At a Glance

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Camtasia Studio Overview and When you first begin to work within Camtasia Studio, you are in Timeline view. Several
components reside within the Timeline view: Task List, Timeline, and Preview Window.
Basic Tasks

Store media files in the Clip Bin for easy access. Drag a clip from
the Clip Bin to the Timeline to include it in the video. When you
save the project, you save all clips within the Clip Bin.

The Preview Scale

sets the dimensions of
the Preview Window
so you can preview the
Begin most tasks video exactly how it will
by selecting an appear if you produce at
option in the current dimensions.
the Task List.

Double-click on clips within

the Clip Bin to view in the
Preview Window before
you add them to the Timeline.
As you move through the
Use the Timeline to video on the Timeline, the
assemble screen Preview Area keeps pace with
recordings, still images, the seek bar, displaying the
audio files, callouts, title current frame.
clips, markers, and
other media.

The media files placed

on the Timeline are called
clips. On the The Time Status
Timeline, control the bar lets you know
timing of each clip, add or exactly where the seek
remove clips, edit frames, bar is on the Timeline
add sound, and more. in the context of the
entire video.
Timeline Editing Use the Timeline to make basic edits to the video and image clips. Remove unwanted
mistakes in the recording, shorten or lengthen clips to accommodate audio, etc. Original files
or clips in the Clip Bin are not affected by your edits on the Timeline.

Make a Cut
Delete unwanted portions of the clips from the
Timeline. Make a Split
1. Lock any tracks that contain clips and Divides one
elements you do not want to cut. clip into two
2. Select the range of time to cut. smaller clips
3. Click Cut Selection. to allow you to
insert transitions or Replace Audio Adjust the Volume on the Timeline
graphics between Don’t like the audio in your recording? Click Volume Up or
Add Markers scenes. Lock any Make a Timeline selection and click Volume Down to adjust
Markers provide easy navigation points for your tracks you do not the Replace with Silence button. Then, add the audio waveform for the
viewer, including hyperlinks when you produce the want to split. a voice narration recording to replace the entire Timeline.
video with a Table of Contents. old audio.
1. On the Timeline, place the seek bar on the frame.
2. Press <CTRL + M> on keyboard.
Save Audio
Back up the audio track, or use the sound
track in a different application.
1. Choose File > Save Audio As.
2. Choose either MP3 or WAV.

Make a Selection for Editing

Before you can make most edits
to a clip on the Timeline, you must
select the area to edit.
1. Click the left mouse button at
the point where you want to
begin the selection.
2. With the mouse cursor still
held down, drag the seek bar
across the Timeline.

Lock and Unlock Tracks Option Hotkey

Edits on the Timeline apply to all clips and
Play/Pause Spacebar
elements located across all tracks, unless you
lock specific tracks. Zoom In CTRL + Plus or CTRL + scroll wheel up
Click the Unlock icon on the Timeline track Zoom Out CTRL + Minus or CTRL + scroll wheel down
you want to lock.
Select from current point to beginning of Timeline CTRL + SHIFT + HOME
Click the Locked icon on the Timeline track you
want to unlock. Select from current point to end of Timeline CTRL + SHIFT + END

