How to record your screen in Windows 10

By Melanie Pinola 22 December 2020

Save your actions by learning how to record your screen in Windows 10

Did you know Windows 10 has a screen recording utility called the Xbox Game Bar? With it, you can record a video of your actions in just about any Windows app on your laptop, whether you want to capture gameplay or create a tutorial for someone on using Microsoft Office. To make it easier for you, we’ve outlined a few simple steps on how to record your screen in Windows 10.

The screen recording tool is part of the Xbox app that comes installed by default in Windows 10. Xbox Game Bar recently received some major updates to make it more useful, so you can now take screenshots and even make memes.

How to record your screen in Windows 10

1. Open the app you want to record. Unfortunately, the screen recorder tool can’t capture some programs, such as File Manager, or the entire desktop, but it does work in regular apps, whether from the Windows Store or desktop apps.

2. Press the Windows key + G at the same time to open the Game Bar dialog.

3. Check the «Yes, this is a game» checkbox to load the Game Bar. This is the procedure whether you are screen recording a game or another kind of app.

4. Click on the Start Recording button (or Win + Alt + R) to begin capturing video.

5. Stop the recording by clicking on the red recording bar that will be on the top right of the program window. (If it disappears on you, press Win + G again to bring the Game Bar back.)

That’s it! You’ll find your recorded videos, which are MP4 files, under the Videos folder in a subfolder called Captures. You’ll also find them in the Xbox app under the Game DVR menu, where you can trim a video and share it on Xbox live (if it’s a game).

Note that you can also use the Xbox screen recording tool to take screenshots. Instead of clicking the recording button, click the camera icon on the Game Bar or Win+Alt+PrtScn.

We hope that this helped, and you could even teach someone else how to screen record in Windows 10.

How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac

Here’s how to capture your computer screen using the built-in tools on Windows and macOS or third-party screen-capture apps.

Want to record the screen on your PC? Maybe you’re a professional who needs to capture your screen for a presentation at work, a software developer generating a how-to video, or someone who wants to upload something fun to YouTube. Windows and macOS allow you to capture your screen activity thanks to built-in tools, though there are also many third-party screen-capture apps. Here’s how to use all available tools.

Record Your Screen with the Windows Game Bar

Built into Windows 10, Game Bar was designed to record games that you play directly on your PC or those you stream from an Xbox One. However, it can just as easily capture screen activity from other applications. After you’ve recorded the chosen activity, the generated video is automatically saved as an MP4 file, which can then be uploaded anywhere you like.

To set this up, go to Settings > Gaming > Game bar and turn on the switch for Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar. Here, you can change any keyboard shortcuts associated with opening the Game Bar, taking a screenshot, and recording video.

If you connect an Xbox Controller to your PC, you can trigger the Game Bar by pressing the Xbox button on the controller.

You can 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 to capture your screen activity. Instead of going through the Game Bar pane, you can also just press Win+Alt+R to start your recording.

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 will appear to tell you that the game clip was recorded. Click the notification, and File Explorer will open to the location of the recording. At this point, you can view the video file or upload wherever you want.

Record Your Screen in macOS

Your Mac comes with its own screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Open the app or window you want to record, then 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 selected portion of the screen.

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, 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.

OBS Studio

Compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, and 8, as well as macOS, the free OBS Studio packs a lot of features into one program. Use the program’s floating control panel to start and stop your recording. Along the way, OBS Studio can record screen activity, your microphone, and computer audio, then saves the output as an MP4 file.

You can also stream your video live or turn to Studio Mode to add cuts, fades, and other transitions to the video. The program offers an array of settings where you can change the format and other criteria for both the video and audio portions of the recording. OBS Studio looks intimidating at first, but you should be able to catch onto it pretty quickly and learn how to use it effectively.

Free Cam

Free Cam is an extremely basic but still capable screen recorder. Designed for Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, this program captures your screen activity and audio, then saves your recording as a WMV file. Simply click the button for New Recording. Then select which area of the screen you want to capture, anywhere from a single window or application to the entire screen.

Click the Record button, perform the screen activity, and then press Esc when you’re done. Your recording appears in a preview window where you can edit it, save it as a video file, or upload it directly to YouTube.

How to record your screen

By Cat Ellis 25 March 2020

Record everything that’s happening on your screen

There are lots of reasons to record your screen, whether you’re using a Windows PC, a Mac, a phone or a tablet – you might be making a video for YouTube, composing a software tutorial, or preparing a presentation for work.

