M2_CamStudio_User_Guide.pdf

Latthida TRAYMANY ‐ M2 CDMM ‐ Paris 7 Diderot University ‐ November 2009

CamStudio User Guide

Version 2.00

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAMSTUDIO USER GUIDE

Table of Contents

About the User Guide .......................................................................... 4Audience ...................................................................................................................4

What you will learn ..................................................................................................4

Before starting ..........................................................................................................4

Typographic Conventions ..................................................................... 5

CamStudio Overview ........................................................................... 6What is it? .................................................................................................................6

What you can do with CamStudio ............................................................................6

Concepts ...................................................................................................................6

CamStudio version ....................................................................................................7

Donation ...................................................................................................................7

Installation .......................................................................................... 8System requirement .................................................................................................8

CamStudio installation .............................................................................................8

Attached applications ...............................................................................................9

Getting Started .................................................................................... 10Launching CamStudio ...............................................................................................10

Interface description ................................................................................................10

Settings ............................................................................................... 12Activating autopan ...................................................................................................12

Setting audio options ...............................................................................................12

Setting audio recording ............................................................................................13

Setting cursor options ..............................................................................................13

Setting program options ...........................................................................................13

Setting SWF options .................................................................................................14

Setting Regions .........................................................................................................14

Setting video options ................................................................................................15

Configuring keyboard shortcuts ...............................................................................16

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3


Managing Screen Annotations ............................................................. 17Creating a new shape ...............................................................................................17

Creating a new layout ...............................................................................................19

Editing the image of a shape ....................................................................................20

Editing the text of a shape ........................................................................................20

Managing shapes ......................................................................................................20

Managing layouts .....................................................................................................21

Managing Video Annotations .............................................................. 22

Creating Video Recordings ................................................................... 23Creating an AVI/SWF video recording without screen annotations .........................23

Creating a AVI/SWF video recording with screen annotations ................................24

Converting AVI to SWF format .................................................................................25

Sharing video recordings ..........................................................................................25

Troubleshooting .................................................................................. 26Help ..........................................................................................................................26

FAQ ...........................................................................................................................26

4 ABOUT THE USER GUIDE


About the User Guide

Audience

The User Guide is the perfect reference if you are using or planning to use CamStudio.

What you will learn

It provides an overview of CamStudio and its main features. It will take you step by step

through the process of using it.

Follow all of these steps and you will be able to:

create your own videos by recording all screen and audio activity on your computer,

add windows that contain text on your video recordings,

record audio from a microphone or speakers,

share your video recordings.

Before starting

To use the User Guide more easily, printing this document is a good idea. In many tasks, you

need to choose menu commands or compare the result of an action from your screen as it

should appear in CamStudio.

Therefore, a printed version of the User Guide gives you better readability between what

you learn, what you must obtain on your screen and the information given.

TYPOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS 5


Typographic Conventions

Typographic conventions are used with the following meanings:

Component names, such as screen names or an application, are capitalized.

Example: CamStudio

Elements of graphical user interface, such as buttons or field labels and access paths

appear in bold.

Example: Click Submit

URLs are underlined and colored in blue.

Example: http://camstudio.org

CamStudio screenshots in this document can be edited to fit the page or to illustrate a

point. They can contain boxes accompanied by text or numbers. Therefore, they might

look different from the way they appear in the software program.

Example:

Tips, Notes and Warnings appear as shown below.

Notes attract your attention to give you additional information.

Tips inform you about CamStudio practical uses.

Warnings attract your attention on important messages about hardware

requirements or CamStudio’s features.

1

6 CAMSTUDIO OVERVIEW


CamStudio Overview

What is it?

CamStudio is a free streaming video software program which records the screen and audio

activity of your computer for a given time. It is the ideal program for tutorial makers.

The output format of the recording is AVI (Audio Video Interface) or SWF (Small Web

Format) video files.

What you can do with CamStudio

Here are a few ways you can use CamStudio:

demonstrate features of a new software program,

create video tutorials for school or your friends,

view the progress of a program that executes for a long time,

record a movie stream or a problem with your computer to show it to a technical

support.

