How to Document a Product Walkthrough with Automated Screenshots on Mac

A product walkthrough shows a reader how a flow looks from start to finish: sign-up, first project, a new feature. Timed screenshots work well when the flow includes scrolling, animations or waiting, where a click-based capture would miss the screens in between.

This post uses Temposhot Auto Capture on a Mac to take a screenshot at a fixed interval, then turns the useful frames into an edited guide.

1. Choose one product flow

Pick one flow with a clear start and end, such as "Create and share your first board". A walkthrough of the whole product turns into a long gallery that nobody finishes.

Write the audience next to the flow: a prospect evaluating the product, a new user, or a colleague learning a release. The audience decides which screens matter and how much you explain.

2. Prepare a clean test environment

A walkthrough shows a lot of screen at once, so the data in it matters.

• Use a demo account with realistic sample content: project names, a few items, a profile photo that is not a real person.
• Set one window size and keep it. A capture area in a common aspect ratio, such as 16:9 at 1600×900, fits slides and documents.
• Close other apps, hide the Dock if it sits inside the area, and turn on a macOS Focus mode.
• Rehearse the flow once so you know where the pauses are.

3. Configure timed capture

1. Open Auto Capture

   Press Command+1 to open Auto Capture.

2. Choose the source

   Pick Windows for one app window, or Custom Area to draw a fixed region. The area picker offers presets such as 16:9 1600×900 and Lock aspect.

3. Set the stop condition

   Choose Screenshots with a count that covers the flow, or Duration for a fixed length. The default is 5 screenshots.

4. Set the interval

   An Interval of 1 to 2 seconds suits most walkthroughs. The default is 1 second.

5. Leave Key press empty

   You will drive the product by hand, so no key needs to be sent between shots.

6. Keep the countdown

   The default Countdown of 3 seconds gives you time to switch to the product window.

The Quick Demo preset (5 screenshots, 1 second, no key, 3-second countdown) is a starting point. More than the free per-session screenshot count requires Pro. The automated capture guide explains every setting.

4. Move through the flow at a steady pace

Select Start Capture (in the Custom Area picker, Start Auto Capture), switch to the product during the countdown, and perform the flow. Stay on each important screen for at least two intervals so one frame catches it fully loaded.

Use Pause capture in the floating toolbar while you fix a mistake, and Resume capture to continue. Finish capture ends the run immediately.

5. Turn the useful frames into a Document

When the run finishes, the results pane shows Capture complete and the frames. Timed capture produces more frames than steps, so pick the ones that tell the story.

Two ways to build the Document:

• Create Document in the results pane uses the whole session. Delete extra pages afterwards in the Pages panel.
• In Documents (Command+4), open the New Document menu and choose Capture History…. Expand the session, include only the frames you want, and select Add selected Frames.

The second route is faster when you keep fewer than half the frames. The pages and imports guide covers both.

6. Write the page instructions

Each page needs a Page title that says what the reader sees or does, and a short description of why it matters in the flow.

• "Name the board": what to type and where.
• "Invite teammates by email": which field and which role to pick.
• "Review the shared board": what the reader should notice.

Use Framing (F) with Custom to crop each page to the part of the screen the title describes. Add one Arrow (A) or Rectangle (R) where the eye should go. Timed frames carry no click position, so Focus on action applies only to Action Capture pages.

7. Export and check the walkthrough

Select Export PDF for a document to send or attach. With Pro, the PDF dialog adds a cover page, step numbers and page numbers. Open More export formats for PNG, JPG or WebP pages to drop into slides or a wiki, or a ZIP package with document.json.

Read the export at its final size. Check that every title matches its screenshot and that no real customer data slipped into a frame. The Documents export guide lists all formats.

Keep the walkthrough current

Walkthroughs show many screens, so they age with every release. Keep the session and the Document on the Mac that made them, note the product version on the cover, and recapture only the screens that changed. The post on keeping screenshot documentation up to date covers a review routine.

If a walkthrough is click-driven with no waiting or scrolling, Action Capture produces one page per click instead of timed frames.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is timed capture or click capture better for walkthroughs?

Timed capture suits flows with scrolling, loading and animations. Click capture suits form-driven tasks where each click is a step. See manual screenshots vs click capture.

Can I make a video from the frames instead?

Yes. The results pane exports MP4 at 5 to 60 fps. A short MP4 suits a demo, and a Document suits a guide that readers follow at their own pace.

Which interval should I use?

One to two seconds for most interface walkthroughs. Shorter intervals catch transitions but create more frames to sort.

Turn repeatable screenshots into finished work

Screenshot automation on Mac captures the walkthrough at a fixed interval and hands the frames to an editable Document. Download Temposhot and record your first flow.