How do you Screen Record On Your PC or Mac? This write-up will be educating you on the procedure to record your PC and Mac screen. If you want to record yourself playing a game or using an app on your computer but don’t know how to go about it, this is the write-up recommended for you.
I encourage you to read to the end to get every bit of it. However, before I go into the key focus of this write-up, there are certain things you need to know about Screen recording your computer.
How to Screen Record on Your PC or Mac
Are you wondering how to screen record on your windows 10, 11, or Mac? If you have Windows, you can use the Xbox Game Bar to capture a single window or download a free screen recorder such as OBS Studio to record your entire desktop.
For Mac users, you can choose from two built-in tools—Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player—to capture part or all of the screen.
Here’s how to capture your computer screen using the built-in tools in Windows and macOS as well as a couple of third-party screen capture apps. So, learn how to screen record on windows 7, windows 10, Mac, or mac Book, using the following tools.
Xbox Game Bar
Game bar settings are built into Windows 10 PC. The tool is designed to record games that you play directly on your computer or those you stream from an Xbox console.
Also, the tool can easily record screen activity from other applications.
How to Setup and Use Xbox Game Bar for Screen Record on windows
To set this tool, do the following;
- Go to Settings
- Tap on Gaming
- Go to Xbox Game Bar and switch on the Enable Xbox Game Bar switch.
- You will have the option to change any of the keyboard shortcuts for launching the Game Bar, taking a screenshot, and recording a video.
- If you link an Xbox console to your computer, you can turn On the Game Bar by clicking the Xbox button on the console.
- Go to the screen you wish to record (on your windows)
- Then, tap on Win + G to open the Game Bar. A lot of Game Bar tabs appear on the screen with controls for capturing screenshots, recording video and audio, and broadcasting your screen activity.
Take note; you can record activity in most applications and windows, except the Windows desktop, File Explorer, and some specific Windows apps like Weather.
How to Record Screen Using game bar
Now that you have set up the tool, it’s time to start recording. Do this;
- Tap on the Start Recording button or use the Win + Alt + R keyboard shortcut to capture your screen activity.
- Perform the screen actions you want to capture.
After the performance, tap on the screen, and the Game Bar tab will disappear, replaced by a small tab at the top of the screen where you can control the recording.
To Stop Recording do this;
- Tap on the Recording tab
- The moment the recording ends, you will get a notification that the game clip was recorded.
Now you have successfully recorded the screen of your Windows PC.
How to View Recorded Screen video – Game Bar Videos
To access the video you just recorded, take these steps;
- Tap on the notification to view your video in the Game Bar
- Press the Play button to play the video.
Alternatively, You can access and play your video from its default location in File Explorer: C:\Users\[username]\Videos\Captures. Your videos will be saved as an MP4 file. From there you can upload and share it.
How to Change the Default Video Location Through the Capture Settings
To make this change, do the following;
- Go to Settings
- Go to Gaming
- Select Captures
On the screen you can do the following;
- Change the default file location for your videos
- Switch on background recording to capture activity after the fact
- Opt to record video along with your audio
- Lastly, switch the frame rate between 30 and 60 frames per second.
These are steps on how to change the default file location.
macOS Screenshot Tool
Are you a Mac user? If yes, this section is for you. Mac has an inbuilt screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Find out how to use this tool to screen record on your Mac computer.
How to Screen Record On Mac
Follow the steps below to get started with the recording screen on Mac;
- Launch the app or window you want to record
- Click on Shift + Command + 5 to open the system’s screen-capture tool.
- From the bottom toolbar, you can decide to capture the whole screen, just the selected window, or a custom portion of the screen. For video, you will be given options such as recording the entire screen or a custom portion.
- Tap the Options tab and you can also select where to save your recording and initiate a countdown timer to begin the recording. Ensure you check the option to use your Mac’s microphone if you’re recording your own voice or external audio.
- When you press the Record Entire Screen or Record selected portion, the recording button will appear.
- After recording tap on the same recording button to stop recording
- A thumbnail of your recording will be added to your PC.
To play the video or audio in your default video, double-click the screen recording file to
How to Screen Record Using Quicktimes
Quicktimes is another fantastic tool that can be used to record your screen directly from your Mac computer.
- Launch QuickTime Player on your Mac PC
- Go to File > New Screen Recording. The first time you do this, you’ll be asked to open System Preferences to grant QuickTime Player permission to record your screen.
- Navigate to your settings and tick the box to grant the proper permissions.
Kick off the new recording through QuickTime.
OBS Studio
The free OBS Studio can be accessed on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The tool comes with outstanding features in one program.
To start recording, do this;
- Go to OBS studio
- Use the tool’s control panel to start and stop your recording. The OBS Studio can record screen activity, your microphone, and computer audio.
- After recording, the tool will then save the content as an MP4 file.
Do you know that you can also stream your video live or turn to Studio Mode for adding cuts, fades, and more, to the video? On the settings field you can change the format and other criteria for both the video and audio position of the recording.
Free cam
Free cam is an extremely basic screen recorder for Windows users. This recording tool captures the activity of the screen and audio, then saves your recording as a WMV file. All you need to do is tap on the New Recording tab and choose where you want to save it.
How to Record With Free Cam on Windows
To start the recording process, take these steps;
- Tap on the Record button
- It will start recording
- When you are done click Esc
Your recording will appear in a preview window where you can do these three things; edit, save as a video file, or upload it directly to YouTube.
