How do I create highlights on a screenshot?

Question

In Chipaca's to Managing files and sync scenarios there's a screenshot with certain highlights. The highlights are the following:

1. A row of a GUI list is highlighted by the other parts of the screenshot being darker.
2. A check mark is highlighted by being circled by what looks like a (orange) crayon.

How do I create both of these highlights on a screenshot? Is there an automated process?

The screenshot I'm referring to is the following:

Answer 1

Here's a guide for The Gimp :

Create Higlighted Rectangle

1. Select Rectangle Tool:

   • tick Feather Edges choose Radius e.g. 5.0 pixels for smooth borders
   • tick Highlight to highlight the selection

   

2. Select area to highlight

3. Select -> None to remove selection.

The selection is now higlighted

Note: in some versions of GIMP the highlighting may be removed as soon as we select another tool or save the image. In this case we can proceed as follows to keep the area highlighted:

1. Invert the selection (Select --> Invert or Ctrl+i).
2. Bucket fill the background with black 30% opacity.

Create Crayon

1. Select Ellipse Tool to select area for crayon
2. Select -> Border e.g. with 8 pixels
3. Painbrush Tool choose brush e.g. Galaxy, choose color e.g. yellow
4. Paint selection until happy

Answer 2

You can do this in editors such as Pinta, Shutter*, the GIMP, etc.

The process may vary, but one way to do it, would be to place a translucent square/rectangle in a second layer above the image, and then to cut out the part that you want to glow.

Example workflow:

• Open your screenshot in Pinta.
  1. Create a new layer.
  2. Select the new layer
  3. Choose the paintbucket tool.
  4. Change the colour to black, but set the opacity to 150.
  5. Now use the rectangle selection tool to select the area you want to highlight.
  6. Fill the layer with this colour.
  7. Hit delete.
• The image should now be highlighted.

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* Shutter is more for accomplishing the reverse effect.