Concepts

Audio recording

Audio is optional. Therefore, you can both create:

videos without any audio,

videos with sound that comes from speakers or a microphone.

See also “Setting audio recording”, page 13.

Regions

Regions define the video recording area of your video. The 3 possible Regions in CamStudio

enable you to create a video from:

an arbitrary rectangular Region of the screen,

a rectangular Region with predefined dimensions,

the entire screen.

See also “Setting Regions”, page 14.

AVI videos can contain both audio and video data in a file container. SWF videos

are files format vector graphics for publication on the Web.

CAMSTUDIO OVERVIEW 7


Screen annotations

Screen annotations are notes displayed on the screen during the video recording. It is

possible to define their location and the order with which they appear.

They are defined by 2 elements:

the shapes, which are windows that contain text,

the layouts, which are an arrangement of one or more shapes.

A video recording displays as many layouts as different levels of information. Using them

avoids possible audio misunderstandings. For example, it can help you to inform about the

different tasks to execute on the screen.

See also “Managing Screen Annotations”, page 17.

CamStudio versionTo know the CamStudio version you use, select Help > About to open the About CamStudio

window. The CamStudio version is visible under the OK button.

Donation

Donation is important to keep CamStudio alive and improve its features and maintenance.

It is mostly used for web hosting cost: development tools, hardware and support time.

To donate with your credit card, please go to http://snipurl.com/csdonate.

A shape is visible during the video recording only if it is included in a layout.

A shape

A layout

8 INSTALLATION


Installation

System requirement

Your system must meet the following requirements:

Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, XP,

400 MHz processor,

64 MB recommended,

4 MB of hard‐disk space for program installation.

CamStudio installation

Before installing CamStudio, you need to download the executable file CamStudio.exe from

the following website at http://camstudio.org.

Once it is done, you can follow the procedure below.

To install CamStudio:

1. Double‐click CamStudio.exe.

An Open File – Security Warning popup appears.

2. Click Execute to launch the installation process.

3. Tick the I agree with the above terms and conditions checkbox.

INSTALLATION 9


4. Click Next.

5. Click Browse to select the directory where to install CamStudio.

6. Click Start.

The CamStudio popup appears. The progress bar indicates the evolution of the

installation.

7. When the progress bar reaches 100 %, click OK.

CamStudio is installed. A CamStudio icon has been created in your Desktop.

Attached applications

The content of the installed directory contains mainly 4 executable files.

Here is a brief presentation of each of these application’s features.

Executable file Action

Play.exe Plays AVI videos files.

PlayPlus.exe Plays AVI videos files with more commands than Play.exe.

Producer.exe Converts AVI video files to SWF video files.

Recorder.exe Records all screen and audio activity on your computer. It

is the one that represents CamStudio, so the one that will

be mainly used.

10 GETTING STARTED


Getting Started

Launching CamStudio

From your Desktop, double‐click the CamStudio icon to launch Recorder.exe.

Interface description

CamStudio interface is composed of different elements.

When CamStudio is minimized, it is included to the system tray. To restore it,

double‐click its icon.

Number Description

1 Toolbar.

2 Buttons area.

3 Information area.

4 Video format indicator.

5 Display area.

By default, it displays the state Ready. If not, it is the name or feature

of a button when you roll‐over it with the mouse.

1

2

3

4

5

GETTING STARTED 11


The following table presents each button of the Buttons area.

Icon Button name Action

Record Starts a video recording.

Pause Makes a pause during a video recording.

Stop Stops a video recording.

Toggle View Modifies the appearance of CamStudio

interface to 3 different states: Normal View,

Compact View or Buttons View.

Screen Annotations Displays the Screen Annotations window that

enables you to create and manage shapes and

layouts.

See also “Managing Screen Annotations”,

page 17.

Record Flash / AVI Sets the video file format before recording.

