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Camstudio

Screen capture - moving images

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CamStudio is a software able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)

Here are just a few ways you can use this software:

  • You can use it to create demonstration videos for any software program
  • Or how about creating a set of videos answering your most frequently asked questions?
  • You can create video tutorials for school or college class
  • You can use it to record a recurring problem with your computer so you can show technical support people
  • You can use it to create video-based information products you can sell
  • You can even use it to record new tricks and techniques you discover on your favourite software program, before you forget them

In-page imageCamStudio software allows you to capture any movements on screen and record the capture as an animation.  In addition, the free software has the function for voice narration therefore supporting the visual display by offering verbal description. The animation can be saved as an .avi or a .swf file format.

CamStudio can also add high-quality, anti-aliased (no jagged edges) screen captions to your recordings in seconds and with the unique Video Annotation feature you can even personalise your videos by including a webcam movie of yourself "picture-in-picture" over your desktop.

And if all that wasn't enough, CamStudio also comes with its own Lossless Codec that produces crystal clear results with a much smaller filesize compared with other more popular codecs, like Microsoft Video 1.

You have total control over the output of your video: you can choose to use custom cursors, to record the whole screen or just a section of it and can reduce or increase the quality of the recording depending on if you want smaller videos (for emailing to people, for instance) or you can have "best quality" ones for burning onto CD/DVD.

But all of these features would be worthless if CamStudio wasn't easy to use ... fortunately that's not the case. CamStudio can be learned in a matter of minutes and comes with a comprehensive built-in helpfile, so if you do manage to get stuck, you can simply hit "Help" and get the answers you need.

You can download and use it completely free as CamStudio and the Codec are released under the GPL (for more details on this license, click here.)

There are no royalties or any monies to pay, although if you do use it for a commercial product 

How to create a CamStudio animation

The following instructions will explain how to produce a short animation showing how to open the Calculator tool and create a simple sum.

  1. Open CamStudio software. The CamStudio control panel opens.

  2. There are three options to define the area you want to capture:
    1. Region: Capture a selected area on screen.
    2. Fixed: Capture a fixed-size region
    3. Full screen: Capture entire Desktop.
  1. Click beside Full screen.

  2. Become familiar with the routine you will record. Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories Calculator.

  3. In-page imageClick on the Record button and repeat the procedure to find the calculator and carry out a simple sum by clicking onto numbers and pressing the equals symbol.

  4. In-page imageReturn to the CamStudio control panel and click on the Stop button. A ‘Save AVI file’ dialogue In-page imagebox opens.Browse to find the E-Guides  USB memory stick. Name the file calculator.avi (remove the existing asterix) and click on Save.

  5. In-page imageThe file is created and then opens. You will note a small Player toolbar at the top of the screen. Click on Play (the first button) to view your animation.

Now you have tried a CamStudio capture why not create another one? A narration can be added to the screen capture – see below for the instructions.

How to add a narration to a screen capture using CamStudio.

The following instructions will explain how to produce a short animation and an accompanying narration showing how to enter a keyword into the Google search.

  1. Go to Google.

  2. Open CamStudio software and the CamStudio control panel opens. 

  3. Go to Options > Record audio from microphone. Ensure a recording headset is attached to the computer. 

  4. Become familiar with the routine you will record. Go to the internet browser window and type ‘what to see in Oxford’ (or type in your own village, town or city) in the Google search box. Select the pages from the UK option in the browser. Press Enter on the keyboard. When you record you will explain your actions as you type the text, click with the mouse and use the keyboard. 

  5. In-page imageClick on the Record button and repeat the procedure to add a keyword in Google and see the results of the search. 

  6. In-page imageReturn to the CamStudio control panel and click on the Stop button. A ‘Save AVI file’ dialogue box opens. Browse to find the E-Guides USB memory stick. Name the file google.avi (remove the existing asterix) and click on Save.

  7. The file is created and then opens. You will notice a small Player toolbar at the top of the screen. Click on Play (the first button) to view and hear your animation.

File Attachments

You have here the installation file included in this course package. If you own an Internet connection, you can go online and check if an updated version of the programme is available

Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0