Storyline 360: Recording Your Screen
In this user guide, we'll explore how to record new screencasts in Storyline 360. (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 Firefox. It sends the richest data to the Windows Accessibility API, so Storyline knows what to record. 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. You Might Also Want to Explore: Inserting Screen Recordings Editing Screen Recordings Exporting Screen Recordings Deleting Screen RecordingsStoryline Step-By-Step Slides: View, Try and Test Mode
As you’ve used Storyline 360, you may have noticed the Record Screen option. It’s perfect for putting together a software tutorial or explainer video quickly. But once you’ve created a recording, did you know that Storyline 360 also has three ways to automatically break that content into easily digestible steps? That’s right—Storyline 360 keeps track of all the different clicks and interactions in your recording. So if you want to transform that video into step-by-step slides, Storyline 360 can do the development work for you. You can then use the results as is or further customize the steps to fit your learners’ needs. In this article, we’ll look at how these different step-by-step modes work and when they’re most helpful for learning. Demonstrate a Process with View Mode If you need to introduce learners to a new tool or process, View Mode is the way to go! With View Mode, your video is split into multiple slides that show each step. The slides automatically animate through your tutorial, like a guided tour. And with the option to add text captions automatically, you can even include on-screen explanations of each step. Since learners are just watching the demonstration, it’s a perfect way to ease them into navigating brand new tools or techniques. Provide Hands-On Practice with Try Mode When you want learners to try out a process in a safe environment, select Try Mode. Storyline 360 automatically adds timed pauses, hotspots, and keyboard shortcuts to make your screen recording interactive. And for more guided help, Storyline 360 can also add small text captions on each screen to provide hints about what to do! Since Try Mode asks learners to do the process themselves, it’s a good fit for when they already have some baseline knowledge—either from past experience or an earlier lesson—and need hands-on practice. And since Try Mode interactions aren’t graded, they’re a stress-free way to learn from mistakes. Assess Learner Skills with Test Mode At first glance, Test Mode looks a lot like Try Mode. But where the latter is all about practice, the former focuses on assessment. In Test Mode, Storyline 360 converts each interactive video slide into a graded question. You can then use the Test Mode options and quiz settings to customize the experience further. For instance, you can set what feedback (if any) to show after a learner responds to the steps, how many attempts they have to get it right, and what counts as a passing score for the overall test. Test Mode is perfect for wrapping up a course and confirming learners can do a process independently. And since the quiz score can be reported to a learning management system (LMS), it’s also a way to mark course completion. Try Out These Modes for Yourself Those short explanations are a great introduction, but do you know the best way to understand these different modes? By getting hands-on experience with them! Want to see these modes in action? Check out this Storyline step-by-step example to see the same content shared in View, Try, and Test Modes. You can also watch the original screen recording they were all created from. Wrap-Up The screen recorder in Storyline 360 makes it easy to provide the help learners need to pick up new or improved software—whether with a video tutorial, a step-by-step breakdown, guided practice, or an interactive assessment. And since there’s no limit to how many times you can use your recording, you can even include more than one mode in your course with minimal additional effort! Interested in discovering more tips for recording your screen with the Articulate 360 apps? Then check out these helpful articles: Follow These 5 Steps to Record Your Screen in Storyline 360 How to Decide Which Articulate 360 App to Use for Screen Recording 5 Tips for Creating Effective Software Simulations with Storyline 360 Want to try something you learned here but don’t have Articulate 360? It takes no time at all to start a free 30-day trial. If you have any questions, share them in the comments below. And be sure to come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Everything You Need to Know About Creating Software Simulations with Storyline