You might start by reaching for a free screen recorder, and there are some excellent options around, but you might not realise that Windows already has its own build-in recording tool, hidden away in the pre-installed Xbox app.

You can also record your screen from within a browser window, without downloading and installing a large program. It all depends on what you’re recording, the hardware you’re using, and how much time is at your disposal.

Once you’ve finished, you can either share the recording as-is, or make a few adjustments using free video editing software – trimming the clip to length, adding titles, or recording a voiceover.

The best screen recorder right now is: Adobe Captivate
It’s not free, but if you want to record footage from your screen for use in presentations and YouTube videos, Adobe Captivate is the best tool for the job. Not only can it capture footage from your screen, it also allows you to integrate PowerPoint slides, and even add interactive questions for your audience.

How to record your screen in Windows

It’s well hidden, but Windows 10 has its own built-in screen recorder, intended for recording games. To find it, open the pre-installed Xbox app (type Xbox into the search box to find it) then tap [Windows]+[G] on your keyboard and click ‘Yes, this is a game’.

Click ‘Start recording’ or tap [Windows]+[Alt]+[R] to start, then use the same shortcut when you’ve finished. Recorded videos will be saved in your Videos/Capture folder in MP4 format.

To customize the recorder’s settings, log into the Xbox app and access the Game DVR options. You can’t choose a different destination folder for recordings, but you can pick a quality setting, decide whether or not to record audio, and set a maximum clip length.

Unfortunately not all Windows 10 devices can record footage with the Game Bar. To use it, you’ll need a video card supporting one of the following encoders:

• Intel Quick Sync H.260
• Nvidia NVENC
• AMD VCE

How to record your screen on a Mac

Recording the screen of a Mac is much easier than a WIndows PC. If you’re using macOS Mojave, just hit the keyboard shortcut Shift+⌘+5 and all the controls for capturing video and still images from your desktop will appear. You can record the whole screen, a section, or a specific window, then trim, save or share the resulting footage.

If you’re using an older version of macOS, you can record the screen using Quicktime Player. Just open the app (which is installed by default)

How to record your screen on Android

Android 10 includes its own screen recorder, which you can find by opening the ‘Settings’ menu and selecting ‘About phone’. Tap the version number seven times, then enter your unlock credentials when prompted. This will put the phone in developer mode, letting you test features that aren’t yet fully finished.

Return to the system settings, tap ‘Developer options’ and select ‘Feature flags’. Find the flag ‘settings_screenrecord_long_press’ and toggle the switch to activate it. You can now record your screen any time by hitting the power button to bring up the power options menu, then holding the screenshot button until the screen recording options appear.

If you’re using Android Pie or earlier, you’ll need a third-party screen recorder from the Google Play Store. Such apps are very popular, so there’s no shortage of shoddily made or outright malicious ones available.

If you want to record gameplay footage, Google Play Games has a built-in screen recorder that will start capturing footage automatically when you launch a game. For anything else, we recommend AZ Screen Recorder. It’s simple to use, and packed with handy features. The free version is excellent, but extra options are available for a small fee.

How to record your iPhone or iPad screen

Recording the screen on an iPhone or iPad is similarly straightforward. Tap ‘Settings’, followed by ‘Control Center’ and ‘Customize Controls’, then tap the green plus icon next to ‘Screen Recording’.

Load the app you want to record, then swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or down from the top right if you’re using an iPhone X or later, or an iPad with iOS 12 or iPadOS. Tap the ‘Record’ button (a dot within a circle) and a three-second countdown will begin. Once this is over, the recording will begin.

To end the recording, tap the time indicator at the top left of the screen and select ‘Stop’. Bear in mind that all notifications you receive while recording will also be captured.

How to Record Screen on Windows 10

Print Screen has its own dedicated keyboard button on most Windows computers, but what about when a still image doesn’t cut it? After all, it would be really hard to make a tutorial, stream a game, or film a lesson if you couldn’t capture a screen recording.

Using an external camera is clunky and difficult, so instead, we have compiled a list of built-in methods and available third-party software that will do the trick instead. It may not be as simple as pressing “prt sc”, but these tools are more than capable of doing the job.

Quick Summary

Method 1: Windows Built-In Screen Recorder (through the XBOX app)

Windows 10 has a built-in screen recorder you can use without installing anything extra. However, it’s only available if you have a graphics card with Intel Quick Sync H.260 (2011 models or later), Nvidia NVENC (2012 models or later), or AMD VCE (2012 models or later except Oland), so if you’re having trouble, make sure your computer is up to spec.

