Add Cursor Effects
Learn how to add cursor effects to emphasize the cursor and edit cursor clicks.
Introduction
Most videos have the cursor burned into the recording file. Camtasia records both the screen and cursor data in the Camtasia Recording file format (TREC) which allows you to edit the cursor at any time. This eliminates the need to rerecord to perfect the cursor movement or position.
Camtasia’s cursor editing and effects help to:
- Smooth jumpy cursor movements.
- Fix the cursor position when it doesn’t match the narration.
- Emphasize the cursor to support the message in your videos.
- Add or edit cursor clicks.
If you want to add a cursor to a still image or a video not recorded in Camtasia, you can add the Cursor Path Creator effect to design the cursor path. Add a Left Click or Right Click effect to add cursor click keyframes to simulate clicks. See Add a Click Effect & Edit Cursor Clicks.
Add a Cursor Effect
Add a cursor effect to a Camtasia Recording file (TREC) on the timeline to emphasize the cursor to support the message in your videos.
- Select Cursor Effects tab > Cursor Effects subtab.
- Drag an effect onto the Camtasia Recording file (TREC) on the timeline. See Cursor Effect Types.
- Click the arrow to open the Effects tray.
- By default, the effect is applied to the entire duration of the media. To adjust the duration, click to select the effect and drag the ends to adjust when the effect starts and ends during the clip.
- In the Properties panel, customize the properties available for the effect.
Add a Click Effect & Edit Cursor Clicks
In the Camtasia Recording file format (TREC), you can add or edit mouse clicks at any time. Apply a cursor click effect to visually emphasize a click. You can also add new cursor keyframes to simulate a click in an image, video, or recording file.
For Camtasia Recordings (TREC Files)
- Select Cursor Effects tab > Left Click or Right Click subtab.
- Drag an effect onto the Camtasia Recording file (TREC) on the timeline. See Cursor Effect Types.
- Click the arrow to open the Effects tray.
- By default, the effect is applied to the entire duration of the media. To adjust the duration, click to select the effect and drag the ends to adjust when the effect starts and ends during the clip.
- In the Properties panel, customize the properties available for the effect.
- The circles on the effect show where clicks occur in the media. Click the Previous and Next buttons to navigate through the cursor clicks.
- To add a new cursor click, drag the playhead on the timeline to the desired location and click the Cursor Keyframe button in the properties.
- To remove a cursor click, click the Previous and Next buttons to navigate to the desired cursor click and click the Cursor Keyframe button to remove the selected click.
- To add a new cursor click, drag the playhead on the timeline to the desired location and click the Cursor Keyframe button in the properties.
For Images or Videos Created in Other Applications
- Click the Cursor Effects tab.
- On the Cursor Effects subtab, drag the Cursor Path Creator effect onto media on the timeline and set up the cursor path. See Customize Your Cursor and Path.
- Select Cursor Effects tab > Left Click or Right Click subtab.
- Drag an effect onto the media on the timeline. See Cursor Effect Types.
- Click the arrow to open the Effects tray.
- By default, the effect is applied to the entire duration of the media. To adjust the duration, click to select the effect and drag the ends to adjust when the effect starts and ends during the clip.
- In the Properties panel, customize the properties available for the effect.
- To add a new cursor click, drag the playhead on the timeline to the desired location and click the Cursor Keyframe button in the properties.
- The circles on the effect show where clicks occur in the media. To remove a cursor click, click the Previous and Next buttons to navigate to the desired cursor click and click the Cursor Keyframe button to remove the selected click.
Cursor Effect Types
General Cursor Effects
Cursor Color
Edit the cursor fill and outline colors to match the video ascetic or to stand out from the screen content.
Cursor Glow
Emphasize the cursor with a glow effect. Give your cursor a glow effect to stand out on the screen and grab viewers’ attention.
Cursor Highlight
Add a circle of color to draw viewers’ attention to the cursor.
Cursor Magnify
Enlarge the cursor area to show detail.
Cursor Path Creator
Add to images or videos recorded outside of Camtasia to design your own cursor path to simulate a demo or recording. Combine with left or right click effects to build click actions on anything! See Customize Your Cursor and Path.
Cursor Shadow
Add a visual effect that makes your cursor appear to float above the screen.
Cursor Smoothing
Transform distracting, jumpy cursor movements into smooth lines. See Quickly Smooth Cursor Movements.
Cursor Spotlight
Dim and blur the area outside of the highlighted cursor area to emphasize specific actions and cursor movements.
Left Click & Right Click Effects
Click effects help to visually emphasize the action of a click within a video.
Rings
Add an expanding ring over the mouse click area.
Ripple
Add a transparent ripple over the mouse click area.
Scaling
Add for the perfect visual indicator for a mouse click.
Scope
Add a visual target over the mouse click area.
Sound
Combine with other click effects to emphasize a cursor click.
Target
Add a circular visual target over the mouse click area.
Warp
Add a transparent visual effect to emphasize the mouse click that appears to push in the area around the mouse click.
Tip: Combine the Sound and the Scaling click effects to emphasize a click.
You can add multiple cursor effects to a clip. These two click effects pair perfectly together to emphasize the action of a click.
Hide the Cursor
You can hide the cursor on any Camtasia screen recording (TREC file) added to the timeline.
To hide the cursor for an entire clip:
- Click to select a TREC recording on the timeline.
- Click the Properties button.
- Click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 0%.
To hide the cursor for a duration of a clip:
- Select Animations tab > Animations subtab.
- Drag the Custom animation onto the TREC on the timeline.
- Drag the animation arrow to the location to start hiding the cursor.
- In the properties, click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 0%.
- To show the cursor again in the video, drag another Custom animation onto the TREC on the timeline.
- Drag the end of the animation arrow to the location for the cursor to appear.
- In the properties, click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 100%.
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