Software simulations are a great way to help learners get the hang of working with software. When you capture your screen and walk learners through a process step-by-step—and then let them practice the process in a risk-free environment—you’re helping them gain new skills that they can put to work right away. And with Storyline, it’s so easy to create a simple screen capture video or a detailed software simulation. Just record your screen and then use that video as is, or use the editing tools in Storyline to create a step-by-step demonstration. The best thing about Storyline is that you can record once, and then you’ll have the flexibility to choose your output without having to re-record anything—it’s a huge time-saver! Check out these articles to learn how to use Storyline to create rich and helpful software sims: Storyline Step-By-Step Slides: View, Try and Test Mode Follow These 5 Steps to Record Your Screen in Storyline 360 2 Reasons to Use Storyline 360 for Software Simulations 5 Tips for Creating Effective Software Simulations with Storyline 360 Follow This Process to Create Software Simulations and Systems Training Like a Pro Use Action Fine-Tuning to Edit Your Storyline Simulations Creating Software Sims in Storyline 360: Setting Your Recording Size & AreaStoryline 360: Editing Screen Recordings
After recording a screencast and inserting it into your course, you can edit it. The editing options differ, depending on how you inserted the screen recording. In this user guide, we'll cover: Editing a Video Screencast on a Single Slide Editing a Step-by-Step Screencast Over Multiple Slides Editing a Video Screencast on a Single Slide A video screencast can be edited like any other video in Articulate Storyline. Just right-click it and select Edit Video. When the built-in video editor opens, you can trim and crop to show only the portions you want; adjust the volume, brightness, and contrast to improve quality; and add a logo or watermark for branding. Learn more about the video editor here. Use the Video Tools—Options tab on the ribbon to adjust the video’s properties, including its relative volume, timing, controls, and more. See this user guide for details. Editing a Step-by-Step Screencast Over Multiple Slides Step-by-step slides can be edited like other slides in Storyline. You can duplicate them, add completely new slides, and delete them when necessary. You also have complete control over the contents of each slide. You can modify the captions, hotspots, data-entry fields, mouse movements, and feedback layers that Storyline automatically created for you—or add your own content. You can even change the starting and ending frames for each slide in a step-by-step screen recording. This is particularly useful when you need to cut out a mistake or remove an unnecessary step. Here’s how: Right-click anywhere on the slide you want to modify and select Action Fine Tuning. Drag the starting and ending markers along the timeline until you've selected the clip you want to keep. For even greater precision, select Update Start Frame or Update End Frame in the lower left corner, then click the Previous Frame and Next Frame buttons to move the starting/ending point along the timeline one frame at a time. Use the play/pause button to preview what the slide will look like with your changes. If you want to undo the changes you made, click Reset Original Timing in the lower right corner. To fine tune other slides without closing and reopening the editor, use the drop-down at the top of the window or click Previous Slide/Next Slide. When you're finished, click OK to close the editor. You Might Also Want to Explore: Recording Screencasts Inserting Screen Recordings Exporting Screen Recordings Deleting Screen RecordingsFollow These 5 Steps to Record Your Screen in Storyline 360
One of the great things about the screen recording feature in Storyline 360 is that you can use it to simulate real-life tasks inside different systems and software apps. It’s a robust feature with lots of customization options and great capabilities—and it’s super easy and intuitive to use! Let’s walk through how to get started. 1.Launch the Recorder You have a few options to launch the screen recorder. One is to start a new project by picking Record Screen. Another option is to go to the Home tab, click New Slide, and select Record Screen: Finally, you can select Record Screen from the Slides tab: It doesn’t matter which way you do it. It just comes down to personal preference. 2. Set the Recording Dimensions When the recording tool launches, start by setting the dimensions for your screen recording. You have two options: 1. Choose a pre-set dimension from the drop-down list. This is helpful because it’s easy to match the size of the course you’re creating and also helps ensure consistency across multiple screen recordings. 2. Adjust the window size using the sizing handles. Not sure what size you should use for recording? Check out this article for some tips on recording high-resolution screencasts. 3. Choose Your Recording Options Next to the “recording size” drop-down menu, you’ll notice a gear icon. Click this to adjust the settings—like which microphone (for voiceover audio) you want to record. In the Screen Recording window, you’ll also find another cool feature, called Move New Windows into Recording Area. If you plan to switch between apps or windows during your recording, be sure to check this option. This allows you to show multiple windows during your screen recording instead of just one. 4. Record Your Process Once you’ve specified your dimensions and settings, you’re ready to record your screen! Just click the red Record button, wait for the countdown, and then go through the steps you want to record. When you’re done, hit the Escape key on your keyboard or click Done in the recording bar. If you make a mistake and want to start over, click the trash can icon. 5. Choose Your Insert Option After you record your screencast and are ready to include it