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How to record your screen with Windows 11

How to record your screen with Windows 11
douglasfakler

douglasfakler

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Windows 11 offers a solid lineup of fresh features and added functionality over previous iterations of the operating system. The reworked software also rearranges the familiar interface that Windows 10 users have grown accustomed to.

Windows 11 Download

If you are wondering how to find and use the screen recorder within the updated Windows 11 framework, then read on to see where all the screen capturing options have moved to.

  1. Opening Xbox Game Bar

    Use the Xbox icon to access the Game Bar

    Even if you are not a gamer, there is plenty of reason to take advantage of some of the Xbox features that come standard with Windows 11 operating systems. Namely, the ability to capture your screen is tucked away amongst the suite of options on the Xbox Game Bar.

    There are three ways to open the Xbox Game Bar and reach the screen recorder. If your taskbar has an icon with the Xbox logo, clicking on it will bring up the game bar. If the Xbox icon is not on your taskbar, you can find it in the start menu. To access the start menu, click the Windows icon with four panels on your taskbar. Finally, the keyboard shortcut, “Windows + G” will instantly open the Game Bar interface from any spot on your computer.

  2. Using Game Bar’s screen recorder to take screenshots

    Use the camera icon on this bar to start the screen capture software

    With Xbox Game Bar open, look for the camera icon pictured above. Clicking the camera icon will open a new menu labeled capture. Here is where you can record your screen with both images and video. Before recording a video, be sure to enable or disable your mic with the rightmost button. If your audio is muted, the mic icon will have a horizontal line drawn through it.

    To record a screenshot, simply click the button with the camera icon. This allows you to determine the area of your screen that will be captured by dragging your mouse until the perimeter of the capture window is positioned to your liking. Click the camera icon again to take your screenshot. The image is automatically saved, so you can view it later by clicking the “view all captures” button at the bottom of the capture window.

  3. Using Game Bar’s screen recorder to capture video

    Use the circle icon to record video

    Recording video involves a similar process to producing a screenshot. From the main capture menu on Xbox Game Bar, click the recording icon that looks like a tiny white circle. Your entire screen is recorded when making videos. After performing your desired tasks to create the video, you can stop the recording by clicking the icon with a tiny white square that replaced the circle icon you selected previously. To view your video files, click on the “view all captures” button at the bottom of the window.

  4. Alternate method: use PowerPoint

    Use this button to record video with PowerPoint

    There is another method for recording your screen that does not require external downloads. The caveat is that you will need an active Microsoft Office subscription to take full advantage of PowerPoint. If you already subscribe to Microsoft office, then using the PowerPoint interface may prove preferable to you, especially if you plan on recording footage of a presentation anyway.

    Open PowerPoint from the Windows Start Menu and navigate to the “insert” tab. You will see a screen recording option on the top-right of the screen, as pictured above. Clicking it will bring up a capture menu. Clicking the red circle will start a recording, but there are several options to consider first. You can specify which area of the screen is recorded by clicking the select area button and dragging the mouse until the red perimeter rectangle is aligned correctly. To determine if your mouse cursor will be captured, click on the “record pointer” button on the capture menu. As with Xbox Game Bar, you can also enable/disable audio with the microphone button.

    Upon hitting record, you have the option of stopping or pausing the video. You can stop with the square icon button as before, or you can pause using the button with two vertical lines.

Screen Recording Options Beyond Windows 11

While the free screen recording options for Windows 11 are all good, you may want to explore other options that work with Google Chrome. There are several free Chrome extensions that offer special features such as higher frame rates and the ability to switch audio sources. To learn, more check out our list of the 10 best free screen recorder extensions for Chrome.

douglasfakler

douglasfakler

Ever since his brother brought home the original PlayStation, Doug Fakler knew he would be a gamer for the rest of his life. He has been glued to the screen with a controller in hand for over 20 years. While he will always acknowledge that gameplay is king, he's equally interested in the stories that can be told through interactive means. This inspired him to earn a bachelor's degree in Game Design from Full Sail University in 2015.

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