Serial numbers
Add step numbers to screenshots and image pins, choose number formats and styles, attach arrows and labels, and continue counting across images.
Number steps, interface controls, or places to check so readers can follow them in order. Each marker advances the number automatically. Attach an arrow and text when you need to explain a specific location.
Add step numbers in sequence
For a screenshot, select an area first. On an image pin, press SpaceSpace to show the annotation toolbar.
Click “Serial,” or press the default shortcut Shift+4⇧ Shift+4. If the button is in a grouped menu, click the small arrow next to the tool to expand it.
Move the mouse to the location to mark. The cursor previews the next marker. Click once to place it.
Keep clicking other locations to add numbers in order. Numbering starts at 1 by default; after placing 1, the next number is 2.
To point farther away, hold the mouse button and drag when placing a marker. The marker goes where you press, and the arrow tip goes where you release.
Choose a numbering format and appearance
The numbering dropdown in the style bar offers five formats: Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and Chinese numerals. Examples are 1, 2, 3, I, II, III, a, b, c, A, B, C, and 一、二、三.
Hover over the marker preview at the far left of the style bar to open the appearance panel. Choose a filled circle, bordered circle, hollow circle, text only, or rounded square.
- Filled circleColor behind the number
- Bordered circleAn outline around the fill
- Hollow circleThe image stays visible inside
- Text onlyNo outline or fill
- Rounded squareA square color background
- Number formatsRoman numerals, letters, or Chinese numerals
The size control beside it adjusts the whole marker, and the palette changes its main color. You can also scroll over the image to adjust size. If nothing happens, check “Disable mouse wheel to adjust annotation tools.”
In “Annotation” → “Serial,” “Serial text size” adjusts the number inside the marker, and “Serial arrow size” adjusts the attached arrow's thickness. Both are separate from the overall marker size.
Change the next number
The far left of the style bar shows the number to place next. To start partway through a sequence or skip numbers:
| Need | Action |
|---|---|
| Add or subtract 1 | Click the up or down button beside the preview; alternatively, press ZZ to increase or XX to decrease |
| Set a specific number | Click the marker preview, enter a number in the “Serial Number” dialog, then click “Confirm” |
These actions change only the next number, leaving existing markers unchanged. While entering attached text, Z and X still type normally.
Adjust an existing marker
Keep “Serial” selected and click an existing marker. Hover over it to reveal the number adjustment, delete, arrow, and text buttons.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Move the whole marker | Drag its body; the attached arrow and text move with it |
| Change this number | Click the increase button at the top left or the decrease button below it |
| Add or hide the arrow | Click the arrow button at the bottom left |
| Change the arrow's direction | Drag the square control point at its tip; hold Shift⇧ Shift to snap to 45° increments |
| Delete this marker | Click the delete button at the top right |
Changing an existing number does not reorder other markers automatically, so check for duplicates afterward. Dragging the arrow tip inside the marker also hides the arrow. More arrow endpoint shapes are available in the advanced options on the right of the style bar.
If you cannot select a marker again, set “Mark secondary editing” to “Enable.” For undo, redo, and dragging to duplicate, see Annotation basics. A duplicated marker uses the highest number of the same format in the current image plus 1.
Add a short explanation
Select a marker, then click its bottom-right text button or press AA to enter a label beside it. Press EscEsc to finish. Click the text button again to resume editing.
To move the label alone, hover over its edge until the cursor changes to a move cursor, then drag. This leaves the marker in place.
Expand the advanced options on the right of the style bar to choose the font and label size, and toggle the stroke and “Text guide line.” The guide line connects the marker to the label, letting you move the text into nearby empty space.
Close gaps after deletion and count across images
These settings in “Annotation” → “Serial” control how numbering continues:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Modify other item when deleting serial item | On by default. Deleting 2 from a consecutive 1, 2, 3 changes 3 to 2; only the immediately following consecutive numbers of the same format are affected |
| Serial number starts from 0 by default | Off by default. When enabled, Arabic numerals start at 0; other formats still start with their first item |
| Global serial numbering | Off by default. When enabled, later screenshots or image pins can reuse the recorded next number, useful for explaining one process across several images |
With global counting enabled, click the marker preview in the style bar, then “Reset” in the dialog to start the next numbering at its initial value. Resetting does not reorder existing markers.
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Cover parts of screenshots and image pins with rectangles or a pencil, adjust mosaic and blur strength, edit rectangles, and undo freehand strokes.