in your course, it’s time to decide how you want learners to experience it. In Storyline 360 there are four different ways to include your screencast. You can: Insert it as a video demonstration for your learners using View mode. Let your learners practice what you’re teaching them by inserting the screencast using Try mode. Check your learners’ knowledge on the material by inserting the screencast using Test mode. Finally, you can insert the screencast as a video. The first three options break your screencast out into multiple different slides automatically, making it easier to add information to your course, whereas the fourth option allows you to add your screencast as a video to just a single slide. Once you’ve inserted your recording, you can add any information or multimedia you want, just like you can on any other type of slide. For example, you might want to add some contextual information to help learners understand why and when they’ll need to use the features you’re showing on the screen. Wrap-Up And that’s all there is to it! Recording your screen in Storyline 360 is super easy. And once you’ve recorded, it’s easy to customize the recording so it fits your learners’ needs. Want to learn more about creating software training? Check out the articles below. Follow This Process to Create Software Simulations and Systems Training Like a Pro The Difference Between Screencasts and Software Simulations Storyline 360: Inserting Screen Recordings Why Use Storyline for Software Simulations? A Useful Technique for Recording High-Resolution Screencasts in Storyline 360 How to Decide Which Articulate 360 App to Use for Screen Recording Have any Storyline 360 recorder tips of your own? Feel free to share in the comments section below! And, of course, if you have any questions, be sure to leave those there as well. Want to create your own screen recording, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.6 Software Training Examples That Will Make Learners “Screen” With Joy
Employees often come to an organization with a wide range of technical experience. But one thing is certain—software training empowers employees to perform more efficiently and confidently. For intuitive software, a simple screencast can orient your employees to an app’s layout and features. Other times, you might need to give learners a more hands-on learning experience with a simulation that creates a risk-free practice environment. In either case, if you need some inspiration for creating software training, check out our favorite community examples. From screencasts to simulations, you’ll find creative solutions to spark your next project! Rise 360: Project Management Software Training Use labeled graphics, multimedia, and interactive blocks to give learners both an introduction and inspiration for how to use new software like Madison McCartney does in this Rise 360 course. Storyline: E-Learning Heroes 101 Guide learners through the step-by-step process to create an E-Learning Heroes community profile with this helpful simulation from Allison LaMotte. Storyline: Audio Editing Simulation Get learners comfortable using audio editing tools before even downloading any software, thanks to this simulation by Josh Petermann that includes both a view and try mode. Storyline: Learn Triggers Software Simulation Safely introduce new software to learners and let them practice risk-free, like in this handy simulation by Richard Watson. Storyline: Review 360 Software Simulation Replicate the experience of using new software by taking inspiration from this helpful Review 360 software simulation created by the Community Team. Storyline: Video Editing Controls Simulation Give learners a realistic opportunity to practice interacting with video editing software just as Dan Sweigert does in this guided simulation. Wrap-Up Hopefully, these examples spark ideas for how you’ll empower learners with your next software training. Our generous community members share their projects in weekly challenges, downloads, and examples, so check back regularly for new inspiration. What type of software training do you plan on tackling next? Let us know in the comments! To learn more about creating software training, check out these articles: The Difference Between Screencasts and Software Simulations 4 Tips on Creating Software Tutorials in Rise 360 2 Reasons to Use Storyline 360 for Software Simulations Everything You Need to Know About Creating Software Simulations with Storyline How to Decide Which Articulate 360 App to Use for Screen Recording Follow This Process to Create Software Simulations and Systems Training Like a Pro Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.Replay 360 User Guide
New to Replay 360? See Getting Started with Replay 360 Replay 360: Creating a New Project Replay 360: Using Keyboard Shortcuts Replay 360: Changing the Interface Language Replay 360: Tips for Managing Project Files Adding Media and Lower-Third Graphics Replay 360: Adding Screen Recordings and Webcam Videos Replay 360: Adding Video Files Replay 360: Adding Audio Clips Replay 360: Adding Images Replay 360: Editing Media Replay 360: Adding Lower Thirds Working with the Timeline Replay 360: Rearranging Objects Replay 360: Adjusting the Timing and Duration of Objects Replay 360: Mixing Media Replay 360: Zooming and Previewing Publishing a Project Replay 360: Publishing a Project4 Tips on Creating Software Tutorials in Rise 360
