Record a Video with Snagit

Learn how to set up and record a screen video capture before sharing with colleagues.

3d Snagit icon

In this tutorial:

When a screenshot isn’t enough, record video to quickly and clearly get your point across. Use Snagit videos to demonstrate a process, record a quick information shareout to your team, or provide design feedback.

Record a Video

  1. In the Capture window, select the Video tab. To learn about the settings on this tab, see Video Capture Settings.
    Video tab in Capture Window
  2. Click the Capture button or press Print Screen (Windows) or Control+Shift+C (Mac).
    Capture button
  3. The orange crosshairs appear. Click and drag to select the area to record on the screen or click the Fullscreen button to select the entire screen. For more information about selecting the recording area, see Recording Dimensions (Resolution).
    Selection crosshairs and Fullscreen button
  4. To edit the selected area, complete any of the following:
    • Drag the handles to adjust the selection.
    • Type custom dimensions in pixels in the Width and Height fields.
    • Click within the highlighted area and drag the selection to the desired screen location.
  5. The Video Recording toolbar appears.
    Recording toolbar
  6. Click a button on the toolbar to turn the option on or off before or during recording:
    • Webcam: Record live video from the connected or built-in webcam. Click the dropdown to select the camera device and Picture-in-Picture or Fullscreen webcam options. See Record a Picture-in-Picture Video.
      Webcam options menu
    • Capture Cursor: Record your cursor while screen recording. Click the dropdown to turn the cursor effects on or off.
      Capture Cursor button

      Note: On Mac, you can turn cursor effects on or off during recording, but not the cursor capture.

    • System Audio: Record the sound from your computer such as application alerts or the audio playing from your computer speakers.
      System Audio button
    • Microphone audio: Record the audio from your computer’s built-in microphone or from a connected USB microphone. Click the dropdown to select a device.
      Microphone button
  7. To begin recording, click the Record button or press Shift+F9 (Windows) or Control+Shift+Space (Mac).
    Record button
  8. To highlight important information as you record, click the Screen Draw button and select the desired drawing tool. To learn more see Screen Draw.
    Screen draw button
  9. To pause recording, click the Pause button or press Shift+F9 (Windows) or Control+Shift+Space (Mac).
    Pause button
  10. To stop the recording, click the Stop button or press Shift+F10 (Windows) or Control+Shift+V (Mac).
    Stop button

The video opens in Snagit Editor where you can:

Need a link to email your video?

Click Share Link to upload your video to Screencast – free with your TechSmith account.
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About Screencast

Recording Tips

  • The recording toolbar may be hidden or minimized when recording in full screen:
    • If you have one display, use hotkeys to pause, stop, or restart the recording. See Snagit Hotkeys Guide.
    • If you have two displays, drag the recording toolbar to the screen you are not recording.
  • For videos with frequent screen interactions, enable Capture Cursor in the Video Capture Settings and consider turning on Highlight Cursor and Click Animation.
  • Recording longer than one hour can lead to problems with the video or a failed video capture. Consider recording short clips and then combine the videos.

Video Capture Settings

The following settings are available in the Capture Window.

Note: For additional capture preferences, see Snagit Preferences – Windows or Snagit Preferences – Mac.

Selection

Select a recording area option: Region, Window (Windows), or Fullscreen (Mac). Click the gear icon for additional options.
Selection control

Share

Select to share the video recording to a specific destination or select None to select a destination later. For more information about sharing destinations, see Share Captures.
Share control

Record Webcam

Record a built-in webcam or other camera device. To learn more, see Record a Picture-in-Picture Video.
Record Webcam toggle and arrow

  1. Toggle webcam on or off.
  2. Click arrow to select options:
    • Device: Select built-in webcam or connected device to record.
    • Placement: Select the location for the Picture-in-Picture window in your final video or select Fullscreen (Windows) or Fullscreen Webcam (Mac).
    • Shape: Select Circle, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Square, or Rounded Square for Picture-in-Picture webcam display.
    • Mirror Webcam Video (Mac only): Flip the webcam video horizontally.
    • Blur Webcam (Mac only): Automatically blur the background of webcam video.

Screen Draw

Highlight important information on your screen as you record a video. To learn more, see Screen Draw.
Screen Draw toggle and arrow

  1. Toggle Screen Draw on or off.
  2. Click the arrow to set a fade time in seconds for Screen Draw objects. This determines how long drawn objects remain on-screen.

Preview in Editor

Open the capture in Snagit Editor to preview, edit, and share the video.
Preview in Editor toggle

To skip previewing and editing the capture in Snagit Editor and share directly to a destination:

  1. Toggle this option off.
  2. In the Capture window, select a Share option.

Capture Cursor

Include the cursor in the capture.
Capture Cursor toggle

  • Toggle the cursor capture on or off.
  • Click arrow to select cursor effects:
    Highlight Cursor and Click Animation options
    • Turn Highlight Cursor on or off and select highlight color.
    • Turn Click Animation on or off and select animation color.

Record Microphone

Record audio using a microphone device during video capture.
Record Microphone control

  • Toggle microphone recording on or off.
  • Click arrow for additional microphone options:
    • Microphone: Select a device from the dropdown.
    • Automatically adjust input (Mac only): Also known as “gain”, Snagit automatically adjusts the input volume from your microphone. Deselect this option to manually control input volume.

Record System Audio

Record the system audio (sounds from applications and websites) during video capture.
Record System Audio toggle

Tip: Save time with capture presets.

If you frequently use the same video dimensions or recording settings, save the settings as a preset for future use. See Save Capture Settings as Presets.

Recording Dimensions (Resolution)

To create quality videos, consider the recording dimensions before you start recording. It is important to select the appropriate dimensions for where you plan to share the video with your audience. Snagit provides several ways to select the appropriate dimensions.

Select the Video Recording Area

Snagit offers the flexibility to record various dimensions. Frame the screen content by selecting a recording area that only includes the relevant screen content.

OptionDescription
FullscreenClick the Fullscreen button.
Fullscreen button
Window
  1. Hover the cursor over the window to record.
    Selection area crosshairs
  2. An orange border appears around the window. Click to select.
RegionClick and drag to select an area on the screen. To lock the selection to a specific aspect ratio:
  • 16:9: Hold Control (Windows) or Shift (Mac) and drag.
  • 4:3 (Windows only): Hold Shift and drag.
Custom Dimensions
  1. Click and drag to select an area on the screen.
  2. The toolbar appears. Enter the custom dimensions into the Width and Height fields.
    Video recording dimensions
  3. Click and drag to move the selected recording area to the desired location on the screen.
Standard Dimensions Snagit’s video guides show standard or recommended dimensions (up to 1920×1080) for common video sharing destinations such as YouTube, websites, and mobile devices. Available video guides are:
  • 1080p: 1920×1080
  • 720p: 1280×720
  • 640×480
  • 320×240
If you plan to share your video to a location that requires specific video dimensions, it is recommended to record at these dimensions or at the same aspect ratio as the recommended dimensions.
  1. When selecting an area to record, press G to turn the video selection guides on or off.
  2. Click and drag to select the recording area. As you drag the cursor near one of the standard dimensions, the guide dimly appears.
  3. Continue to drag the cursor until the selection border highlights to match the guide.

Note: This tutorial is for Snagit version 2024. Previous versions may look or function differently.