Link to Camtasia Information Page

Opening up the Camtasia software from the START menu a pop-up window will open asking you what sort of task you would like to do.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using the default option of “Start a new project by recording the screen.” So select the appropriate bubble and press “OK” so that the “New Recording Wizard” window will pop-up.

(NOTE: If you own your own copy of Camtasia and do not want this menu to pop up when you open the program, you can turn it off by un-checking the Show this dialog at startup box at the lower left corner. Even if you do this, you can still access all the options that this menu has access to but you will have to do it manually via the drop-down menus)

Step 2

This window will ask for the particular specifications of the project. Depending on what you want to do, select the size of the screen you would like to record.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using the default option of “Entire Screen.” Select the appropriate bubble and press “Next >” to continue with the “New Recording Wizard”.

(NOTE: Do not worry too much about your selection throughout the New Recording Wizard. You will be able to change your choice even after you have finished.)

Step 3

Based on the hardware you have available for audio recording select any and all the boxes that apply. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use the default of having nothing selected. Select “Next >” to open the last window in the wizard.

The window tells you the functions of the hot keys of F9 (start) and F10 (stop) while using this program. Nothing else of note on this menu (hence the lack of a picture) so select “Finish” to complete the wizard to open the “Camtasia Recorder” window.

Step 4

From here you start your recording. As stated above in one of the NOTEs all of the options you have selected may be changed by clicking on the link (blue text) located in the window (Video…, Audio…, or Camera…)

Using the hotkeys you learned from the previous section (F9 and F10), you can stop and start without ruining it with a moving mouse (unless you are using that in the tutorial). Upon stopping the recording, you will be given a preview of your video which will be covered in the next tutorial.

In this section, you will learn how to manipulate those fields to make the most of your recording and to reduce the amount of memory required to store it.

1) Open up Camtasia Studio
Start >>> Applications >>> Camtasia Studio 4 >>> Camtasia Studio

2) Once the application is open a start-up menu will pop up. Select the following options and click “Next”:
Start a new project by recording the screen >>> Specific Window

3) At this point, the menu will ask for a series of parameters for the area of the screen to be recorded.
Click on the “Select Window” option at the top.
This will minimize the menu until you select the window that you would like to record. The area to be recorded will be surrounded by highlights so you know exactly what is going to be recorded.
(NOTE: make sure to have the window you would like to be recorded open [not-minimized] otherwise Camtasia will attempt to record your list of open applications)

4) Once you have what you want highlighted, click on it. This will bring you back to the menu from Step 3 with the parameters set into the appropriate fields. If what was highlighted was incorrect repeat Step 3 until the right window is selected. Otherwise click on “Next”

5) Select any and all audio options (and on the next menu, audio hardware) that are appropriate for your particular project. What can be done with this software audio-wise is that you can:
-record a narration or lecture over the video,
-keep the original audio (still pending on equipment) or
-do both.
With the above options in mind click “Next”.
[Note: if you are working in RI 334 you will need to talk to AJ in advance to request the necessary items to record audio]
[Note: you can also put in audio from other sources into your video but that cannot be done from this menu]

6) From here on out you can record your video, view it, and then save or discard it.