GIF / Video Screen Recorder

[pilcherd]

crutkas; https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/wiki/Video-GIF-Capture is the spec

I love the idea of this PowerToy. It's something I've wanted in the Snipping Tool for ages.

My use case would be recording software interactions for the purpose of making tickets or training etc.

To that end, saving in more formats that are better (higher fidelity) than GIF would make the tool more useful. E.g. save as MP4/HEIC etc.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[vexvoltage]

https://www.screentogif.com/

Just in the meantime this is a great product.

[johnnliu]

I'm mainly thinking about using the GIF for sharing on Twitter - so a size that's good for sharing, but not tripping the default dithering algorithm (which makes the GIF unwatchable) would be wonderful.

[mikemaccana]

TBH I think this belongs in Windows itself, not as a powertoy.

Capturing a video (inc GIF) should be as easy as pressing Print Screen (note, I am aware of Gamebar, but Gamebar is complex and weird to use for desktop apps)

[asjones987]

Curious why put too much time and effort in to this as opposed to link to or see if Nicke Manarin would like to integrate for long term support his great tool ScreenToGIF.

https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif

[pilcherd]

Curious why put too much time and effort in to this as opposed to link to or see if Nicke Manarin would like to integrate for long term support his great tool ScreenToGIF.

https://github.com/NickeManarin/ScreenToGif

I had never seen that. A very useful tool along the lines of what I was after. Thank you for the link.

[bdbch]

From my original issue:

Windows still doesn't have a good way to record the screen as a video or gif file. That is why I always rely on third party tools like ShareX.

For MacOS there is a tool called Kap which allows you to record a fullscreen video, a window or a specific region in forehand and afterwards allows you to change the video output resolution, fps and format (MP4, WebM or GIF).

I think implementing this in some way would be awesome for people doing a lot of quick videos. (I for example do code handovers with video examples so it's easier to see my feature or change in action).

I could even see this tool in some form in combination with the new Snipping Tool.

In the meantime I'd suggest ShareX, it's a really good Screenshot tool but it's always a hassle to setup.

[dprice000]

Hi, It looks like there have been a lot of great alternatives suggested. If the project is still looking to add this to PowerToys, I would be interested in contributing.

I talked to @crutkas a little offline and it was suggested that I reach out on here. @crutkas suggested reaching out to ScreenToGif devs to look into integration.

I do not have extensive experience with video formats. Basic things like capturing, cropping, or adding text should be reasonable. If not I can always work on the UI and integration with PowerToys UI/Configuration.

Would the first step be to reach out to ScreenToGif?

[bdbch]

@dprice809 @crutkas what do you guys think about ShareX by @Jaex?

[crutkas]

@dprice809 i will reach out

[crutkas]

@bdbch without a doubt, i bet working with @Jaex and the ShareX team would be great but the license their project uses would cause an issue with our license.

[GoodClover]

GIF is a very outdated format, and dosen't have very good compression or quality.
I recommend making it use support video formats and it becoming a general screen recorder or using something like APNG or the GIFV metaformat.

Ideally all of them could be supported, but I don't think having its main focus as GIF files is a good idea.

[bdbch]

GIF is still the most supported format of all of them (all browsers, all kind of apps they can be shared to, etc.)

I agree options for APNG, WEBP/WEBM or GIFV could be added on top but GIFs should be the most basic implementation for this.

[robsonsobral]

I just discovered this is already available on Wind10. May it be moved from the ridiculous tools hidden behind WIN+G?

[crutkas]

video recording kind of is but Win+G really is aimed at gaming, not the scenarios we're trying to discuss here. I think a good question is why isn't that more accessible to non-gaming scenarios

[robsonsobral]

video recording kind of is but Win+G really is aimed at gaming, not the scenarios we're trying to discuss here. I think a good question is why isn't that more accessible to non-gaming scenarios

Oh, I agree. My point is that the tool is already there. Maybe it's an easier starting point.

[Blakeinstein]

A point to note is the availability of steps recorder. Allowed users to build html based steps as a series of images with instructions.

[eguif]

I liked the screentogif for being simpler to use compared to screenx

Will you use screentogif as a base?

[checkdigits]

Another vote from me for looking at ScreenToGif and somehow merging that functionality with PowerToys. For me ScreenToGif is ridiculously easy to use with a few quirks (exporting the video could be better, for example). I've used it for a whole bunch of purposes and it's rock-solid, has a great feature set with superb functionality.

[crutkas]

@checkdigits, we want to propose what we're going to build, not the underlying tech. that comes after everyone gives what we are proposing a green light 👍

[mdtauk]

I just wanted to add, that I think the ability to choose a region of the screens to "capture" would be useful. (If only for making gifs for GitHub repos to demonstrate things.)

You could also consider conversion and cropping of WIN+G videos to create an animated gif from it. At the moment I have used this site for converting video mock ups to embeddable gifs.
https://ezgif.com/video-to-gif

Snip and Sketch / Snipping Tool allows you to drag to select the bounds - in addition to this, I would like to suggest you display the width and height being selected during this process.

[Blakeinstein]

Can we also integrate the Steps Recorder that windows already has? It generates HTML but It would be great if the screenshots could be small gifs, that the user can press hotkeys to record and then break into a new step.

