In evaluating Instant-Demo from NetPlay Software I found I was able to quickly record screen activity and save the project in as an executable file, or as a Flash animation (.swf and .html file). I liked the ability to animate slides, individual screen captures and was able to make an professional demo in just minutes. I especially like the ability to easily resize the capture area. When you choose to capture the selected area instead of full screen or active window, a moveable and resizable red rectangle allows you to choose just the part of the screen you want to record.
To see an animated demo I created in just a few minutes click here.
Adding text balloons is easy and you can choose from several styles for the callouts. Note that the additional styles for text bubbles (as well as additional options for hotspots) are available in the Professional Edition.
In addition to text callouts, Instant Demo will let you define hotspots on a screen and have the bubbles display only when the mouse is over these hotspots.
I found the editing of created demos to be tedious. You must navigate through captured screens by using a scroll bar. You can edit the Delay for each frame to either make the demo spend more or less time on each frame. When you are satisfied with your changes you can Preview the demo or click the create button to create your .exe or .swf file.
Several options are provided for the flash file, such as looping the movie, and zooming in or out at the beginning and end of the movie.
Finally, advanced flash settings will let you change the frame rate, or add a URL to your web site.
Bottom Line:
Priced at $299 for the Standard Edition or $399 for the Professional Edition, Instant-Demo may be fine for many developers who need to create animated demonstrations of their software. More information, as well as a trial version can be found at http://www.instant-demo.com. However, for those developers who expect to make more animated demos or need more output options, such as Java Applets, the more expensive TurboDemo may be what they need to consider.
