Gradia’s latest update introduces a new option to generate eye-catching screenshots of source code snippets.
The feature can turn a custom snippet of source code into a colourful graphic for presenting in documentation, tutorials or sharing on social media.
Code Snippets can be displayed with a window frame or without; with line numbers or without; and support a variety of popular programming language syntax. A choice of colour scheme, Adwaita, Solarized, and Oblivion included, is available.
Gradia was created to make it easier for Linux app developers to make eye-catching graphics of their software for store listings, though it has expanded its feature set in recent releases to become a solid all-round image annotator and basic image editor.
Adding the ability to generate styled screenshots of source code feels like a nod back to its developer-focused roots, and the results sure do look good!
The code snippet feature isn’t the only change Gradia 1.7 brings. Other improvements include:
- Text and Stamp tools now support optional outlines
- Images can be rotated in 90-degree increments
- Colour pickers are no longer modal (more accurate colour picking)
There’s also a cropping tool for trimming an image prior to export; default export filenames are more descriptive (and include creation time); and the app no longer asks for confirmation on close if the open image has already been saved.
As a reminder, Gradia is not an app for taking screenshots, it is an app for making screenshots look nicer. It can hook into the system screenshot tool to take new screen-grabs in app, and you can configure it to auto-open when you take a screenshot – but its job is prettifying.
Install Gradia on Ubuntu
If you have installed Gradia from Flathub, pop open a Terminal and run flatpak update to update to the latest version and try the new features first hand.
If you want to install Gradia on Ubuntu as a Snap, you can as Gradia is now available on the Snap Store! Seek it out in App Center, or run sudo snap install gradia to snag it.