For those who do have the proper hardware, here’s how to do it. Now, this feature is meant for gamers, but it can be used with any screen material.

First, press the WINDOWS and G keys. Then, in the pop up choose “Yes, this is a game”.

From there, recording is simple. You can use the red button on the bar to start and stop a recording, or use the settings menu to set an automatic cut off time for your recording.

Once you’re done, the file will be saved as an MP4 in your Videos\Captures folder. For more information on using the Game Bar for screen recording, you can check out this youtube video:

Method 2: Using Microsoft Powerpoint

Happen to have Office PowerPoint on your computer? Then you can use the program to create screencasts, not just presentations.

Normally, this will embed the screen recording on a slide, but you can also choose to save it as a file. Here’s how to do it.

First, open Microsoft PowerPoint. Then choose the Insert tab and Screen Recording.

Next, choose which part of your screen you want to record with the Select Area tool. If you’re using Office 2016 or later, you can also use the hotkey WINDOWS + SHIFT + A. Click and drag the cross hairs to select your recording area. If you do not want to record audio, press WINDOWS + SHIFT + U to toggle it.

Once you’re ready, press the Record button.

The small control panel will disappear unless pinned, but you can make it reappear by moving your mouse to the top edge of the screen.

After you’re done, press the Record button again. The video will be automatically embedded in your slide, and you can choose FILE > SAVE AS to save your presentation. If you only want to save the video, choose FILE > SAVE MEDIA AS and then choose the destination folder and video name.

Note: If you are using PowerPoint 2013, you’ll need to follow some special instructions for recording and saving your video. You can find the official tutorial here.

Method 3: OBS Studio

If you’re not a fan of PowerPoint or want a dedicated tool for regular screen recording, OBS Studio is a great video recording software. It’s open source, doesn’t watermark or place time limits on your content, and offers many powerful editing features as well. It also supports live streaming at 60FPS and is a popular choice for this as well.

Before you get started, you’ll need to download OBS Studio from their website here. Since this is a very full-featured program, you’re going to want to run through some basic setup and settings before you get started.

This means you should check out all the settings such as enable/disable automatic recording, streaming setup, bitrate, audio sampling rate, hotkeys, and file naming format among others. What you choose for these will depend on where you plan to show your videos and the capabilities of your computer.

Alternatively, OBS studio does offer an auto-setup wizard that can choose some things for you.

After all the setup, you can get started with a basic screen capture. First, put OBS in “Studio Mode” so that the left side says ‘preview’ and the right side says ‘live’.

To set up a screen capture, choose Sources > + > Window Capture > Create New. In the drop down list that appears, choose the window you want to record.

This should place your window in the ‘preview’ panel. If it looks the way you want it to, click transition in the center of the screen. If it doesn’t, drag the red corners until the preview is adjusted to the size you would like.

Then, click Start Recording and Stop Recording to create your video. By default, these are saved as flv files in the user/videos folder, but you can alter this path and save type in the settings.

OBS Studio is a very powerful software, and perhaps one of the best free programs for creating screen recordings or streaming. Its features extend far beyond the simple setup shown here. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a lot of tutorial materials so you’re going to need to find most of your resources from the online community. Streamers may find that a good place to start is this tutorial from Youtube.

Method 4: FlashBack Express / FlashBack Pro

If you’re looking for a dedicated software that can do both the recording and the editing, FlashBack might be a good choice. You can use their free version just for doing basic captures, but the paid option will allow you to make use of editing tools, save in a variety of formats, and add special content to your videos. It’s also one of the best screen recording software we’ve reviewed.

Here’s how to get started with FlashBack. First, download FlashBack from their site (choose “Express” if you want to start for free).

This will download an exe file. If this makes you uncomfortable, consider a different software. Next, click through the installation process.

When you reach this startup screen, choose “Record Your Screen”.

You’ll then have the option to change some settings for your recording, such as the audio source and capture size.

You can also decide whether to capture a window, a region, or the entire screen. If you select region, you’ll see some red cross hairs that you can drag to create a selection.

Then, press “Record” and do everything you need to. While recording, you should see a small bar on the bottom with “pause” and “stop” buttons. This bar can be hidden or shown at will.

Once you’re done, you’ll be asked to either review, discard, or save your recording. In Express, you will see a limited editor that will allow you to trim and crop the video as needed. Pro users will have a more full-featured video editor.