Picture this: you’ve been tasked with getting new hires up to speed on your department’s project management tool. Or maybe you stumbled upon a cool trick in your team’s favorite app and you want to spread the word. Where do you start? Software training is a common need at most companies, but it can be daunting—not to mention time-consuming—to create. But don’t fret! With Rise 360, anyone—even SMEs—can create software tutorials with ease! I recently found a huge productivity hack with my team’s project management tool and needed to share it with my team. Let me walk you through how I used Rise 360 to quickly create a software tutorial. 1. Use the Labeled Graphic Block to introduce people to the software Before you get into the weeds of how to use the software, it’s a good idea to make sure people are familiar with the terminology and layout of the app they’ll be using. Instead of breaking out any old screen recording software, you can instantly acquaint your learners with the software’s user interface (UI) using Rise 360’s Labeled Graphic Block. As you can see from the image above, I used a screenshot of my project management app (Trello) and placed markers over the navigation buttons and other key features. I was also able to change the default marker icon to a number to intuitively guide learners through the interface step by step. 2. Use video to walk them through the software With a basic understanding of the software’s layout, your learners are ready to learn more about how to use it for their work. I like to do this by creating a quick screencast to guide learners through how to use the software. Sometimes video tutorials can drag on—especially with a feature-rich app—so instead of creating one long video, I break it up into bite-size chunks to make sure I’m not overwhelming my learners with too much new information. You’ll find that you can upload video into many different block types in Rise 360, or embed it from popular streaming sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia. In my case, I landed on using the Timeline Block to showcase two different methods of using the software that result in the same goal. However, the Process and Tabs Blocks are also great options if you want to walk learners through a successive list of steps. Pro tip: To make sure my screencast filled my Rise 360 blocks, I recorded my screen in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Need help figuring out which app to use for screen recording? Check out this article for some pointers. 3. Combine audio, text, and images to show and tell While screencasts are incredibly useful for learning the ropes in a new app, you don’t always need to record a video to achieve that goal. For simple processes, written step-by-step instructions paired with simple GIF animations can be just as engaging and memorable. Rise 360 lets you add both media AND text in the interactive blocks. This means you can use interactive block types like Tabs, Process, and Timeline Blocks to take a complex process—like adding a new customer profile to your company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software—and break it out into a series of quick steps, highlighting a few key actions people need to take in each step. This is also a great way to showcase a few key software-use cases or general tips and tricks for getting up to speed on using an app. As you can see from the GIF below, I used the Process Block to show my team how to customize their Trello board using three different Trello customization features. The animated GIF shows them where to find the customization features, and my supporting written instructions explain exactly what steps to take. Pro tip: If you find yourself wanting to include audio content in your software tutorial, play around with the Timeline Block, which allows you to incorporate audio-only media alongside supporting images, videos, GIFS, and written text. 4. Provide additional resources To ensure your learners are fully prepared to use the software once they complete your tutorial, it can be helpful to provide them with additional resources like job aids, checklists, or reference materials. In my case, I wanted to give my teammates access to more helpful articles and inspiration for how they could use our project management tool to fit their specific productivity needs. As you can see below, I landed on using a combination of Rise 360’s Accordion and Button Blocks to link out to additional blogs, webinars, and more complex tutorials on using the app. Pro tip: You may find that creating a PDF summarizing key software features or functions will help learners as they start using the app on their own. The File Attachment Block in Rise 360 is perfect for this. Here’s a quick GIF showing you where to find this block in the Blocks Library. Summing it up If you’re curious to see how I used these four simple tips to create my own software tutorial, check out my software tutorial example course. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to start using Rise 360 for your own software tutorials! Have some power tips or clever ways to use blocks? Are you already creating software tutorials using Rise 360? Let me know in the comments! Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.
