AutoScreenRecorder
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  AutoScreenRecorder FAQ    Step-by-Step Guides
 
  Note: Some are for AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro only.   Flash video guides

  General
  Overall Operation
  Recording 
  Timed recording, auto-recording
  Saving / Flash movies
  Video Editing
  Other
        

AutoScreenRecorder 3 Answers

 General


AutoScreenRecorder has two versions, which one is right for me?

AutoScreenRecorder 3.0 Pro is the advanced version of AutoScreenRecorder with all the necessary tools included for your recording needs. It's fully functional for 15-days and requires to pay fees to get licensed.

AutoScreenRecorder 3.0 Free is a completely free program. It doesn't need a license key and has no expiration date. However, it has limited functionality comparing to the Pro version.


 
Click here for detailed product feature comparison.


How do I add AutoScreenRecorder to start with Windows automatically, or a shortcut on Desktop?

If you don't want to find the program and create it manually, you can re-install AutoScreenRecorder and check "Create a Shortcut on Desktop" or "Start automatically when Windows starts up" in the "Destination Location" dialog box. If you reinstall in the same directory, all AutoScreenRecorder settings will not be changed.

If that cannot be done for any reason, you can always do it manually by these easy steps,

To add a shortcut on the desktop

  1. Click the Windows Start button, find and highlight the AutoScreenRecorder program in the menu (don't click). 
  2. Right-click and choose 'Create Shortcut' from the menu. A new AutoScreenRecorder (2) menu item should be added to the menu.
  3. Highlight the newly created menu item, drag it and drop on your desktop.

To add in the Startup group

  1. Using the above steps to create a shortcut on desktop.
  2. Copy the shortcut to the following folder according to your OS,
         [Windows 95/98] {windows folder}\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
         [Windows NT] {windows folder}\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
         [Windows 2000/XP] {windows drive}:\Documents and Settings\{your profile}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup


What are the known issues concerning AutoScreenRecorder?

Click here for known issues.


Do you have a step-by-step guide on how to use the features?

Yes. Click here for step-by-step guides.


 


I'm a registered user of previous AutoScreenRecorder, how do I upgrade to 3?

Click here for the upgrade price list.

 

 

 Overall Operations

How do I show the main window again?

When the main window is not visible, to show it, you can do any of the following,
  1. Click the 'Show Main Window' icon on the toolbar in the Video Editor.
  2. Click the 'Main Window' in the View menu.
  3. Double-click the AutoScreenRecorder icon in the system tray.
  4. Right-click on the system tray icon and select 'Open Main Window'.


How to start AutoScreenRecorder without showing the main window (silent start)?

Click the 'Hide the main window on startup..." on the 'Advanced' tab. (not available in the Free version.)


What's the difference between 'Record Now' and 'Stand By'?

Pressing the 'Record Now' button to record immediately using the current settings. 

Pressing the 'Stand By' button to get ready. The AutoScreenRecorder icon will appear in your Windows System Tray.

You can press your hotkey to actually start recording.


What is a hotkey?

A hotkey is a combination of keyboard strokes to do a task. It saves time. E.g. the hotkey combination "Ctrl+C" is commonly used to copy in Windows.
In AutoScreenRecorder, by default, to start recording, the F9 key is the hotkey.

  


What is ScreenZoom?

AutoScreenRecorder ScreenZoom provides a convenient way to enlarge your screen at anytime,  to see what's going on on the screen and draw lines and notes on the screen. Just press your ScreenZoom hotkey to enlarge, and you can then draw or highlight it on screen. Press the hotkey again, right-click or Esc to cancel. This can be integrated into your demo, discussion and training sessions, etc.

You can change the color of your pen and line width. You can also enter the screen draw mode without enlarging the screen.

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

  


 

 Recording
 

How big is the video file size?

There are four factors determining your video size (AVI).
 
(1) Recorded screen size. The bigger the screen, the bigger the size.

(2) frame rate. The higher the frame rate, the bigger the video size. A higher frame rate (between 15 to 40) would help smooth playback, but it has a larger video file size. Larger than 20 is not recommended for normal recording.

(3) Image quality factor (1-100). The higher the image quality, the bigger the file size. Greater than 90 is considered as high quality. In many cases, it's not necessary. Only some codec (compressors) use this value.

(4) Codec (
compressor/decompressor) or Compressor. The codec is used to compress video files. AVI is a common "container format" that many different codecs can use. They all result in a compressed AVI video. Generally speaking, 'Micorosoft Video 1' has good quality, but the size is large. Some new codecs from Microsoft and others offer smaller size and good quality video. They are mostly free.

