How to Record Your Screen on Windows 11

This article explains the different ways you can record what is on your computer screen in Windows 11. Only two methods are built-in (Snipping Tool and Xbox Game Bar); for the others, you'll need to download a specific program.

How to Record Your Screen With Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool is a well-known screenshot maker built-in to Windows 11, but it can also record the screen.

1. Search for and open Snipping Tool from the Start menu.

2. Select Record (the camera button).

3. Select New, and then drag somewhere on the screen to decide what area to record.

4. Choose Start to begin recording.

5. Select the Pause icon to temporarily stop the recording, or use the Stop icon to end the whole recording. Share and save options are available after the recording ends.

How to Record Your Screen With Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar comes with Windows 11 by default. There are several settings you can customize in the Xbox Game Bar, but for this tutorial, we're just looking at how to record the screen and access the captured file.

1. Open the program you want to record, and select it so it's in focus.

2. Open the Xbox Game Bar and select the record button. You can get to it by either searching your computer for it or triggering the WIN+G shortcut.

   Is the record button grayed out? If you can't select it, it's most likely because the cursor is focused on the desktop or a File Explorer window. Select the program window you want to record instead, and try again.

3. Monitor the time as it elapses next to the red circle, and then select the square to stop the screen recording.

4. Open the Xbox Game Bar once more, and select Show all captures to watch the recording, delete it, or open the folder where it's located on your computer.

How to Record Your Screen With PowerPoint

While Snipping Tool and Xbox Game Bar are built-in to Windows 11, most people also have PowerPoint installed, which includes its own screen capturing utility for saving recordings in a slideshow. Using this method lets you export the video from the slideshow to any folder on your computer, so you can use the recording much like any video file.

1. Open a blank presentation, or an existing one, if it's within the slideshow you will ultimately store the recording.

2. From the Insert tab, find the Media area, and choose Screen Recording.

3. Choose Select Area from the box at the top of the screen, and then draw directly over the area you want to record. You can also use this menu to enable/disable audio recording and toggle the cursor's visibility.

4. Once the selection is made, choose Record to start the screen recording.

5. Use the pause button any time you need to, and then select Record again to resume the screen capture.

   When you're completely done recording the Windows 11 screen, press the stop button, or enter WIN+Shift+Q.

6. The recording is automatically inserted into the slideshow. To save it elsewhere, right-click the video and choose Save Media as, and then pick where on your computer to save the MP4 recording.

How to Record Your Screen With ShareX

ShareX is a free screen capturing program that supports recording your screen and saving it to an MP4 or GIF.

1. Select Capture followed by either Screen recording (to make an MP4) or Screen recording (GIF).

   You can also enter Shift+Print Screen for an MP4 or Ctrl+Shift+Print Screen for a GIF.

2. Select the area you want to record. The recording will begin shortly after the selection is made.

   You can click and drag to make a box over the area. To capture a single window, hover the mouse over it so it becomes highlighted, and then click once. To record your whole screen, select the desktop.

3. Choose to stop and save the screen capture or to abandon it completely (i.e., stop it and don't save it).

   To do this, right-click the red dot in the taskbar and select Stop. Another option is to enter Shift+Print Screen. If the bottom of the selection is visible, you'll see a Stop button as well. Use Abort to abandon the recording.

4. Select the recording within ShareX to open it, or right-click it and go to Open > Folder to see it in File Explorer (where you can then edit it with other software, share it, etc.).

Other Ways to Record What's on Your Computer Screen

The methods described above aren't even close to all of your options. There are many other software programs designed specifically for screen recording, unlike PowerPoint.

• Snagit, for example, lets you pull out individual frames from the video and even save the screen recording as an animated GIF.
• A screen recording program you might already have on your computer is VLC. It's known primarily as a media player, VLC can also be used to capture your screen to a video file.