How to Capture Screen Recording

Screen Recording is a very useful instrument for creating video tutorials. Many teachers, who post video classes on the Internet, prefer to use this technology to save their time and effort. However, you need to know at least some basics of screen capturing in order to record anything.

Everyone these days seems to be aware of the potential of video recording. As a business owner or consumer, you’re always looking for ways to better explain things – and video is one of the best ways to do that. And with the ease of free online tools such as Screenr, it’s a no-brainer!Screen recording allows people to record their screen and share with only the people they want to. It’s a great tool for bloggers, livestreamers, and business owners who want to provide more value to their audience.

You’d think that recording a screenshot video on your computer would be a simple process. Sadly, it’s not. You have to go through quite a few steps just to have a basic video of your screen. But by using our guide for capturing screen recordings on your computer — laptop or desktop — you’ll be able to record high-quality videos with ease! So, grab the popcorn and get ready to check out how you, too, can capture screen recordings with our handy tips and tricks!

Screen recording is one of those essential skills that every computer user should know. After all, it’s much easier to share your screen than explain a step by step process over and over again. So here we’ve compiled the best ways on how to record screen – whether it be recording just a window or the entire laptop screen.

What is Screen Recording Software?

Screen recording software is an application tool that lets you capture your computer screen to share with others. It allows you to create product-related videos, tutorials, lessons, demos, YouTube videos, and more. A screen recording software also enables you to record videos from the webcam and computer screen itself.

Take a screenshot or record your screen on your Android device

You can take a picture (screenshot) or record a video of your phone’s screen. After you capture your screen, you can view, edit, and share the image or video.

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 11 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Take a screenshot

1. Open the screen that you want to capture.
2. Depending on your phone:
   • Press the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time.
   • If that doesn’t work, press and hold the Power button for a few seconds. Then tap Screenshot.
   • If neither of these work, go to your phone manufacturer’s support site for help.
3. At the bottom left, you’ll find a preview of your screenshot. On some phones, at the top of the screen, you’ll find Screenshot capture .

Take a scrolling screenshot

Important: These steps work only on Android 12, on most screens that allow you to scroll.

1. Open the screen that you want to capture.
2. Press the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time. 
3. At the bottom, tap Capture more.
4. To select the content you want to capture, use the crop guidelines.

Find, share & edit your screenshot

Tip: If you don’t have the Photos app, you’re likely running an older Android version. Open your phone’s Gallery app and tap Album view  Screenshots folder.

1. Open your phone’s Photos app .
2. Tap Library  Screenshots.
   • To share a screenshot, tap Share .
   • To edit a screenshot, tap Edit .

Record your phone screen

1. Swipe down twice from the top of your screen.
2. Tap Screen record .
   • You might need to swipe right to find it.
   • If it’s not there, tap Edit  and drag Screen record  to your Quick Settings.
3. Choose what you want to record and tap Start. The recording begins after the countdown.
4. To stop recording, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Screen recorder notification .

Find screen recordings

1. Open your phone’s Photos app .
2. Tap Library  Movies.

How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac

Here’s how to capture your computer screen using the built-in tools in Windows and macOS as well as a couple of third-party screen capture apps.

Xbox Game Bar

Built into Windows 10, Game Bar is designed to record games that you play directly on your PC or those you stream from an Xbox console. However, it can just as easily capture screen activity from other applications. To set this up, go to Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar and turn on the Enable Xbox Game Bar switch.

Here, you can also change any of the keyboard shortcuts for opening the Game Bar, taking a screenshot, and recording a video. And if you connect an Xbox Controller to your PC, you can trigger the Game Bar by pressing the Xbox button on the controller.

You’ll be able to record activity in most applications and windows, except the Windows desktop, File Explorer, and certain Windows apps, such as Weather. Navigate to the screen you wish to record and press Win + G to open Game Bar. Several Game Bar widgets appear on the screen with controls for capturing screenshots, recording video and audio, and broadcasting your screen activity.

Click the Start Recording button or use the Win + Alt + R keyboard shortcut to capture your screen activity. Now perform whatever screen actions you want to capture. After you click on the screen, the Game Bar widgets vanish, replaced by a small floating bar in the upper-right corner of the screen through which you can control the recording.

To stop the recording, click the Recording button on the floating bar. Once the recording ends, a notification tells you that the game clip was recorded. Click the notification to view your video in the Game Bar. Click the Play button to play the video.

You can also access and play your video from its default location in File Explorer: C:\Users\[username]\Videos\Captures. Your videos will be stored here as an MP4 file, which can then be uploaded anywhere you like.

You can tweak the Game Bar if you go to Settings > Gaming > Captures. From here, you’re able to change the default file location for your videos, turn on background recording to capture activity after the fact, opt to record video along with your audio, and switch the frame rate between 30 and 60 frames per second.

