How to Turn Existing Screenshots into a Step-by-Step Guide on Mac

Many guides start from a folder of screenshots that already exists: captures from a support chat, a desktop full of files named "Screenshot" with a timestamp, or frames from an earlier session. You do not need to record again to turn them into a guide.

This post walks through importing those images into a Temposhot Document, ordering and titling them, and exporting a finished guide.

1. Select the screenshots the guide needs

Open the folder in Finder and pick only the images that show a step. Leave out duplicates, half-loaded screens and shots taken by mistake. A guide with one clean image per action reads faster than one with every image you have.

Rename the files you keep with a number prefix in task order, such as 01-open-settings.png, 02-select-account.png. Finder then lists them in order, and the names double as draft page titles.

Check each image for personal data before import. It is easier to drop an image now than to blur it on every export later.

2. Create a Document from Images

1. Open Documents

   Press Command+4 to open Documents.

2. Choose Images

   Open the New Document menu and choose Images….

3. Select the files

   Select the renamed screenshots in Finder and confirm. Temposhot copies them into the Document, so later edits do not change the original files.

To add more images to an open Document, use Upload images in an empty Document or the Add Pages menu. Frames from earlier Temposhot sessions come in through Add from Capture History: select sessions, expand one to include or exclude frames, then select Add selected Frames. Selection order sets page order. The pages and imports guide covers each option.

3. Put the pages in task order

The Pages panel lists every page. Drag pages to reorder them, or use Move up and Move down in the page menu. Duplicate page helps when one screenshot illustrates two steps with different marks. Delete page removes extras.

Read the thumbnails top to bottom and ask whether a reader could follow the task from images alone. If a step is missing, note it. You can capture it later with Capture new images… from the Add Pages menu.

4. Write a direct title for every page

Select a page and edit its Page title in the Page Inspector. Start with a verb and name the exact control:

• "Open System Settings"
• "Select Privacy & Security"
• "Turn on Screen Recording for the app"

Use the Page description for details: values to enter, what changes after the action, a warning. In a PDF export, descriptions can appear before or after each screenshot (a Pro customization).

5. Add only the visual cues the reader needs

Imported images have no recorded click position, so Focus on action is not available for them. Use Framing (F) with Custom to crop each page to the relevant window or panel, then select Apply framing.

Then mark the target:

Need	Tool
Point at a control	Arrow (A)
Outline an area	Rectangle (R) or Ellipse (O)
Show a click spot	Click Marker (M, Pro)
Label a value	Text (T)
Hide private data	Blur (B, Pro)

One mark per page is usually enough. The annotations and framing guide explains each framing control.

6. Export and inspect the finished guide

Select Export PDF for a single file. With Pro, the PDF dialog adds a cover page, step numbers and page numbers, and sets paper size, orientation and image quality. Step through the live preview to check that titles and crops fit the page.

More export formats produces PNG, JPG or WebP pages named after page titles, or a ZIP package with rendered PNG pages and document.json. All exports use the current page order, framing and annotations.

If you only need the images merged into a PDF without titles or marks, the browser tool Image to PDF does that locally in the browser.

Capture the next guide from clicks

Rebuilding a guide from scattered screenshots takes longer than recording it. For the next task, open Action Capture with Command+3 and select Start Action Capture. Each accepted click saves the screen just before the click, with a draft title such as Click "[[element-name]]" and an optional click marker. The finished run opens as a Document already in order. See how to create a step-by-step guide from clicks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which image formats can I import?

macOS screenshots are PNG by default, and PNG and JPG files import directly. If an image will not import, convert it to PNG or JPG first, for example with Image Converter.

Does importing change my original files?

No. Temposhot copies the images into the Document. Edits, crops and annotations apply to the copies.

Can I mix imported images and Action Capture pages?

Yes. Add pages from Images…, Add from Capture History or a new capture into the same Document, then reorder them in the Pages panel.

Fix the affected pages without rebuilding the whole PDF

When one screen changes, replace only that page: add a new image or capture, move it into place, delete the old page and export again. The Document keeps the other pages, titles and marks. Learn more on the Documents page.