Storyline 3: Recording Screencasts

In this user guide, we'll explore how to record new screencasts in Storyline 3. (To insert a previously-recorded screencast into your course as a video or a series of step-by-step slides, see this user guide.)

Launch the Screen Recorder
Select Your Recording Options
Size and Position the Recording Area
Record Your Screen
Name and Preview Your Screen Recording
Insert the Screen Recording into Your Course

Step 1: Launch the Screen Recorder

There are several ways to launch the screen recorder. Here are the three quickest ways:

On the Storyline start screen, click Record Screen to begin a new project by recording your screen.
In an existing project, go to the Slides tab on the ribbon and click Record Screen.
In Story View, go to the Home tab on the ribbon, and click the top half of the Record Screen button.

The Storyline window will temporarily disappear and the screen recorder will launch (but it won't start recording right away).

Step 2: Select Your Recording Options

When the screen recorder appears, the first thing you'll want to do is set your recording options. Click the gear icon on the recorder control bar.

When the Screen Recording window opens, configure the following settings and click OK.

Shortcuts

Use these fields to assign keyboard shortcuts for stopping the recording process, pausing/resuming the recording process, and taking screenshots while recording. Just place your cursor in each field and press the desired shortcut key(s).

Audio Recording

To record audio during your screencast, mark the Microphone box, then use the drop-down list to choose a microphone.

To record system sounds, mark the Speakers box, then use the drop-down list to choose a playback device.

A note about recorded audio: If you decide to insert your screen recording as step-by-step slides, recorded audio won't be used. Step-by-step slides display only the action-related video clips from your screencast. Your audio will still be available in the original screen recording in case you want to insert it as a video on a single slide.

Options

If you're recording a software demonstration or a program that has multiple windows, you may want to mark the box to Move new windows into recording area to make new windows visible in the recording area.

To display a Storyline icon in your computer system tray while you’re recording, mark the System tray icon box. If you need to record your system tray and would prefer not to see the Storyline icon in your screencast, uncheck this box.

Step 3: Size and Position the Recording Area

To adjust the size of your recording area, drag the sizing handles on the dashed outline or use the drop-down list on the control bar to choose preset dimensions. To adjust the location of your recording area, just drag it to a different area of your screen.

Here are some helpful tips for sizing your recording window:

To optimize your screencast so it fills the entire slide, be sure the size of your recording window matches your slide size.
The maximum screen recording area is 2046 pixels by 2046 pixels.
Multi-monitor recording isn't supported. If you have multiple monitors, we recommend using the same screen resolution for all display devices and setting the display scaling to 100%. See this article for more details.
If you're recording a web app, we recommend using Internet Explorer. It sends the richest data to the Windows Accessibility API, so Storyline knows what to record. Firefox also works well. Google Chrome reports little information, so caption details will be missing and some steps could be omitted entirely.

Step 4: Record Your Screen

You can record up to two hours in a single recording. When you're ready to begin recording:

Click the red Record button on the recording control bar.
If you need to pause the recording, use the pause/resume keyboard shortcut you specified earlier or click the Pause button on the control bar. To resume, use the keyboard shortcut again or click the Record button on the control bar.
If you make a mistake or want to start over, click the trash icon on the control bar to discard your current recording, then click the red Record button to start over.
To exit without recording, click Cancel on the control bar.
When you're finished, click Done on the control bar.

Step 5: Name and Preview Your Screen Recording

When the Insert Slides window appears, you'll have the option to change the default name of your screen recording so you can identify it later. Just enter a name in the field at the top of the window.

To preview your screencast, click the play/pause button in the lower left corner or use the seekbar to jump to a specific point in the recording. If you change your mind and want to discard the screencast, click Cancel.

Step 6: Insert the Screen Recording into Your Course

Now you're ready to insert the screen recording into your course. Depending on its purpose, you can insert it as a video on a single slide, as a series of step-by-step slides, or both. To learn how, see this user guide.