12 SETTINGS


Settings

Activating autopan

This option permits the recording to be done by following the cursor wherever it goes on

the screen, so that it is centered in the video recording area.

To activate autopan, select Options > Enable Autopan.

Setting audio options

The following table presents the different audio options.

Activated settings are marked by the following icon in menu commands. To

deactivate a setting, click on it again and the icon will disappear.

Autopan is less visible when the video is a full screen recording.

To control the maximum speed at which the capture area follows the mouse,

select Options > Autopan Speed … .The value is measured in screen pixels.

You need a soundcard with an attached microphone/speakers to use this option.

To Do this

Set your audio options for your

microphone

Select Options > Program Options > Audio Options >

Audio Options for Microphone.

You use it to set the recording format and

compressed format of your audio.

Set your audio options for your

speakers


Audio Options for Speakers.

You use it to adjust the volume of your speakers and

the volume of your recording line.

Synchronize the audio and the

video track


Audio and Video Synchronization.

The Audio and Video Synchronization option only works when the audio goes

before the video.

For more information, go to http://www.camstudio.org/options/audio.

SETTINGS 13


Setting audio recording

The following table presents how to define if your video contains audio or not.

Setting cursor options

Cursor options enable you to draw attention to the area where the actions take place by

customizing the cursor. For example, you can:

hide/use your actual cursor during the video recording,

replace the cursor with a customized cursor,

replace the cursor with a cursor that is loaded from a file,

ave a highlight area around the cursor.

To open the Cursor Options window, select Options > Cursor Options.

Setting program options

Program options are available by selecting Options > Program Options.

These options enable you to set practical options about using CamStudio in general or

during a video recording, and managing AVI video files. For example, you can:

minimize CamStudio when a video starts recording,

hide the flashing rectangle that delineates the video recording area,

automatically save settings on exit,

name your AVI videos by using the system’s date and time of the video recording,

define the action to execute at the end of an AVI recording,

set the directory to use for the temporary files that CamStudio creates while it is

recording.

To record a video Do this

Without any audio Select Options > Do not record audio.

With audio coming from a

microphone

Select Options > Record audio from microphone.

With audio coming from

speakers

Select Options > Record audio from speakers.

For more information, go to http://www.camstudio.org/options/cursor.

The temporary files can crash your system if it has not enough disk space.

For more information, go to http://www.camstudio.org/options/program.

14 SETTINGS


Setting SWF options

SWF options are available by selecting Options > Record to Flash Options.

These options enable you to define the action to execute at the end of a SWF recording.

Setting Regions

There are 3 possible Regions. You can choose:

Region, which is an arbitrary rectangular Region of the screen,

Fixed Screen, which is a rectangular Region with predefined,

Full Screen, which is the entire screen.

Region

To define this Region, select Region > Region.

Before the video recording starts, use the pen on cross‐hairs cursor to define the

rectangular region on your screen by clicking‐dragging the left mouse button. A box informs

you about its dimensions.

Fixed Region

To open the Fixed Region window, select Region > Fixed Region.

For more information, go to http://www.camstudio.org/options/SWF.

You must set the Region before recording.

SETTINGS 15


Therefore, there are 2 ways to define the dimensions of the Region:

Click Select to define the Region by click‐dragging the left mouse button.

Fill in the Width and Height fields to directly enter the dimensions of the Region.

Full Screen

Select Region > Full Screen. The entire screen will be recorded.

Setting video options

Video options enable you to optimize the quality of video recordings. Indeed, high videos

quality means larger files size.

To open the Video Options window, select Options > Video Options.

If the Fixed Top‐Left‐Corner checkbox is selected, the video recording area

position is specified by the Left, Top, Width and Height field values.

If it is not selected, you can choose the location of the fixed‐size Region for the

video recording.

If the Drag Corners to Pan checkbox is selected, it means you can drag one of the

4 corners of the video recording area with the mouse during recording to change

the Region location. The cursor changes to a four‐pointed arrow when it is over

one of the corner.

For more information, go to http://www.camstudio.org/options/video.

