How to Screen Record on Your Computer:
The Ultimate Guide

Screen recording comes in handy for anyone working with a computer. It is helpful when you want to create a demonstrational video on how a program works, record gameplay to share on social media, or create a products demo video for customers. Additionally, it is crucial when you want to record anything on the screen to upload on video streaming services such as YouTube or share with colleagues or friends.

Screen recording allows you to capture anything on the screen, just like you would record good moments with a camera or take screenshots on a computer. Provided you have the right screen recording tools, you can enjoy live-capture enhancements, post-capture video editing options, etc.

This article is the ultimate guide on how to screen record on your computer.

How to screen record

How to record your screen on Windows 10

Windows 10 has a screen recording tool, Xbox Game Bar, that allows you to record actions from tutorials on Microsoft office or gameplay.

  1. Open the Settings app by clicking the 'Start' button, then the 'gear' icon in the start menu. You can as well hit on the notifications symbol on the taskbar and choose the 'all settings' tile present on the action center.
  2. Choose 'gaming' in the settings app.
  3. The recording utility begins to load by default. Check the toggle below the first paragraph and click it on. Choose 'captures' on the left to view and modify further customization options if necessary. For example, enabling background recording and changing your save location for your screenshots and recordings.
  4. Once through with adjusting the settings, open the Xbox Game Bar by typing the shortcut 'Win + G.' Although the first intention of designing this screen recording utility was to capture gameplay, it extends the feature to other applications.
  5. When the Xbox Game Bar emerges near the screen's upper-center edge, you will see buttons to access different settings and overlays, including audio, performance, gallery, widget menu, settings, and more.
  6. Capture overlay often emerges by default, but you can click the webcam symbol to prompt it.
  7. Hit the 'start recording' button to start recording. After that, you can stop recording by clicking the purple button. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut 'Win + Alt + R' to start and stop recording.
  8. The captured screen recording saves as MP4 files in the Captures folder under Videos.

How to record your screen on Mac

MacOS Catalina is a screen recorder for Mac that allows users to capture tools that allow screen recording.

Here's how to screen record on Mac.

  1. Select 'Shift + Command + 5' to prompt the screenshot toolbar.
  2. The toolbar emerges on the screen with three buttons on the left for capturing screen capture and two in the middle for recording your screen.
  3. Select the 'record entire screen' button on the left or the 'record the selected section' button on the right and then record.
  4. Hit the small record button on the menu bar on the upper edge of the display after finishing your recording. You can alternatively use 'Command + Control + Esc.'
  5. Your recorded videos save to the desktop.

How to screen record using Parallels Toolbox

Windows 10 and Mac have inbuilt screen recording utilities. Unfortunately, they have limited features and won't give you a gratifying screen recording experience. For this reason, you need a dedicated screen recording tool from Parallels Toolbox.

Below is the process of screen recording using Parallels Toolbox.

Record a selected area

  1. Open the tool and drag to highlight your preferred record area.
  2. Hit inside the selection box to start recording.
  3. Hit the record area symbol to stop recording.

Record entire screen

  1. Open the tool and click anywhere to begin screen recording.
  2. Click the record screen symbol to stop recording.

Record a single window

  1. Open the tool and click any window to start recording.
  2. Stop recording by clicking the record window symbol in the dock.

Conclusion

Parallels Toolbox is convenient to use in recording a single window, the entire screen, or a selected area. Even if you are screen recording for the first time, you will find it easy to navigate the straightforward instructions of this tool. Visit Parallels to download your screen recording utility.