How to Record a Laptop Screen

Many of us are using our laptops more frequently than ever. Adapting to life post-COVID, most of us are now practicing new norms, with online video calls and virtual social events becoming commonplace. 

As the world continues to shift towards these new trends, the ability to screen record becomes crucial for you to capture those online moments. A screen recorder can record essential minutes of an online meeting, or it can upload videos for commercial use on the Internet.

If you own a business, understanding how to screen record on a laptop can help create engaging content for your target audience. We’ve seen professional content creators upload exciting videos on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, promoting business traction.

The popularity of video game streaming also showcases the need for screen recording, allowing you to share your in-game moments with friends and fans alike. You can even make money this way, proving how far a screen recorder can go towards turning your interests into actual income.

Knowing how to record screens on laptops can be a great way for you to achieve many things, and here’s how you can do it:

Step-by-step method to record on laptop

Surprisingly, built-in screen recorders already exist for both Windows 10 and macOS. However, these are extremely basic, providing rudimentary features for recording and streaming.

Nevertheless, for quick screen capture or video recording, both easily do the job. Here are the steps to take:

Windows 10 (Xbox Game Bar)

If you’re on Windows 10, an app called Xbox Game Bar comes pre-installed with the OS. Although Xbox Game Bar was primarily created to assist PC and Xbox gamers in recording or live-streaming gaming sessions, it can also work with most computer applications.

As a free built-in recording app, Xbox Game Bar’s functionalities are fairly limited. For example, a video can only be recorded up to 30 seconds. However, the app can be launched instantly via a predetermined shortcut, besides providing some nifty options for you to experiment with inside its settings as well.

Xbox Game Bar might be the best built-in screen recorder for Windows yet, so here’s how to use it:

Enabling Xbox Game Bar

1. Open the Windows menu and select “Settings”.
2. Select “Gaming” in the available options.
3. Open “Game Bar” in the new panel.
4. Turn Game Bar on and make changes to its settings if needed (including in-app shortcut buttons).

Launching Xbox Game Bar

1. Open the program or application you want to record or take a screenshot of.
2. Launch Xbox Game Bar using its shortcut keys (Win+G is the default unless changed).
3. Choose your intended action in the Xbox Game Bar menu (e.g. screenshot, record, broadcast, etc.).

You can customize Xbox Game Bar’s settings at any time, so feel free to explore to your heart’s content!

Mac Screenshot Toolbar

Apple Macbooks also have their own screen recording app, which is quite efficient in terms of usability. Commonly referred to as the Mac Screenshot Toolbar, you can screenshot or video record different sections of your screen.

That is as far as it goes, though. You won’t get any fancy editing tools or customization options except for the basic ones like timer settings and saved file location. Still, the built-in app is already set up with quick shortcut keys for you to access its features instantly, as shown here:

Screenshot Toolbar shortcuts

• Screenshot the entire screen: “Shift+Command+3”
• Screenshot a portion of the screen (drag the cursor using the mouse): “Shift+Command+4”
• Screenshot a particular menu, browser, or app: “Shift+Command+4+Space”
• Access Screenshot Toolbar: “Shift+Command+5”

There are two ways of recording your screen:

Recording the screen

Or

• • Launch QuickTime Player
  • Select “File” from the top menu
  • Click “New Screen Recording”

Using the Screenshot Toolbar shortcut is the easiest way to record your screen immediately. Still, you can use QuickTime to customize third-party software for better image quality or cleaner audio input.

Regardless, the QuickTime option will still open up the Screenshot Toolbar too, and there will be two types of screen recording available:

• Record the entire screen
• Record a selected portion of the screen,  by dragging the cursor using the mouse

Apple recommends using macOS Mojave or newer to use the Screenshot Toolbar. Other than that, you’re good to go!

5 best free screen recorders for laptops

Default apps like the Xbox Game Bar and Mac Screenshot Tool are sufficient for you to screenshot pictures or record videos with minimal hassle. Nonetheless, they don’t provide in-depth features such as improved video clarity or customized audio setups.