If you also convert to a Flash movie file, you can use "Auto-scale" to scale down the Flash movie size.

We recommend that you pick a codec, frame rate and image quality to record a short video, say 1 minute (use the Auto-stop feature) and check the file size of the recorded file. Then you may calculate how much disk space is required for a longer recording.

Note 1: An AVI file cannot exceed 2GB in size. For a long recording, it can be saved to multiple 2G AVI files. More...

Note 2: When playing the recorded video, make sure the video is not zoomed or resized. Please set the player to 100% or original size, not the player window size to make sure it keeps the video quality.

 


How to record sound?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

 


How to record a movie / video screen?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.


How come double-click doesn't work when recording?

You can enable double-click by checking "Enable double-click (slow recording)" in the "Recording options" group on the "Advanced" tab. Because enabling double-click will slow down the recording, it is not recommended to check this on until you have to.

 


What is the image quality factor and how do I use it?

The video image quality factor from 1 to 100, with 1 as the lowest (smallest file size) and 100 as the highest (largest file size). Generally speaking, 80 is an OK quality factor.

If you have a special codec, please make sure to download the player pack as well. If you're not sure, you can use "Microsoft Video 1" as the codec to record.

Click here for more on video quality and size.

Note 1:
High image quality (>90) also means slow recording and large video file size.
Only some codec (compressors) use this value.
Note 2: When playing the recorded video, make sure the video is not zoomed or resized. Please set the player to 100% or original size, not the player window size to make sure it keeps the video quality.


What is frame rate and how does it work?

Frame rate is the number of still frames displayed per second or FPS. This defines how many pictures (frames) per second a video file contains.
The lower the frame rate, the longer you can record and smaller video file it will make. For video/motion recording,
we recommend 8-12 fps, and for demo instructions, 3-10 fps.

AutoScreenRecorder allows to use "frames per minute" as the frame rate. This is for long recording but you need to keep the video size down. E.g. if you set 6 frames per minute, it will save only 6
frames in a minute (1 frame per 10 second) to the video file. This is will keep your long recording file size small.

Note: The higher the frame rate, the smoother the playback will appear but the more processing power and larger file size is required.
15+ fps is considered a high frame rate.
A typical value from 8 to 24 fps is used for most purposes. Higher than 20fps is not recommended for normal recording. The North America TV system (NTSC) frame rate is approximately 30 fps and PAL is 25 fps.


My recorded sound gets choppy or lagging, why?

The sound is captured while recording. When the PC needs power to process video recording, it could be that sound doesn't get recorded real-time. 

Reasons:

  • When your PC is busy saving video, it doesn't have much time to save audio. E.g. if you set frame rate at 15, your PC will try to save 15 images per second. The time left for saving the audio is reduced.
  • Recorded video is saved to a file on your hard drive real-time. The hard drive speed also plays a role here. The reason the video is not saved in the memory is because it's a constant action and real-time process. The file size could go up to 2G.
  • Computer lag can cause sound lag.

To solve this, you may check the following,

  • Reduce the recording screen size. It takes long time to record full-screen. Choose, "Rectangular area" on the "From" tab and only take the needed part of the screen.
  • Check "MCI Recording" on the "Sound Recording Options..." dialog box. It has better sound quality on some sound cards.
  • Use a powerful machine to record.
    A high speed CPU, core 2 duo, large memory >=2G would have a better result.
  • Make sure there's no unnecessary programs running on your PC except AutoScreenRecorder and the target app. Close other applications.
  • Adjust the image quality and frame rate factor to be not too high.

We recommend that you pick a screen size, frame rate and image quality to record a short video, say 00-30 second (use the Auto-stop feature) and check the recorded file to find an optimal combination for your PC.


How do I cancel while recording?

Before recording: Right-click the mouse button or press the Esc key to cancel .
During recording: Press the Cancel hotkey you setup to cancel.


Is it possible to change the recording area after the recording has started?

Yes. During recording, you can move the recording area by moving the recording corner handles (flashing).

 


My video quality seems low, how come?

By adjusting the image video quality on the "To" tab, AutoScreenRecorder can take your screen activities in a quality close to your screen display. But be sure NOT to set the image quality too high if the machine speed is not good.
Also, you may pick another codec to record your video.
If you do not see the quality video when you play an AVI file taken by AutoScreenRecorder, such as blurring, please try the following.

