Camtasia Studio Learning Center

Camtasia Studio 6 Tutorial:

How do I make a Table of Contents?

Adding a Table of Contents (ToC) to your video can benefit your viewers in at least two ways. Viewers can easily navigate your video and quickly get an idea about the topics you're going to cover. A ToC is especially helpful for longer videos.

Markers are the key to adding a ToC to your video. Use markers as a way to set "jumping points" in the video so when a viewer clicks on an entry in your ToC, they are taken to a specific point in your video. You can also use markers to help organize the Timeline or even produce sections of the Timeline as separate videos.

See how to upload your Camtasia Studio video to Screencast.com

In this tutorial you will:

1. Place the playhead at points in your video where you would like a ToC entry, and add a marker (hotkey M).
2. Start to produce the video to Flash, but first make a stop in Flash Options to customize and preview your Table of Contents.

Did you know that if you use the Camtasia Recorder PowerPoint add-in and record a PowerPoint Presentation, markers are inserted on the Timeline automatically for each slide? The markers are named based on the title of the slide. Learn more about recording PowerPoint presentations.

Add Markers

As your video begins to take shape, think about how you break it up for your viewers.

1. Place your playhead at the point in your video where you would like to have your first ToC entry.
2. Click Edit > Markers > Add a Marker. Or, just press the hotkey M.
3. Give the marker a name. This name will be used as the ToC entry. Try to avoid really long names if possible, as you will have to create a very wide ToC or the name will be truncated. You can always rename the ToC entries in the production phase, so don't worry too much.

4. Continue to add markers as needed. Note that you can click and drag markers and enter them in any order. Rename a marker by double-clicking it (or right click the marker and select Set Marker Name).

Customize and Preview Table of Contents

After you  insert markers, you can customize and preview the Table of Contents.

1. Click Produce video as... in the Task List. (Or File > Produce Video As...)
2. Select Custom production settings in the Production Wizard.

3. For this example, choose MP4/FLV/SWF - Flash output. (WMV, MOV and AVI also support some kind of ToC.)

4. Choose a Template. We recommend ExpressShow with TOC as it offers the most functionality.

5. Click the Flash Options... button, then click the Table of Contents tab. You can select which markers will appear in the ToC, rename markers, choose where the ToC appears, optionally add an image that will appear above the ToC, and more.


The Floating ToC option allows the viewer to click a button in the Flash controller to display the ToC. The ToC appears as an overlay on top of your video which the viewer can reposition.

If you choose to include an image with your ToC, it will only appear when you produce the video. It does not appear in the ToC Preview (seen when you click the Change Dimensions button.)

6. Click the Change Dimensions button to see a preview of how your Table of Contents entries will look. If entries are truncated, you can either increase the width of the ToC or change the name of the entries in Flash Options... Table of Contents (tab).

Once you think your ToC is how you want it, continue to produce your video as normal.