How to Record Screen with Adobe Captivate Screen Recorder

Adobe Captivate is a presentation creator, just like PowerPoint but is better in many ways. The tool is primarily used in creating eLearning materials like instructional videos, mind maps, charts, and more. It can also record screen activities that makes it perfect for creating instructional videos and software demos. Adobe Captivate is part of the Adobe Suite, which consists of various software from the Adobe Corporation. Adobe Captivate is a premium tool, which means that it needs to be purchased. However, the tool is free to download and use, even if no purchase was made. This means that one cannot fully utilize the tool unless they pay for the licensed version. Hence, many Adobe Screen recorder alternatives can fulfill whatever Adobe Captivate can't. Read on to learn more about these worthy alternatives and how to use some of them.

How to Use Adobe Captivate to Record Computer Screen

As mentioned above, Adobe Screen capture software is equipped with lots of premium features. That is the reason why it takes someone with the knowledge to understand how the tool works fully. However, you will learn how to use the tool's basic screen recorder function with the steps below. Follow the steps accordingly, and learn how to record screen activities with Adobe Captivate.

Step 1 Download and install Adobe Captivate

Have the software downloaded from the official site and install it. When you launch Adobe Captivate screen capture, a screen will appear asking which function to use. Select the "Video Demo" option, and then a window will appear.

Step 2 Customize its settings

Once done with the recording mode, it's now time to select other options for your recording. From the new window that will appear, select how you want the recording to go. First, select "Screen Area" and then choose between "Custom Size" and "Full Screen." If you choose "Custom Size," you can set the height and width by yourself or select from pre-made settings. If you want the screen to be recorded steadily, then leave the "Panning" on default as shown on the image. Otherwise, if you change the setting, then the focus of the recording will follow the areas around the mouse pointer. If you are making a basic video without a voice-over, leave "Audio."

Step 3 Start recording

When satisfied with the initial settings, start the recording process by clicking the "Record" button. The tool does not have a "Stop" button, so click the "End" key to end the recording if you are using Windows. On the other hand, Mac users should hold down the "Command + Enter" keys together. Once this is done, the video will appear on playback, and you will have the chance to save it or publish it.

Step 3 Play the Recorded File

Lastly, go to its output location and search over the recorded video file. Then, hit the file to play it to have a better preview experience. To re-record the whole video file, you can follow the guidelines above.

Best Adobe Screen Recorder Alternative for Windows/Mac

1. AceThinker Screen Grabber Premium

AceThinker Screen Grabber Premium is a powerful alternative for Adobe Captivate. It lets you record any activities on your PC screen. It can capture video in HD quality like 720p and 1080p smoothly. Also, this gives you the option to record in full screen, region mode, or webcam. It is also perfect for recording video demos because it can record the system sound, microphone, or both. These are the few steps on how to utilize this software.

Step 1 Set-up the tool to your PC

First, install Screen Grabber Premium to your PC; get its installer first by selecting one of the “Download” buttons given above. Once done, open the installer and read the instructions provided by the setup wizard. After installing, launch the tool and choose the “Video Recorder” within its main interface. Then, click the “Gear” icon to open its settings, and you can change the output folder, video format, quality, frame rate, hotkeys, and more.

Step 2 Start screen recording

Next, select your preferred audio format from the system sound or microphone that you can see from the floating toolbar. Also, you can choose your desired video mode into full screen or region mode. Then, hit the "REC" button located at the right part of the recorder to start. When recording is being processed, you have to click the "Pen" icon that you can see from the right side of the floating toolbar to appear the editing tools. Also, you have an option to enhance your video by adding shapes, texts, lines, and arrows to your video.

Step 3 Watch the recorded video

Finally, you have to end the video by clicking the "Stop" button that you can see from the left of the recording toolbar. Then, a playback will show to watch your video. Also, you have other options to re-record if you are not satisfied with the output.

2. OBS

OBS is a free and open-source screen recording software. It can act as an alternative to Adobe Captivate because of its advanced screen recording features. Twitch and Facebook sponsor this tool because of its capabilities to capture high fps games without reducing its quality. This tool has been used to live stream games like COD Warzone, League of Legends, Dota 2, Valorant, and more. Another good thing about this tool is its built-in audio mixer. You can easily adjust the audio from your system sound and microphone. It enables you to edit videos through cutting, fading, swiping, and adding transitions to the recording. OBS Studios can easily record HD quality like 720p, 1080p, and 4K along with its audio for free. Furthermore, OBS allows users to add filters to the video to enhance it. It helps video bloggers because they can beautify their videos before uploading them. For you to know the steps on using this tool, you can check the steps below.

Step 1 Install the OBS and start recording

Go to the official website of OBS Studio to download and install its software on your computer. Once installed, launch it, and click the “+” icon under the “Source” section to add your preferred recording mode. Then, click the “Start Recording” button at the rightmost part of the tool to start recording.

Step 2 End the recording process

Once done, click the "Stop Recording" button at the right part of the tool to end the recording process. Then, click on the "File" menu and choose "Show Recordings" to open OBS's default output folder. You can then watch the recorded video from there.

3. Action

Action is another screen recorder like Adobe Captivate that is very popular for gamers. It can capture your computer screen in full view or region mode. Also, this tool can record videos in HD quality. Besides, it allows users to stream live game videos, music, tutorials, and more. It allows users to post recorded videos to Facebook, Aliez, Ustream, Hitbox, YouTube, etc. It can save videos to MP4 and AVI format in 15, 20, 24, 25, 30, 50, 60, and 120 fps. Action can record high bitrate and fps games because it uses the GPU of your computer to its best capacity. Users can also include their webcams when recording videos on their computers. It is best to use for tutorials, demos, how-to videos, walkthroughs, webinars, etc. We also listed the steps below for you to follow.

Step 1 Get the tool to its website

To begin, get the installer of Action by going to its official website. After installing, open the app and click the “REC” button at the lower rightmost part of the tool to begin screen recording.

Step 2 Preview the recorded video

When finished, click the “Stop” button at the right corner part of the tool. You will find all the recorded videos on its main interface. You may double-click on the video to preview it.

4. Bandicam

Bandicam is another excellent tool for screen recording, similar to Adobe Captivate. It is useful for recording tutorials, demos, software, webinars, games, and more. Also, it records HD videos like 720p, 1080p, 4K quality. It can also record 2D/3D games like Minecraft, DQ Builders, PUBG, WoW, LoL, and Dota2. Another good thing about Bandicam is it compresses the video making its file size smaller without reducing its rate. For game recording, Bandicam uses your CPU/GPU/HDD to its optimal ways to lessen the lag when screen recording high fps games. It also displays the fps of them on your screen while screen recording. Moreover, Bandicam has multiple recording modes. You can record in the Rectangle area, Fullscreen, Around Mouse, Game recording, and Device recording. Each method is useful, depending on the activity that you want to record on your computer. For the steps on how to use Bandicam, you can check the list below.

Step 1 Install the Bandicam to your PC

Visit the official website of Bandicam to download and install the tool on your computer. Then, choose your preferred recording mode under the “Get Started” section. After that, click the “REC” button at the upper rightmost part of the tool to start screen recording.

Step 2 Check the recorded video

You can find the recordings by clicking the “Videos” beside the “Get Started.” Select the recording, and click the “Play” button to watch the video. Once done, click the “Stop” button from where you clicked the “REC” button to stop the recording process.

Comparison Chart of Alternatives for Adobe Screen Recorder