Step Forward CTRL + Right arrow

Step Backward CTRL + Left arrow

Before You Record… Recording
Some Video Best Practices Camtasia Recorder captures cursor movements, menu selections,
• Create a Recording Standard pop-up and layered windows, typing, and everything you see on
For example, will your videos highlight the cursor? With what color? Will the screen.
you record keyboard sounds? Will you have a
watermark? What dimensions will you set for recording? Record with a Preset Size
• Be Patient 1. In the Camtasia Studio Welcome dialog box, click New
A 1-minute video can take 2 or 3 minutes to record for an experienced Screen Recording.
user, while a beginner might need 30 minutes or longer to get it right. 2. Check the Audio and Camera options.
3. Click the Select area to record button or press <F9>. The
• Clean Up Your Desktop recording area is highlighted and the Camtasia Recorder
Camtasia Studio records anything on your screen. Selection Area options appear. Select:
• Make Multiple Short Clips Using Camtasia Recorder Full Screen select: Hover the over the desktop. A border appears around
Use Camtasia Studio to join those short clips together into a longer video your whole monitor. Click to select the desktop.
production. Use the same dimensions for each clip. Leave plenty of time Window select: Hover the cursor over any window. A red border appears
for extra takes. around the window. Click to select the window.
• Watch the Mouse Region select: Drag the cursor anywhere to select a region for recording.
4. When resizing an application or window, check the Lock to application option
• Practice, Practice, Practice to lock the
recording area to the
active window.
5. Choose a preset size,
Getting Great Audio if desired.
7 Tips for Success 6. Click the Record button
or press <F9> to begin
1. Monitor the Audio Level as 2. Use the Audio recording.
You Record Enhancements Option
The green to yellow range indi- Audio Enhancements even out
cates normal and the best sound volume levels and remove noise.
quality. Orange to 3. Use a USB Microphone
red warns you are
4. Practice Using a Option Hotkey
Microphone Record F9
close to over-mod-
5. Record in a Quiet Location
ulated input. 6. Block the Computer’s Pause recording F9
Humming Sound Stop recording F10
7. Use a Script Add marker CTRL + SHIFT + M
ScreenDraw CTRL + SHIFT + D
Record a PowerPoint Presentation It’s Always Polite to Share
1. In Camtasia Studio Task List, choose Record PowerPoint. Camtasia Studio allows you to reach a broad audience and provides
2. Open a PowerPoint presentation to record. The recording toolbar appears multiple ways to distribute videos.
(In Office 2007, in the Add-Ins tab): Publish a Video for Web Distribution Blog All About It
Create a Flash file for easy Use Camtasia Studio to
upload to the web. Flash provide a seamless site visit
delivers very high quality to your users. Why take them
3. Choose to Record Audio or Record Camera . video at a small file size and away from the post or the
plays in most Web browsers. blog to watch a video?
4. To preview the camera stream as you record, click Camera Preview .
Create an ExpressShow single-file
5. Click Record . The slide show appears with the SWF for simple embedding into a blog.
Output Directly to iPod or iTunes
recording in paused mode. Format
All
6. Click the Click to begin recording button in the lower right Produce your video as an iPod All available presets
hand corner. video file including the correct including all of Camtasia
dimensions and encoding. Studio’s default presets,
7. The recording begins immediately. Move through the PowerPoint
user-created presets,
presentation slides as you normally would. CD-ROM Ready custom dimensions, and
8. At the end of the presentation, press the Esc key to end Produce your video in a recording dimensions.
CD-ready format that auto-
the recording. runs in the CD tray on the
9. A prompt asking to stop recording or continue appears. Click viewer’s PC.
Stop recording.
Navigation
10. A prompt to save your work as a Camtasia Studio recording file (camrec) Simplify navigation for viewers - include a clickable table of contents (TOC). Use Camtasia
appears. You can make changes later. Studio to create a TOC within a single video. To provide a TOC for a series of videos, use
Camtasia MenuMaker or Camtasia Theater.
11. Name this project and click Save.
Default Production Presets to Get You Going
Recording Resizing Tips Camtasia Studio provides several default presets and dimensions:

• To maintain the aspect ratio of the recording area as you resize it,
click Lock icon.
• Before resizing windows or applications, check Lock to
application to lock the recording area to the active window. As you Preset Dimensions (in pixels) File Type
resize the recording area, the window or application also resizes. Web 640 x 480 ExpressShow (single SWF)
• To move the position of the recording area on the screen, click
CD 800 x 600 AVI
inside recording area and drag it to a new location on the screen.
Blog 400 x 300 ExpressShow (single SWF)
iPod 320 x 240 M4V
iPhone 480 x 320 M4V
What Video File Format Should I Use?
ExpressShow™ Single SWF
Recording includes: Screen recording with low-motion screen capture content like
PowerPoint, Web demos and software demos. No PIP, animation, or transitions.
Where it shines: Custom branding. Condense rich presentations into a single file. Ideal
for Web distribution.
What you get: A video compatible for viewing on different browsers and operating
systems.
ExpressShow FLV
Recording includes: Screen recording with PIP, full motion video, camera
video, or lots of motion on the screen.
Where it shines: Smaller file size than SWF. Retains the highest quality. You
can edit in other video editing programs. Ideal for Web distribution.
Windows Media Video (WMV)
Recording includes: Longer screen recording with higher motion.
Where it shines: Produces very small file sizes even if the videos contain real
world photography, dithering or gradient fills. Good for Web delivery.
What you get: Videos that play in Microsoft’s Windows Media Player -either
streaming or locally from the hard disk.
AVI
Recording includes: Screen recording large in size, high motion, PIP, anima-
tion, camera video, or transitions.
Where it shines: Highest quality video possible. You can edit in other video
editing programs. View from CD, DVD, hard drive, or network.
What you get: AVI file ready to use with DVD authoring software.