16 SETTINGS


Configuring keyboard shortcuts

It is useful to associate keyboard shortcuts to the recording commands in order to avoid

CamStudio interface to appear on the screen during a video recording.

To open the Keyboard Shortcuts window, select Options > Keyboard Shortcuts.

The image above is a proposal of configuring keyboard shortcuts. You can modify it

according to what seems easier to you.

As long as CamStudio is open or minimized, your keyboard shortcuts are still on.

Therefore, it is advisable to choose your keyboard shortcuts among those you do

not often use.

MANAGING SCREEN ANNOTATIONS 17


Managing Screen Annotations

Creating a new shape

A shape is a floating window that contains text. This helps to explain what happens on the

screen as the video recording goes along. You can either create:

a new shape,

a new shape from a predefined shape.

To create a new shape:

1. From the Buttons area, click .

The Screen Annotations window appears. The Shapes tab contains the list of the

predefined shapes set by default.

2. Right‐click either a predefined shape in the list to display the context menu.

3. Select New Shape.

The New Shape window appears.

4. In the Name area, attribute a name to your shape.

5. Do one of the following.

Predefined shapes are a gain of time because they need fewer changes.

To Do this

Create a new shape In the Image area, select the Blank Image radio

button.

Create a new shape from a

predefined shape

In the Image area, select the Image File radio

button.

18 MANAGING SCREEN ANNOTATIONS


6. In the Text area, modify the text of the shape.

7. Click OK.

The new shape is created. It appears both at the end of the Shapes tab and on top of all

other windows on your Desktop.

A shape is visible during the video recording only if it is included in a layout.

Appearance of the created shape



Creating a new layout

A layout is an arrangement of one or more shapes. When they are many of them, you can

define the order with which they appear on the screen.

To create a new layout:

1. From the list of the Shapes tab, double‐click the shape to add to the layout.

The shape appears.

2. Drap and drop the shape where you want it to appear on the screen.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as you need.

4. Once all the shapes are open, right‐click on either shape to select Save Layout.

The layout is created. It appears in the Layout tab.

Before creating a layout, it is advisable to close all visible shapes on your Desktop.

To remove a shape from the layout before saving, right‐click the shape to

display the context menu, and then select Close.

As a layout is composed of shapes, modifying it consists in modifying its shapes.

20 MANAGING SCREEN ANNOTATIONS


Editing the image of a shape

You can edit the image of a shape in order to customize it. For example, you can:

apply a background image/background color to your shape,

obtain a non rectangular window by transparency or from a predefined shape.

To open the Edit Image window, right‐click the shape you want to modify in order to display

the context menu, and then select Edit Image.

Editing the text of a shape

You can edit the text of a shape in order to highlight it. For example, you can:

modify the font name, font style, font‐size, font color or alignment of the text,

modify the position of the text in the shape.

To open the Edit Text window, right‐click the shape you want to modify in order to display

the context menu, and then select Edit Text.

Managing shapes

The best way to manage your shapes is to save them in a library. More than a gain of time,

it enables you to load and reuse them later.

The following instructions use the context menu of the Shapes tab. To make it appear,

right‐click anywhere in the tab content.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/shapes/s‐annotations/image.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/shapes/s‐annotations/text.

To Do this

Create a new shape library Select Shape Library > New Shape Library.

Load a shape library ‐ Select Shape Library > Open Shape Library.

‐ Select the shape library to load.

‐ Click Open.

Save all your shapes into a file

(.shape)

‐ Select Shape Library > Save Shape Library.

‐ Attribute a name to the shape library.

‐ Click Open.

You can restore the default shapes by opening the file ‘default.shapes’ in the

installed directory of CamStudio.



Managing layouts

You can manage your layouts as the same way than your shapes by saving them in a library.

The following instructions use the context menu of the Layout tab. To make it appear, right‐

click anywhere in the tab content.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/shapes/s‐annotations/shapes.

To Do this

Create a new layout library Select Layout Library > New Layout Library.

