Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

Steps Recorder

This weird little program is designed to record exactly where you’re clicking or tapping, and to capture a screen picture each time you do so. Why? So that you can document some problem you’re having. You can send the resulting recording to someone who wants to see exactly what steps you were taking when you run into trouble.

Of course, this is a similar scenario to the times when you might use Windows Remote Assistance, where the wise guru can watch you perform the steps that are frustrating you. But because Steps Recorder lets you type a little message each time you click the mouse, it’s a better, more permanent way to record some problem you’re having.

When you’re ready, click Start Record. Now do whatever it is, on your PC, that produces the problem: Click, use a menu, drag a slider, whatever. As you go, you can:

• Pause the recording. Click Pause Record or tap the Space bar. (Click Resume Record, or press Space again, to continue.)

• Type an annotation for a particular step. (“Here’s where I double-clicked.”) Click Add Comment, highlight the part of the screen that you want to comment on, type your note into the box, and then click OK.

Note

Anything you type outside that comment box doesn’t get recorded; that’s a security precaution.

When you’re finished, click Stop Record.

The Recorded Steps window appears. It shows you each screenshot that Steps Recorder captioned, complete with its time stamp and text description (“User left-click on ‘File Explorer’ button,” for example). ...