clear list format, making it easy to review the flow of the guide and rearrange steps if necessary using drag-and-drop functionality. This flexibility is valuable when refining the sequence or correcting errors in the initial capture process.

A key differentiator for Clarify is its range of output options. Beyond simply saving the project, users can export their completed guides in several formats. PDF generation is a common requirement for documentation, and Clarify handles this effectively, producing clean, print-ready documents. The option to publish to a web-based knowledge base is particularly useful for organizations that maintain an online repository of information. This allows for easier sharing, searching, and updating of documentation.

While Clarify excels in its specific niche of step-by-step documentation, potential users should understand its limitations. It is not a full-featured video editing suite or a general-purpose screen recording application intended for creating polished video tutorials with complex transitions or audio commentary beyond basic narration for steps. Its strength lies in breaking down processes into discrete visual steps with accompanying text.

From a usability perspective, Clarify is relatively easy to learn and use, especially for individuals who regularly need to create guides or tutorials. The interface is generally straightforward, minimizing the learning curve. However, as with any specialized software, becoming proficient in optimizing the capture process and utilizing all annotation features effectively requires some practice.

Considering its target audience – individuals and teams who frequently need to document procedures and software usage – Clarify offers significant value by streamlining a time-consuming process. Manually capturing screenshots, pasting them into a document, adding annotations, and writing step descriptions in a general-purpose application like a word processor is considerably more cumbersome and prone to inconsistency compared to using a dedicated tool like Clarify.

In conclusion, Clarify is a highly capable application for its stated purpose. It delivers a focused set of features that effectively address the challenges of creating clear, visual step-by-step documentation. Its automated organization, integrated annotation tools, and flexible output options make it a valuable tool for anyone who regularly needs to explain processes or software workflows. While it may lack the breadth of features found in more general screen recording or video editing software, its specialization is its strength, providing an efficient and effective solution for a specific, important documentation need.