How To Record Your PC's Screen: 7 Easy Tools To Help You Record Your PC's Screen Smoothly

Whether you're trying your hand at game streaming, demonstrating a new software, or simply recording a how to for a tech challenged relative, recording your PC's screen can come in handy.

So here's how you do that without resorting to ridiculousness like pointing your camera at the monitor. Here's how to record your PC's screen without any hassle.

Windows 10 Game Bar

If you have a relatively new computer with Windows 10, odds are you also have something called the Xbox Game Bar. Though it's put front and center for gaming laptops, that's not the case for other systems, where it's relatively hidden. It's technically a gaming feature, but there are no restrictions on how you use it. Simply find the Xbox app and fire it up, then hit the [Windows]+[G] and click 'Yes this is a game' to launch the game bar. Then just hit record and you're live, with recordings saved in your Videos folder in the MP4 format.

You can also customize the record format, saved location, and more in the app's settings menu. Not all devices with Windows 10 support this unfortunately, which is why we have these next few options.

OBS Studio

This is one of the more advanced screen recording softwares available, and it's for absolutely free. It allows full-screen recordings, has built-in streaming options if you want to go live simultaneously, and even offers 60FPS capture. It might take a little reading and tinkering to set it up as you like, and use the hotkeys optimally, but once you start using it you'll never look back.

FlashBack Express

This is another free recorder, and a pretty flexible one at that.Once you have it installed, click on 'Record your screen for a list of customizations. Here you choose whether to record the full screen or just a small area you select, and even your webcam side by side if needed.

It even offers options like recording your mic audio on a separate track from your speaker sounds to make for easier editing, hiding your password entries as asterisks, and scheduling regular recordings based on a time or when you open a certain app.

Snagit

This one is a paid app that will set you back around $50, and it's made for startups rather than gamers so choose wisely. But if you need to create a video for your software product maybe, or a vlog, it offers a ton of video supports and graphics additions, aside from screen recording.

Powerpoint

Yeah, this is a thing. If you don't want to tangle with a new software and already have the latest version of Office 365 installed, this could save you a lot of trouble. Simple open Powerpoint, click on the 'Insert' tab and select 'Screen Recording'. After that you can select an area you want to record, and that's it. You can even pause the record when you want to take a breather.. There are limited editing options after but it's a good time save.

QuickTime Player

If you're still using your old Apple PC or laptop with an outdated version of MacOS (you really should upgrade), QuickTime Player can serve your screen recording needs. Be warned, it's not easy to edit once you're done, so use at your own risk. But if you're looking for something ultra-basic that will work on your Macm this is the way to go.

MacOS screen recorder

With the latest edition of MacOS Mojave however, there's a new screen recording feature in a separate toolkit, clubbed with a screenshot saver. Just hit [Command]+[Shift]+5 on the keyboard to bring up the screenshot tool. From there you can customize the area you want to record, and fire up the recording session. When you're done, a thumbnail of the video will appear at the bottom right, and you can click it to choose where it saves.