  • Make sure the zoom is 100% in your player, such as Windows Media Player.

  • Turn off overlay.

    [Media Player on XP]
    Tools>Options>Performance. Click the Advanced button and uncheck 'Use overlays'.

Click here for more on image quality.

 


How come there is a "zap!" sound at the end of my recorded AVI file?

This is an issue on some sound cards. It may be some difference in the sound card.
You may try one of the following ways,

  • If you don't need to record sound, you can uncheck "Sound". That makes your AVI file small too.
  • Check "Use Media Control Interface (MCI) recording" on the 'Sound Options' dialog box.
  • Load the AVI in Video Editor and cut the last 1/2 second or a few frames to remove it.

 


How do I get rid of the red text on my capture?

It might be the "AutoText" that you can check on/off in the "Add" group on the "From" tab. You can click AutoText "Options..." to change the format of the text appearing on your video.

 

 Timed recording, auto-recording, sound recording

What are ways to cancel auto-stop when it has started?

The same way as regular canceling. Also you can press the Stop button to save the recording so far to a video file.


I want to record my PC screen at midnight, is it possible?

Yes. You can use the AutoScreenRecorder scheduled recording feature.

 

What is recurring recording?

You can check "Recurring" in the "Timer" group on the "From" tab to start recording periodically.

It is available only when 'Active window', 'Fixed area', 'Specific window' or 'Full screen' is selected. When checked, 'Start at' is not available.

You can set to record weekly, days in a week, or choose a day in the month, at certain intervals.



 

 Saving / Flash movies


What is the automatic file naming feature. How do I use it?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

 


When I choose to save into a Flash movie file, how many files are generated?

AutoScreenRecorder will generate the Flash movie file (.SWF) after the AVI file is recorded. Along with the Flash movie file, an HTML file is also created that you can use to publish the SWF file to the internet.

So, if your file name is "MyScreen_01", the files created are:

  • MyScreen_01.avi
  • MyScreen_01.swf
  • MyScreen_01.htm (may be .html, depending on the "HTML File extension" option you choose on the "Flash File Options" dialog on the "To" tab.)

 


How do I publish the recorded Flash movie (SWF) to my website?

Here are the steps to publish the Flash movie (SWF) to your HTML page, Eg. MyWeb.htm,

  • Modify your HTML page
    The generated .htm (or .html, Eg. AutoScreenRecorder_01.htm) file has the HTML code you need to publish to the web. You can use the file directly, or copy & paste the HTML code to your HTML page, MyWeb.htm.
     
  • Upload the HTML page and SWF file
    Upload the SWF file to the same location as that of MyWeb.htm. If you changed the Flash file location, make sure the HTML code in MyWeb.htm points to that location.


Do I need to buy the Flash program in order to view the recorded Flash movie file?

No. An AutoScreenRecorder generated .SWF file is a fully functional Flash movie file. It only requires a Flash viewer to view on the internet. The viewer is free and automatically downloaded by your browser.


 


How to re-generate the Flash movie?

Open the AVI in AutoScreenRecorder Video Editor. Double click the video or click the Edit button on the toolbar to show the Video Editor Dialog to trim if you need.

In the Video Editor, choose "Export to SWF..." from the "File" menu.


 

 Video Editing



How to trim my recorded video?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.


How to re-record sound?

Open the AVI in AutoScreenRecorder Video Editor.

Choose "Remove Audio" from the "Edit Audio" menu, that will clear the current audio on the video.

Choose "Add Audio Wave File..." from the "Edit Audio" menu and add your .WAV file to the video. If you need a new sound file, choose "Record Sound..." and record your sound. You may want to choose "Select Audio Input Device..." to make sure the sound source, such as from your speakers or microphone.

 


Can I extract a part of video, sound or images from the video?

Click here for a step-by-step guide.

 

 Others



I'm a developer, how to use AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro from my program?

To run AutoScreenRecorder from your program, you can find AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro program location in Registry. You also can use commend line switches to run AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro from your program.

[To find AutoScreenRecorder 3 Pro program]

Key   
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wisdom-soft\AutoScreenRecorder\Options
Item  Program


[Command line switches]

 Command
 (case insensitive)
 Details
/C  Execute "Record Now" right away using the current settings.
It's like pressing the "Record Now" button.
/CX  Execute "Record Now" and Exit AutoScreenRecorder .
/H  Execute pressing your hotkey using the current settings.
It's like to press the recording hotkey.
/R  To reset all options to the initial default values.

 

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