What you get: The production process creates an HTML file that references
the produced Flash file. To properly play the movie file, launch the HTML file
in a Web browser.

iPod / iTunes / iPhone

Recording includes: Any screen recording. For best results use SmartFocus.

Where it shines: Camtasia Studio automatically formats the video to ensure

you get the correct dimension and encoding.

What you get: A Quicktime (M4V) video specially formatted to play on an iPod
or within iTunes.
Callouts Title Clips
Callouts are graphics A title clip appears in the Clip Bin after creation. Drag the title clip down to
in different shapes and the
styles. Add a callout to Timeline to include in the video.
the Timeline and the Use a title clip to add a static clip with graphic and/or text:
image appears within • Before a clip on the Timeline as a title or introduction
the produced video. You can customize the callout color, font, opacity, size, • Between clips on the Timeline as a chapter heading
text, and more. • At the end of the video to display the credits or other information

Add a Callout Create a Title Clip

Click Callouts in the Task List. Position the seek bar on the Timeline and Click Title clips in the Task List. Add text and images to customize the title
click the Add Callout button. Select a callout from the Type dropdown list or clip. As you create the title clip, the Preview Area updates with the changes.
create a
custom callout by importing a graphic. Choose color, add text, apply proper-
ties, size and position the callout. Click Finished.

Add a Blur Callout

Blur Callouts mask or hide confidential or sensitive information in a screen
recording.

Flash Hotspots Add a Flash Hotspot

1. In the Callout Properties task page, add a Callout to the Timeline.
Wait until you have completed all of the edits before adding the Callouts with a Hotspot. 2. Enable Make Flash Hotspot option.
Use Callouts with Flash Hotspots to: 3. Click Flash Hotspot Properties button.
• Direct customers to a link to download your software. 4. Apply the hotspot properties and click OK.
• Show viewers Web sites in a new browser window. 5. Produce your Flash video to see and test the Hotspots. Callouts with a
• Add chapters to your video. Hotspot are only available with Flash output.
• Allow viewers to replay a section in the video.
TechSmith ExpressShow™ Camtasia SmartFocus™ Tips
ExpressShow creates SWF or FLV files with the recording and
customizable information such as logo placement, table of contents, and
SmartFocus allows you to quickly change video dimensions for different destinations.
more. Use ExpressShow SWF for recordings viewed on the Web,
Available in the editing process, SmartFocus automatically generates zoom-n-pan key
approximately 30 minutes or less in length, without a great deal of motion.
frames to optimize viewing at any dimension.
Use ExpressShow FLV for longer recordings or recordings with camera video
or high motion. SmartFocus collects data about the actions completed and the
cursor movement in the recording. SmartFocus predicts where to
ExpressShow Capabilities add zoom effects, saving you time to manually find and insert all the
• Customize the new glassy interface in frames to zoom or pan.
multiple places. Record at full screen, produce at a Slow down.
• Automatically include an additional iPod smaller dimension. Use slow, deliberate mouse movements. Do not
or .mp3 file for download. For example, record a full screen application and click around the screen too fast.
produce the final video for distribution on the
• Size and personalize the new About box.
iPod. Use the mouse scroll wheel
• Use a floating or minimized table of contents. (if applicable).
• Loop to a specific frame at the conclusion of the video. Hover the mouse cursor where you want Try using the mouse scroll wheel instead of click-
the viewer to look. ing and dragging on the scroll bar. SmartFocus
Access the ExpressShow Production Options Keep your mouse cursor still on the area of focus may zoom in on the scroll bar instead of showing
in the recording. the content.
1. In Camtasia Studio, click File > Produce Video As.
2. Select Custom production settings. Click Next.
Do not “talk” with the mouse cursor. Record clips longer than 30 seconds.
3. Select Flash. Click Next. Do not move the mouse cursor across the SmartFocus is optimized for recordings longer
4. Select an ExpressShow template. screen as you speak. Try to keep the mouse cur- than 30 seconds. For shorter clips, you can
5. Click the Flash Options button. sor in the area of focus in the recording. manually add zoom-n-pan key frames.

Keep the mouse cursor close when

entering text.
Upload to Screencast.com If you want the viewer to see what you type into
the text box, keep the mouse cursor in the text
TechSmith provides a fully functional hosting
box.
space for your videos. Screencast.com provides
built-in RSS and iTunes functionality, so you can
deliver videos directly to your viewer’s desktop Original recording SmartFocus applied
or portable media player. Upload your videos to Screencast.com at the end of the
Production Wizard or from the Camtasia Studio File menu.