Recording Software Windows 10

[Dagny Westall]

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I sometimes need to record screen activity in Windows for a tutorial or demonstration or online class. Whether you're creating a presentation, devising a how-to video, or cooking up something for YouTube, you might want to record your screen activity in Windows as well.

A variety of third-party tools can handle that job -- some free and some paid. But rather than download and install an external program, you can take advantage of a couple of features built directly into Windows.

Available in Windows 10 and 11, the Xbox Game Bar video-capture tool is designed to record gameplay on your PC. But it's a versatile tool that will capture just about any other type of screen activity.

With Xbox Game Bar, you can easily record your screen, turn on the microphone to grab your voice or other audio, and save the recording to your PC. You can then manage all the recorded clips within the Game Bar interface and play any video. The video itself is saved as an MP4 file, so you can modify or spruce it up using any video editor. I'll show you this process in detail below.

But there's another option, at least if you use Windows 11. Once a simple screen-capture utility, the Snipping Tool can record any screen activity and save the recording as an MP4 video file. Let's check out both options.

Next, you can opt to record activity that has already occurred. In Windows 10, turn on the switch for "Record in the background while I'm playing a game." In Windows 11, turn on the switch for "Record what happened." You can then determine the duration for background recording. Click the dropdown menu for "Record the last" to set the time to anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.

Turn on the switch for "Record audio when I record a game" or "Capture audio when recording a game." You're then able to set the quality of the audio, the recording volume for your microphone, and the volume for your PC.

The recommended frame rate is 30 frames per second. You can bump that up to 60fps, but 30fps should suffice for most recordings. The default video quality is set to standard, though you can change that to high if necessary. Finally, you can turn off the switch for "Capture mouse cursor when recording a game" if you don't typically record the mouse cursor.

Several keyboard shortcuts are available to control the Xbox Game Bar. In Windows 10, you can view and even change the shortcuts in the Settings screen. For this, go to Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar.

Now, let's display the Game Bar and activate it to record your screen activity. Set up the activity you wish to record. When ready, press Windows key+G. The top toolbar and the Capture pane for Game Bar should appear.

The top toolbar lets you show or hide the different menus and panes for Game Bar, including Widget, Audio, Capture, Performance, Resources, and Xbox Social. At a minimum, you'll want to see the Capture pane so you can start, control, and stop the capture.

Click that message or press Windows key+G to return to the Game Bar interface. A Gallery window appears with the name, date, and time of the recording, and the video available for playback. Tap the Play button in the viewer.

First, press Windows key+Alt+R. The small recording panel appears on the screen. Click the stop button when finished and then open Game Bar. Your new recording now appears in the Gallery window for you to play. If you need to capture the last 30 seconds of screen activity, press Windows key+ Alt+G.

Press Windows key+G. On the top toolbar, click the Settings icon. Here, you can view and change any of the shortcut keys, modify the visual theme of the Game Bar interface and the transparency of the menus and panes, and control how and when audio is recording as you capture your screen activity.

To record your screen in Windows 11 with the Snipping Tool, you'll need a certain build for the operating system. To check, go to Settings > System > About. In the Windows specifications section, the build should be 22621.1344 or higher.

If you qualify, you're good to go. If not, head to Windows Update to snag the latest updates for the OS and then to the Microsoft Store and your library to grab the latest updates for your Store apps.

After the recording starts, perform the screen activity you want to capture. Click the Pause button on the toolbar to take a break and then click the Record button to restart. When done, click the Stop button.

The recording automatically starts playing in a Snipping Tool preview window. From there, click the Edit in Clipchamp icon to edit the video. Click the Share icon to share the file with a person or app. Click the Save button to save the recording as an MP4 video file.

With the latest update to the Snipping Tool, you can now configure your audio settings before you start your screen recording. To do this in the Snipping Tool, click the ellipsis icon in the upper right and select Settings. Scroll down the screen to the section for Screen recording.

To automatically start recording audio through your microphone, turn on the switch for Include microphone input by default when a screen recording starts. To automatically start recording your PC's system audio, turn on the switch for Include system audio by default when a screen recording starts.

Snipping Tool comes as part of Windows 11 and is also available via the Microsoft Store. Snipping Tool already allows you to take an image from your screen, but now it also allows you to select a portion of your screen and start video recording:

Xbox Game Bar is built right into Windows 11 as a native application, but it is also available as an add-on. The Game Bar has several features specifically related to gaming, like access to game-specific widgets and the ability to chat with friends while playing Xbox games. It also has a widget for capturing and recording your screen:

Microsoft Store has a wealth of Windows 11 apps that allow you to stream movies, edit photos, play games, and more. Even though Snipping Tool and the Xbox Game Bar are already built in, you may prefer to use a different app to screen record. Thankfully, there are many, many free and paid options available. To start with a free option, you might try the Screen Recorder for Windows app or the Screen Recorder extension in Microsoft Edge.

You can install ScreenRec by simply downloading it for free from this link and following the installation instructions. It takes just a few clicks. ScreenRec launches automatically after it's installed.

You can choose between taking a screenshot, recording a video, adding audio to it (either from your PC or directly from your microphone) and sharing the recording through an automatically created URL.

Yes, because the video platform that ScreenRec is built on, StreamingVideoProvider, offers seamless playback on all devices, including desktop computers, tablets smartphones and even smart TVs. Anyone will be able to watch your screen recordings even on a slow connection.

I've recently upgraded to Windows 11 and I'm encountering some difficulties with a task that I think many of you might have experience with. Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how to record my screen on Windows 11 with sound. While I've found the built-in screen recording tool in Windows 11 to be quite straightforward for capturing video, I'm struggling to include audio in my recordings.

I've done some basic troubleshooting like checking my microphone and system sound settings, but I haven't had much luck so far. It's crucial for my work to create high-quality screen recordings that include both the screen activity and the accompanying audio, so any advice, tips, or recommendations from this community would be greatly appreciated.

PowerPoint's screen recording tool is integrated into the application, eliminating the need for third-party software for screen capture. This feature is particularly useful for educators, trainers, and professionals who want to create engaging presentations that include demonstrations, tutorials, or walkthroughs of software applications. You can record your entire screen or select specific areas to capture, and you also have the option to record audio from your microphone and the system audio.

Recording your screen on Windows 11 with sound can be accomplished by using the built-in tool, Snipping Tool, which has been updated to include screen recording features. First, ensure that your system's sound settings are properly configured to capture the audio you intend to record, whether it's system sounds, microphone input, or both.

To start, open the Snipping Tool from the Start menu or by searching for it. In the Snipping Tool's interface, you'll find an option to switch from image capture mode to screen recording mode. Before you begin recording, you can choose the audio source you want to include in your recording via the app's settings. Ensure the correct audio source is selected to capture the sound accompanying your screen recording.

Once you're ready to record, select the area of the screen you wish to capture or choose to record the full screen. Then, click the record button to start capturing both your screen and the selected audio. The Snipping Tool allows you to pause and resume the recording as needed, giving you flexibility in what you capture.

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