Nowadays, the quality of your images and videos matters, especially for work or business purposes. This is where dedicated screen recording software comes into play, offering more features for you to experiment with. 

You can find many different brands on the Internet, but when it comes to the best of them, we’ve selected 5 tried and tested apps. They were chosen based on the following criteria:

• Screenshot quality
• Video quality
• Video length
• Editing tools and features

With that, here are the 5 best free screen recorders for laptops:

1. Movavi Screen Recorder

A popular choice for beginners, Movavi Screen Recorder is a strong start. Not only does it record videos of your laptop screen, but it can also record via the webcam. Its video editing capabilities are also plentiful, allowing you to trim a recorded video on the spot and simultaneously capture a screenshot while recording.

Although you can only get unrestricted access to Movavi’s complete recording suite by purchasing the full edition, the free version has the same tools, albeit with some slight caveats. For instance, all your videos and images will be watermarked by Movavi, which is really annoying.

Apart from that, the free Movavi Screen Recorder is still great for you to learn the basics of screen capture and video editing, all in one package.

2. Bandicam

Another trusted screen recorder is Bandicam, a good recording program that has been on the market since 2009. Favored by many for its streamlined tools, many utilize Bandicam’s free version to record simple videos before opting for the paid version.

Many start-up streamers love Bandicam due to its multiple recording modes that tweak different setups for the chosen circumstance, such as an FPS counter for video game playthroughs. Besides that, Bandicam’s watermarks are not too distracting, at least until you purchase the full version.

The free version does have a few downsides, like a 10-minute recording limit and the lack of a recording scheduler. Otherwise, Bandicam is a good video capture program.

3. Open Broadcaster Software Studio

Exclusively open-sourced, Open Broadcaster Software Studio - OBS Studio for short - is an outstanding screen recorder that offers tons of customizable tools for free! It rivals many paid video recording software in terms of its features.

OBS Studio is capable of doing more than just capturing screenshots and recording standard videos. It offers sophisticated audio mixers, powerful video production extensions, multi-layered scene editing, and many other utilities that you can experiment with to make your pictures and videos look sleek and professional.

OBS Studio even has top companies backing its continuous development, like YouTube, Logitech, and Nvidia among others. It has a strong following amongst its user base too, but its rich tools might be a bit overwhelming if you’re a first-time user.

If you’re looking for a robust screen recorder that is absolutely free but stands toe-to-toe with other premium software, OBS Studio might be the one for you.

4. Camtasia

Camtasia’s trial version is also a solid recording platform, boasting many existing templates and effects compiled for you to make professional images and videos from the get-go. Camtasia is a premium video editing software that offers many powerful tools which are not found in other screen recorders, such as custom cursor effects and designs.

The free trial unlocks most of these features instantly, but certain drawbacks like its large watermark persist until you purchase any of its paid plans. Nevertheless, it’s great to test it out before making any decisions.

Camtasia boasts an impressive catalog of tools for you to play around with, especially its 2022 version. These include a sleek Camtasia Home start-up menu, an expansive database of editing effects, preset video templates, and even a Channel Kit that shares common designs for use on platforms like YouTube.

If you’ve never tried Camtasia before, this might be the time to do it.

5. FlashBack Express

FlashBack Express is the final free screen recorder that you should consider using for capturing screenshots or making short videos. For no fee whatsoever, you get unrestricted access to record anything from your computer or webcam, and your videos can also be used for commercial purposes.

With FlashBack Express, your saved images and videos will not be watermarked, which is a huge advantage over its free competitors. Besides that, the layouts and settings are extremely simple to understand, making it ideal for beginners to learn from.

The recording app does have shortcomings, though, promoting its upgraded version, the FlashBack Pro. These include basic editing capabilities, limited recording time, and the inability to save recordings into various formats except MP4.

Regardless of its flaws, FlashBack Express is still a top choice for you to record your computer screen with ease. 

Summary

It’s always better to be prepared with a screen recorder when you need to use one at any given time. If the existing Xbox Game Bar or Mac Screenshot Tool is not quite cutting it for you, consider installing any of these free screen recording apps recommended above.