Turn a step-annotated screenshot into a cinematic walkthrough: a smooth camera tour of your steps, exported as a video, GIF, or interactive page.
Animate Steps builds the movie from the numbered steps you place in the image editor, so the tour is only ever as good as the steps behind it. Start there, then hit Animate.
Open a screenshot in the editor
Capture or open any image in OwnClip’s image editor. Animate Steps works on screenshots, not PDFs, so reach for it after a capture, not a document.
Number your steps with the Step tool
Pick the Step tool and drop numbered markers (1, 2, 3…) in the order you want the tour to follow. Give each one an optional callout. That text becomes the on-screen label in the movie.
Click Animate in the toolbar
As soon as one numbered step is on the canvas, an Animate button appears in the floating toolbar (“Animate — turn your annotations into a movie”). It opens the Step Movie studio.
Studio feature. Animate Steps is part of the Studio plan. On Free and Pro the Animate button prompts to upgrade; everything else in the image editor stays open.
Animate opens a focused studio: a live preview on the left (play, pause, and scrub, with the aspect ratio, length, and step count along the bottom) and an inspector on the right. Every change you make in the inspector updates the preview instantly, so there’s no “render to check” round-trip.
Style
Set the overall motion feel and how far the camera zooms.
Cursor & clicks
Add an animated pointer and click highlights, or none.
Markers & motion
Show or hide the numbered badges and connecting arrows.
Output
Choose the format, aspect ratio, and quality, then export.
Start from a preset, then fine-tune. The Max zoom slider (1.2×–3.0×) controls how far the camera pushes into each step. A preset seeds it, and you can override it anytime.
Calm explainer
Slower push-ins and longer holds. Best for detailed walkthroughs where viewers need a beat to read each step.
Balanced
The default: moderate zoom and pacing that suits almost any screenshot.
Snappy
Tight zoom and quick transitions. Punchy and energetic for short, shareable clips.
A guided pointer makes the walkthrough read like a real demo. Turn it on for the full effect, or off for a pure camera move.
Animated cursor
A synthetic pointer glides between your steps, so the movie feels like a real screen tour. Scale it from 1× to 4×, or hide the pointer arrow and keep just the click highlights.
Click highlights
A pulse lands on each step as the camera arrives. Choose Filled or Outline, pick the color and size, and toggle the pulse animation on or off.
Or no cursor at all
Turn the cursor off entirely for a pure camera move, ideal when you want the motion to do the talking without a pointer on screen.
Decide how visible the steps themselves are in the finished movie.
Show step markers
Draws the numbered badges and their callouts in the movie, with optional connecting arrows between consecutive steps: the classic, labeled walkthrough.
Cinematic mode
Turn markers off and the badges vanish. Your steps still guide the camera, but nothing is drawn over the screenshot. A polished, hands-off product pan.
Pick a format, an aspect ratio (Original, Vertical 9:16, Square 1:1, or Wide 16:9), and a quality (Original up to 4K). Then share it straight to a branded link, save the file, or keep an editable copy.
Video (MP4)
Plays start to finish anywhere. Share a link, drop it in Slack, or embed it in docs and social posts.
GIF
A silent looping animation. Perfect for chat, email, and READMEs where a video player isn’t guaranteed.
Interactive page
A self-contained web page viewers click through at their own pace. Host it on your site or just open it in a browser.
Share or save
Hand a video straight to Smart Share for a branded link, or Save to file. Interactive pages save as a single self-contained .html.
Keep it editable
Save the movie as a re-editable .ownclipmovie project and reopen it later to tweak the motion without starting over.
Cinematic mode
Turn off Show step markers and the numbered badges disappear. Your steps still steer the camera, but nothing is drawn on top. Switch the cursor off too for a clean, badge-free product pan.
Order follows your numbers
The camera visits steps in numbered order. To re-time the tour, just renumber the steps in the editor; there is no need to start over.
Pick the platform shape
Set the aspect to Original, Vertical 9:16, Square 1:1, or Wide 16:9 to match where it’s going: Reels, a feed post, or a landing page.
Save a re-editable project
Export isn’t one-way: save the movie as a re-editable .ownclipmovie project and reopen it later to adjust the motion, cursor, or output without re-annotating the screenshot.