In Game Bar itself, click the Settings icon to the right of the top bar. Browse the different categories under Settings to modify the shortcuts, change the theme, tweak the widgets, set up background recording, and record the audio with the video.

macOS Screenshot Tool

Your Mac comes with its own screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Open the app or window you want to record and press Shift + Command + 5 to open the system’s screen-capture tool. From the bottom toolbar, you can opt to capture the entire screen, just the selected window, or a custom portion of the screen. For video, your options include recording the entire screen or a custom portion. 

Click the Options button and you can choose where to save your recording and initiate a countdown timer to start the recording. Make sure to check the option to use your Mac’s microphone if you’re recording your own voice or external audio.

Click Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion to begin recording. A Recording button appears at the top of the screen on the menu bar. Click this button to stop recording, and a thumbnail of your recording will be added to your computer. Double-click the screen recording file to play it in your default video player.

You can also trigger the screen recording directly from QuickTime on a Mac. Open QuickTime Player and then click File > New Screen Recording. The first time you do this, you’ll be asked to open System Preferences to grant QuickTime Player permission to record your screen. Go into your settings and check the box to grant the proper permissions. Start the new recording through QuickTime again, and you can then use the Mac’s recording tool.

How to Record Your Computer Screen (With Sound)

Imagine you need to show someone how to log in to an online account or how to use a feature in a product. You could write out an email. Or you could capture your screen and take a few screenshots.

But best of all might be recording your screen.

Screen recording, also known as a screencast, is perfect for creating: 

• Tutorials
• Product demos
• How-to videos
• And other instructional videos.

You can even record games or record presentations, or make a YouTube video.

How to record your desktop screen (Use Snagit for short, quick recordings)

Short, simple recordings that won’t require much editing can be done with something like Snagit (which is what I use most of the time).

Snagit is great for screenshots and quick and easy screen recordings. It’s perfect for when you want videos that look great, but don’t take hours of editing time.

Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Choose what you want to record

Step 2: Record your audio or webcam

Step 3: Trim your video

Step 4: Save or share

When you have your video ready to share, use the Share menu to save the video or send it to the web.

How to record your computer screen (Use Camtasia for polished, professional-quality screen recordings)

Longer or more complex recordings may need more editing. Something like Camtasia will give you a full built-in video editing suite of tools you can use.

Camtasia even allows you to enhance the video by zooming in on areas of emphasis, highlighting your mouse clicks, adding text or graphic call-outs, and more.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Choose your recording options

Step 2: Choose the region you want to record

Step 3: Record your desktop with audio (if you want to)

Step 4: Edit your video

Step 5: Produce and share

How to record your screen with sound

To record your voice, select the microphone. And if you want to record the sounds that come from your computer, like the beeps and boops you hear, select the system audio option.

When you record your screen you can include typing the address into your browser and show all your mouse movements and clicks to let people see exactly where to go and how to get there.

You can include video and audio when you record your screen too. Use microphone audio to narrate your video from your computer’s built-in microphone or an external mic.

You can also record your system audio (that’s the sound that comes out of your speakers).

Are there keyboard shortcuts?

Yep! Here are a few of the top shortcuts for Snagit and Camtasia:

Snagit Hotkeys

Start Recording

• Windows: Shift+F9
• Mac: Control+Shift+Spacebar

Pause/Resume Recording

• Windows: Shift+F9
• Mac: Control+Shift+Spacebar

Stop Recording

• Windows: Shift+F10
• Mac: Control+Shift+V

To configure your own hotkeys for your keyboard, see Customize the Snagit Hotkeys.

Camtasia Shortcuts

Start/Pause Recording

• Windows: F9
• Mac: Command+Shift+2

Stop Recording

• Windows: F10
• Mac: Command+Option+2

To customize the shortcuts for your keyboard, see Customize Camtasia Shortcuts

Should I use a free screen recorder?

Maybe. You can use free apps like QuickTime (on Mac) or Xbox App (Windows), but, if you’re comparing different screen recording tools, make sure you get a screen recorder with sound recording and video editing options built-in.

The problem with many built-in screen recorders that come standard on your computer is that they limit you to just recording. And you end up needing extra tools and software just to edit and share your videos.

Conclusion

There are a few reasons why you might want to record your screen, even though it seems like something reserved for techies and gamers. Whether you’re looking to show someone how to perform a task on their computer, you want to record a video call with someone in order to remember it or you need to save some steps for a how-to guide you’re putting together, Windows makes it simple.

Screen recording is a quick and easy way to show people what you think is important on a computer screen. For teachers, bloggers or business owners, this is a great way to help explain topics and software.