Record, Edit, Share

In this tutorial:

• Record Your Screen
• Edit Your Recording
• Export & Share

Record Your Screen

Camtasia Recorder captures your screen, camera, and audio.

Set Up Your Recording

1. Select the recording area:
   • Click the toggle to turn screen recording on or off.
     
   • Click the dropdown and select a recording area option.
     
2. Camtasia highlights the selected recording area on the screen. To edit the recording area:
   • Drag the handles to adjust the selection.
     
   • To enter a specific size, type the dimensions in pixels into the Width and Height fields.
     
   • To move the selected area on the screen, click the center handle (Windows) or within the selected area (Mac) and drag to the desired location.
     
   • If your computer is connected to multiple displays, you can drag the selected area from one screen to another.
3. To record video from a built-in or connected camera device, click the toggle to turn camera recording on or off and select a camera device from the dropdown. See Record & Edit Camera Video (Picture-in-Picture).
   
4. To record audio from your computer’s built-in microphone or from a connected USB microphone:
   • Click the toggle to turn microphone recording on or off and select an audio device from the dropdown.
     
   • Drag the slider to increase or decrease the audio level.
5. Turn system audio on or off. System audio captures the sound from your computer such as application alerts or audio playing from your computer speakers.
   
6. Start recording:
   • Windows: Click the Record button or press F9 on the keyboard.
   • Mac: Click the Start Recording button or press Command +Shift+2 on the keyboard.
7. Stop recording:
   • Windows:
     • Click the Stop button on the recording toolbar.
     • Or, press F10 on the keyboard.
     • Or, click the Camtasia Recorder icon in the taskbar and then click the Stop button.
       
   • Mac:
     • Click Stop Recording on the recording toolbar.
     • Or, press Command+Option+2 on the keyboard.
     • Or, click the Camtasia icon in the menu bar and select Stop Recording.
       

The TREC recording file appears in the Media Bin.

Your first recording is automatically added to the timeline. For subsequent recordings, drag the file from the Media Bin onto the timeline to include in your video.

Recording Tips

• Hide desktop icons (Mac only): Before recording your desktop, hide app, folder, and file icons. In the menu bar, select Camtasia icon > Hide Desktop Icons.
• Run a sample recording to test the audio:
  • No Microphone Audio: Select an audio device in the dropdown or enable the Microphone option in the recorder.
  • No System Audio: Enable the System Audio option in the recorder.
  • Low Microphone Audio: Drag the audio slider to increase the audio level and make sure the connected audio device is positioned near the speaker.
• Customize shortcuts: Speed up your workflow with recorder shortcuts. See Customize Shortcuts.
• Record with a connected USB microphone: For greater reliability, use a connected USB rather than Bluetooth microphone.
• Set maximum frame rate (Windows only): To ensure quality video recording, set the maximum capture frame rate. In Camtasia Recorder, select Tools menu > Preferences > Inputs tab > Maximum capture frame rate. See Crisp & Clear Screen Recordings and Camtasia Target Capture Frame Rate.
• Select a recording encoder (Windows only): Consider whether the default TSC2 encoder or H264 encoder is better for your situation. In Camtasia Recorder, select Tools menu > Preferences > Inputs tab > Recording encoder. See When to Use TSC2 vs H264 in Camtasia for Screen Recording.

Edit Your Recording

Make a few quick edits to remove mistakes and add polish to your video.

Trim Mistakes

Remove any extra content at the beginning or end of a recording. Trimming does not affect the original recording in the media bin.

1. Click to select the recording on the timeline.
2. Drag the end of the clip in toward the center.
3. To restore video that was trimmed too far, drag the end of the clip back out.

Cut Out Mistakes

Remove mistakes or unwanted sections of your recording.

1. Drag the red or green handle on the playhead to select the area to remove.
2. Click the Cut icon to remove the section.
   
   A stitched line appears where the cut was made.

Add Titles, Annotations, Effects & More

Add a level of polish and professionalism to your videos with eye-catching titles, annotations, effects and more. Click and drag them from the tools panel to the timeline or canvas. See Add Annotations, Callouts, & Titles.

Export & Share

When you are ready to export or share your video, click the Export button in the upper right corner of the Editor, then select a destination. See Export & Share Your Video.