Export & Share Your Video

Learn to export a project as a video file on your computer or share it to popular web destinations.

Export & Share Your Video

In this tutorial:

Export and share a video based on the set of media (recordings, video clips, audio clips, images, and effects) on the timeline.

Export Your Video

The Export options contain settings optimized to share videos to your local hard drive, YouTube, Screencast, and more.

Click Export and select an option from the dropdown:
Export dropdown on Windows Export dropdown on Mac

  • Local File (Windows): Best for exporting a MP4, GIF, M4A, or video with interactive features. Opens the Export Local File dialog. Select an option from the Preset dropdown or Custom to edit the export settings.
  • Local File (Mac): Best for exporting a MP4, MOV, GIF, or video with interactive features.
  • Export to video hosting or online services, such as YouTube, Knowmia, or Screencast, which require you to sign in to an account.

Note: If your video includes a table of contents, captions, search, quizzing, or hotspots, select the Local File, Knowmia, or Screencast option to include these features in your exported video. To learn more about the export options, see Export Videos with Interactive Features.

Note: The Legacy Local File (Windows) option is only recommended for exporting videos in Camtasia version 2022 and earlier. The option opens the Production Wizard to save an MP4, WMV, AVI, GIF, or M4A file. Follow the prompts in the wizard to create your video. See Export Legacy Local File.

Export a Selection on the Timeline

Export a selection on the timeline to create a short video or to preview an effect.

  1. Drag the green and red playhead handles to make a selection on the timeline.
    blue selection between green and red playhead handles
  2. Export the selection:
    • Windows:
      1. Right-click the selection and select Export Timeline Selection As.
      2. The Export Selection dialog appears. Choose the desired options. If the selection includes interactive features, select the Export with Smart Player preset or file format. See Export Videos with Interactive Features.
      3. Click Export.
    • Mac:
      1. Select Export > Local File.
      2. A confirmation window appears. Click Continue to export only the selected portion of the timeline.
      3. The export dialog appears. Choose the desired options. If the selection includes interactive features, see Export Videos with Interactive Features.
      4. Click Export.

Export to YouTube

Upload your videos directly from Camtasia to YouTube.

Note: Recommended YouTube video resolutions vary. 720p or 1080p (HD) are best for playback on standard monitors.

  1. Click Export > YouTube. You may be asked to sign in to your YouTube account.
  2. Enter a title, description, tags, privacy, and category.
    Export dialog for Youtube on Windows Export dialog for Youtube on Mac

    Tip: Add tags to improve improve search engine optimization (SEO).

    Add commonly misspelled words from your content as tags so YouTube can help users find your video.

  3. Set the privacy settings to the desired level.
  4. Click Export.

    Note: If your timeline includes captions or a table of contents:

    • Windows: Camtasia 2022.1.0 and later automatically uploads your captions and TOC to YouTube.
    • Mac: Select Create table of contents from markers to upload your TOC. Camtasia automatically uploads your captions to Youtube.

Camtasia uploads the video to YouTube and opens the video in a browser window for playback.

Note: Quizzes and interactive hotspots in Camtasia are not supported on YouTube.

Export Videos with Interactive Features

The TechSmith Smart Player is required for videos with interactive features such as table of contents, captions, search, quizzing, and hotspots. To include the TechSmith Smart Player, export to any of the following options:

  • Local File (Windows): Select the MP4 with Smart Player preset or file type option. On the Smart Player tab, select from these additional options:
    • To report quiz results with SCORM, enable the Report using SCORM option and click the SCORM Options button.
    • Exported vs. Hosted Smart Player Files:
      For additional details about Exported vs Hosted Smart Player files, see Hosted TechSmith Smart Player FAQ.
      • Export Smart Player files for hosting: The export includes additional CSS and JavaScript files required to run the Smart Player on your website. As web browsers evolve, it may be necessary to manually update or reproduce video files with the newest version of Smart Player.
      • Use hosted Smart Player files (Recommended): Smart Player CSS and JavaScript files are hosted and kept up-to-date by TechSmith. This option ensures you always have the latest version of Smart Player without having to manually update files on your web server or reproduce video files.
  • Local File (Mac): Select the Export to MP4 file format and enable the desired interactive options in the export dialog:
    • For captions, select an option from the Caption Style dropdown.
    • To include a quiz, enable the Include Quiz option and click Options to edit the settings.
    • To report quiz results with SCORM, enable the Include SCORM option and click Options to edit the settings.
    • To include a video TOC and search, enable the Create table of contents from markers option.
  • Knowmia
  • Screencast
  • Legacy Local File (Camtasia Windows 2022 or earlier)

Legacy Local File (Camtasia Windows 2022 or Earlier)

To customize Smart Player and export your video as an MP4 file in Camtasia Windows version 2022 or earlier:

  1. Click Export > Legacy Local File.
  2. Select Custom production settings from the dropdown and click Next.
  3. Select MP4 – Smart Player (HTML5) and click Next.
  4. The Smart Player Options dialog opens.
    • On the Controller tab, select the Produce with controller option.
    • Customize the desired settings for each additional tab. See Smart Player Options.
  5. Click Next.
  6. The Video Options dialog opens. Customize the desired settings such as quiz reporting for SCORM compliant packages (LMS packages).

    Note: TechSmith Results Service for reporting quiz results will be retired in 2025. Learn more.

  7. Click Next.
  8. The Produce Video dialog opens. Edit the video file name, file location, and video playback option.
  9. Click Finish.
  10. After export, click Open production folder to view the exported files.

Smart Player Export Options (Camtasia Windows 2022 or Earlier)

Tab NameOptions
ControllerCustomize the Smart Player’s color theme, playback settings, thumbnail image, and more.
Controller options

Produce with controller: Select this option if your video includes quizzing, captions, or interactive hotspots.

Exported vs. Hosted Smart Player files:
  • Export Smart Player files for hosting: The export includes additional CSS and JavaScript files required to run the Smart Player on your website. As web browsers evolve, it may be necessary to manually update or reproduce video files with the newest version of Smart Player.
  • Use hosted Smart Player files (Recommended): Smart Player CSS and JavaScript files are hosted and kept up-to-date by TechSmith. This option ensures you always have the latest version of Smart Player without having to manually update files on your web server or reproduce video files.
For additional details about Exported vs Hosted Smart Player files, see Hosted TechSmith Smart Player FAQ.
SizeSet the embed size and exported video size. Embed size affects the view size of the exported video when hosted on a website.
Video settingsSet the frame rate, encoding mode, keyframe placement, H.264 encoding, and color mode. The default settings for these options are best for standard videos.

Note: Adjusting these settings affects the size of the exported video file.

Audio settingsSet the audio bit rate. The default settings for these options are best for standard videos.
OptionsCustomize and enable additional Smart Player options such as the viewing controls, search, table of contents, captions, and quizzing.

Select Table of contents, Captions, or Quizzing in the Options tab to include in the exported video. These options are only available if added to the timeline before export.

Tip: Archive your finished project in a folder that contains all the media in your video.

  • Windows: Select File > Export > Zipped Project.
  • Mac: Select File > Save As and select the Create standalone project option.