In this tutorial, we'll explore how to record screencasts in Articulate Storyline. (To insert a screencast you've already recorded into your course as a video or a series of step-by-step slides, see this tutorial.)

Step 1: Launch the Screen Recorder

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

• When you first launch Storyline and you are looking at the welcome screen, click the Record Screen option to begin a new project by recording your screen.
• In an existing project, switch to Story View, go to the Home tab on the ribbon, and click Record Screen.
• Switch to Slide View, go to the Insert tab on the ribbon, and click Record Screen.

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

Tip: To start a new recording, click the top portion of the Record Screen button. To insert an existing screencast, click the drop-down arrow on the lower portion of the button.

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, then click OK.

Shortcuts:

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

Audio Recording:

• Microphone: To record audio during your screencast, mark the Microphone box, then use the drop-down list to select the microphone you want to use. (Tip: You can also select a microphone from the drop-down on the recording control bar.)
• Speakers: To record system sounds, mark the Speakers box, then use the drop-down list to select the playback device you want to use.
• 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:

• Move new windows into recording area: If you're recording a software demonstration or a program that has multiple windows, you may want to mark this box to ensure new windows are visible in the recording area.
• System tray icon: Mark this box to display a Storyline icon in your system tray while you're recording. 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 select preset dimensions. To adjust the position of your recording area, just drag it to a new location on the 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 largest screen recording area that's supported is 2046 pixels by 2046 pixels. 
• Multi-monitor recording isn't supported.
• If you're recording a web application, 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 on a single recording. When you're ready to begin recording:

1. Click the red Record button on the recording control bar.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. To exit without recording, click the Cancel button on the control bar.
5. When you're finished, use the Stop Recording keyboard shortcut you specified earlier or click the Done button 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 it's identifiable later. Just enter a name in the Name 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 tutorial.

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