[Droyk]

I see no one mentioned gif.ski
https://github.com/ImageOptim/gifski
https://github.com/sindresorhus/Gifski
initially build for macOS but the dev added support for windows albeit only CLI but provides great functionality
Also, check out https://github.com/mifi/editly, https://terminalizer.com/

& since no one mentioned this I would also like to request a precise trimming tool to skim the fluff from the things that I'm gonna record & top it off with a segment merger that will gonna save so much time!
otherwise, it would be half-baked without these! Users would be lookin' for alternatives it would be best for everyone involved to provide these 3 things from the very start and then see what else you want to add to make the power toy better!

@crutkas see if this helps to make the best version of the requested feature!

[jayarjo]

What happened to this effort, any plans to finalize?

[TheYarin]

Yeah, any updates regarding this feature? Is there any way to contribute to it? This feature would be really useful and will significantly bump the popularity of PowerToys.

[sebastiangraz]

TBH I think this belongs in Windows itself, not as a powertoy.

Capturing a video (inc GIF) should be as easy as pressing Print Screen (note, I am aware of Gamebar, but Gamebar is complex and weird to use for desktop apps)

While I completely agree it should be natively integrated, just like MacOS. I have a feeling we could be waiting a long time. Especially when MS just acquired Clipchamp with overlapping recording features. I'm thinking that if PowerToys builds this utility well, it could be used as a baseline for the native integration down the line.

When we do get a native screen recorder, then PowerToys' version could also cater to more advanced use-cases such as compression settings, trimming timelines etc.

[Aaron-Junker]

A video screen recorder is coming to Snipping Tool: https://youtu.be/aWP1gHoDoOw

[crutkas]

[RoyiAvital]

If you do implement this, please also support WMV for Video Screen it has amazing quality with the smallest file size.

[crutkas]

This is now being added into Windows :)

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/08/screen-recording-in-snipping-tool-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/

[inoyakaigor]

@crutkas what about Win 10 users?

[Aaron-Junker]

@crutkas what about Win 10 users?

It will also be backported to Windows 10. Snipping Tool can be downloaded from the Microsoft store

[RoyiAvital]

@Aaron-Junker , Are there details about the format of the video used? Parameters?
Is there an option to use WMV for Video Screen?

[Droyk]

This is now being added into Windows :)

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/08/screen-recording-in-snipping-tool-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/

I am not sure, @crutkas the outcome does not seem to be the resolution that we had hoped for. While it has been implemented, many of us desired something more advanced, at least at a professional level, which would take years for Windows to incorporate natively.

[Droyk]

@crutkas & right now it only seems to be for win11, & not 10!

[TBBle]

It's not released for general Windows 11 users either right now, it's still Insiders-only, i.e. opt-in pre-release OS testers.

[sebastiangraz]

This is now being added into Windows :)
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2022/12/08/screen-recording-in-snipping-tool-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/

I am not sure, @crutkas the outcome does not seem to be the resolution that we had hoped for. While it has been implemented, many of us desired something more advanced, at least at a professional level, which would take years for Windows to incorporate natively.

Disagreed. The native recorder is in my opinion meant to be a tool to quickly record something on your screen for sharing. It should have reasonable defaults but any customization beyond that and you are looking at a different tool/use-case altogether. Same way there are “advanced” screenshot softwares.

I’ll also add that MacOS is a great baseline in terms of amount of features, simple timeline cropping, mouse click visualized yes/no, audio on/off, crop/window/display recording and that’s it.

[Jay-o-Way]

many of us desired something more advanced, at least at a professional level,

Yeah, there's plenty of pro software available

[Droyk]

@sebastiangraz It should have reasonable defaults but any customization beyond that and you are looking at a different tool/use-case altogether. Same way there are “advanced” screenshot software.

Hmm, "reasonable defaults" but, let's be real here, Microsoft's track record doesn't give us much hope that they'll be able to deliver something better. And I'm not asking for advanced professional functions, just basic features that 90% of normal users like me use advanced tools for. We need a recording tool that can keep up with our demands and provide better results. What's the point of creating a simple recording tool if the majority of users won't even touch it? Instead, we should focus on creating something that is better than what's already available in the market. Why waste time creating a simple native software when something shiny, better, and faster already exists? By making a feature-rich recording tool that normal people like me can use for their day-to-day tasks, you're ensuring a solution that truly meets the needs of your users. Anything less would be a disservice to them."

I’ll also add that MacOS is a great baseline in terms of amount of features, simple timeline cropping, mouse click visualized yes/no, audio on/off, crop/window/display recording and that’s it.

I'm not a macOS user but whenever I try their stuff I always get this sense of amazement. they always seem to think about the end user in mind. on how to maximize productivity, and efficiency & proceed in that direction whereas it's completely the other way around for windows!

many of us desired something more advanced, at least at a professional level,

@Jay-o-Way Yeah, there's plenty of pro software available

Yes, plenty of advanced tools exist but the reason you choose this coz now don't have to remain up to date with multiple other software's. waste your time on them when you can just update one software & get what is needed. instead of having to go through the hassle of finding, downloading, and installing each tool separately, Power Tools provides all the tools you need in one convenient package. Not only that, but all the tools in the package are compatible with each other and have a consistent look and feel, making them easy to use and navigate.
power toys maximized productivity, convenience & consistency that's what I want for this feature too!

[blogcraft]

Wish a GIF screen recorder was in the making...