Load a layout library ‐ Select Layout Library > Open Layout Library.

‐ Select the layout library to load.

‐ Click Open.

Save all your layouts into a file

(.layout)

‐ Select Layout Library > Save Layout Library.

‐ Attribute a name to the layout library.

‐ Click Open.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/shapes/s‐annotations/layouts.

22 MANAGING VIDEO ANNOTATIONS


Managing Video Annotations

It is also possible to record the content of a webcam along with other screen content when

the webcam is inside your video recording area. These videos recordings are called video

annotations.

To create a video annotation, select Tools > Video Annotations. The Video Annotations

window will appear.

Just like screen annotations, video annotations are customizable. For example, you can add

a text caption or make a cutout Region.

To adjust these settings, right‐click the webcam window to display a context menu as the

image below.

You need a webcam installed on your system to use this feature.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/shapes/v‐annotations.

CREATING VIDEO RECORDINGS 23


Creating Video Recordings

Creating an AVI/SWF video recording without screen annotations

As the following procedure shows, screen annotations are optional.

To create an AVI/SWF video recording without screen annotations:

1. Click .

The Video format indicator displays if the video recording is AVI or SWF.

2. Define the audio recording (See also “Setting audio recording”, page 13).

3. Define the Region See also “Setting Regions”, page 14).

4. Click to start the recording.

The video recording starts. The information about the video recording appears in

the Information area.

If the select Region is Do this

Region Before the video recording starts, click‐drag

the left mouse button to define the video

recording area.

Fixed Region Before the video recording starts, drag and

drop the rectangle where you want the video

recording area to be.

Full Screen Go to step 5.

Video format

24 CREATING VIDEO RECORDINGS


5. Click to stop the video recording.

A Save AVI File/Save SWF File popup appears.

6. Select the directory where to save the video file on your computer.

7. Click Save.

Your video file is saved.

Creating a AVI/SWF video recording with screen annotations

The following procedure shows you how to include screen annotations in your video

recording. It uses the keyboard shorcuts of the image page 15.

To create an AVI/SWF video recording with screen annotations:

1. Click to define if the video format is AVI or SWF.

2. Define the audio recording and the Region.

3. Press F1 to start the video recording.

The video recording starts.

4. Press TAB to display the first layout.

5. Do one or more of the following.

6. Press F2 to stop the video recording.

7. Save your video file after selecting the directory where to save it on your

computer.

Your video file is saved.

Program options enable you to name your AVI videos files by using the system’s

date and time of the video recording See also “Setting program options”, page 13

To avoid CamStudio interface to appear on your screen during the video

recording, you can configure keyboard shortcuts See also “Configuring keyboard

shortcuts”, page 16

You must create your screen annotations before recording.

To Do this

Make the layout disappear Press TAB.

Display the previous

layout

Press F3.

Display the next layout Press F4.

CREATING VIDEO RECORDINGS 25


Converting AVI to SWF format

CamStudio has the ability to convert AVI video files to SWF video files using Producer.exe.

Sharing video recordings

The following table presents a few examples of the different ways you can share your video

recordings.

For more information, go to http://camstudio.org/applications/producer.

If You can

You have a Website make them accessible using a FTP software program,

inset them into your Web pages for streaming.

You have not a Website send them by email to your friends, family or colleagues,

play them on your computer,

share them with an USB key.

26 TROUBLESHOOTING


Troubleshooting

Help

For more information about the topics covered in the User Guide, you can open CamStudio

Help which is available from the Help menu in the toolbar when CamStudio is open.

For complete and up‐to‐date information, including tips, news about the latest features, go

to the following websites at:

http://camstudio.org

http://camstudio.org/blog

FAQ

If you do not find the answers to your questions and want more help, a FAQ (Frequently

Asked Questions) is available at http://camstudio.org/faq.htm.

A forum is also available at http://camstudio.org/forum, so you can communicate and

share your knowledge with other CamStudio’s users.

http://camstudio.org http://camstudio.org/blog

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