When you’re done editing, you can use the “Save” feature to save your video in a program-specific format. Or, you can use the export feature to save it as a normal file.

There are quite a few options, such as WMV, AVI, and MPEG4. Additionally, you can choose to export directly to YouTube instead by going to File > Share.

FlashBack Express is a simple solution with a lot of potential for screen recording and editing. It’s very easy to get started, and if you want to get more out of it you can buy a pro license just once (there’s no monthly subscription).

Method 5: APowerSoft Online Screen Recorder

If you prefer a web-based solution, APowerSoft offers an online recorder. The name though, appears to be a bit misleading – when attempting to try the software, we found that it does ask you to download a small package. However, the functionality comes completely from the website.

To use this tool, you’ll need to go the APowerSoft Screen Recorder website. Then, just click the “Start Recording” button in the middle of the screen.

Agree to any prompts that appear, such as “Open APowerSoft Online Launcher”. If you choose not to create an account, you’ll also see the following warning before you get started:

Creating an account is simple enough if you want to remove the watermark, but you can get started without one. Just click the “x” in the top right and you’ll see a new recording window appear. From here, you can resize your capture zone, move it around, or adjust special settings such as hide/show the toolbar, hotkeys, and etc.

To start and stop recording, just press the red button. When you’re done, you’ll be shown your video clip.

You can use the save icon to save your screencast as a video file or as a GIF, or use the share icon to upload it to YouTube, Vimeo, Drive, or Dropbox.

APowerSoft is a very lightweight program. It does give you some flexibility – for example, you can capture audio from the system, microphone, both or neither – but it is limited as far as editing capabilities unless you buy the paid version. You’d need to use a separate program on your computer if you plan to do any kind of edits. On the other hand, the tool is very quick to use and could be great in a pinch or if you don’t need to make any fancy changes before sharing them.

Alternative Methods

YouTube Live Streaming

If you have a YouTube channel, you can take advantage of the YouTube Creator Studio to film a screen recording. This requires using the live stream feature, so it’s not a great fit for everyone, but it could work out in some cases. To get started with using YouTube for screencasting, check out this tutorial.

Filmora Scrn

Filmora Scrn is a dedicated screen recording software made by Wondershare. It offers dual camera recording (screen and webcam), plenty of export options, and editing tools. Some people prefer it because the interface is a lot cleaner than some competing applications, but as this isn’t a free software, it’s not quite as accessible as some of the other methods listed here. However, if you’re interested in an easy-to-use and specialized screen recording software, you can check out Filmora here. We’ve also reviewed Filmora with more details.

Camtasia

Unlike many of the more specialized programs, Camtasia is a full-featured video editor first and a screen recording software second. It offers the most editing and production capabilities, which makes it a great choice if you want to do more than just record your screen or plan to produce several kinds of videos. The interface is very clean and easy to use. You can check out our full review of Camtasia here.

Snagit

Snagit is a program made by TechSmith, the same company that makes Camtasia. However, Snagit is not an all-in-one tool, and instead is only meant for screen recording. It offers some interesting features such as a magic selection tool that can automatically detect areas to record as well as an editing panel that will let you annotate your final videos. You can learn more about it here or read our detailed Snagit review here. Note: Snagit is a paid software.

CamStudio

CamStudio is a free software, but it’s an older and less well supported software compared to some alternatives. The program is maintained primarily by one individual and definitely has a few bugs that are still being worked out, but if you’re interested in trying it’s worth giving a shot. CamStudio may not be as “shiny” as some alternatives, but it is free and available here should you be interested in it.

Conclusion

Whether you’re making videos for a small classroom, thousands of subscribers, or for your own enjoyment, learning how to record screen on Windows 10 can make a huge difference. Depending on what features are important to you, there’s a variety of options that can meet your needs and no reason why you shouldn’t succeed in making a great video.

Wow! this post is really great. I love the detailed information about the tool. It helps me a lot since I’m looking for another screen recorder that I may use for my project. Besides, I’m using Acethinker Screen Grabber Pro with more than a year, this tool is very easy to use because you don’t need to download any third party app to use it. You may also include it on your List.

Very well written.

I need it. I tried CamStudio. That Didn’t work. Then I tried Gaming Console in Win 10. But that do not have video recording in Win 10 Home.

I will try these.

I have tried Any Video Converter Ultimate to record the video screen on my Windows 10 laptop, and it worked. The paid version allows you to record the video screen for free.