How to Use Problem Steps Recorder in Windows
How to Use Problem Steps Recorder in Windows GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > Windows 68 68 people found this article helpful
This is an unusually small, rectangular program, and it often appears near the top of the screen. It could be easy to miss depending on what you already have open and running on your computer. Close any open windows other than Steps Recorder. The tool will make screenshots of what's on your computer screen and include those in the recording you save and then send off for support. Unrelated open programs in the screenshots could be distracting. Before you start the recording, think about the process involved in producing whatever issue you're trying to demonstrate. For example, if you're seeing an error message when saving a new Microsoft Word document, you would want to make sure you're ready to open Word, type a few words, navigate to the menu, save the document, and then, hopefully, see the error message pop up on the screen. In other words, you should be prepared to properly reproduce whatever problem you're seeing so Steps Recorder can catch it in action. Select Start Record. Another way to start recording is with the Alt+A hotkey on your keyboard, but this only works if the program is "active" (i.e., it was the last program you clicked on). Steps Recorder will now log information and take a screenshot every time you complete an action, like a mouse click, finger tap, program opening or closing, etc. You can tell when it's recording when the Start Record button changes to a Pause Record button. Complete whatever steps necessary to show the problem you're having. If you need to pause the recording for some reason, select Pause Record. Use Resume Record to continue without fully stopping. During a recording, you can also press the Add Comment button to highlight a section of your screen and manually add a comment. This is really useful if you'd like to point out something specific that's occurring on the screen to the person who's helping you out. Select Stop Record to quit recording your actions. Once stopped, you'll see the results of the recording in a report that appears below the original Steps Recorder window. In early versions of this tool, you may be first prompted to save the recorded steps. If so, in the File name: textbox on the Save As window that appears, give a name to this recording and then press the Save button. Skip to Step 10. Assuming the recording looks helpful, and you don't see anything sensitive in the screenshots like passwords or payment information, it's time to save the recording. Choose Save and then, in the File name: textbox on the Save As window that appears next, name the recording and then select Save. A single ZIP file containing all of the information recorded by Steps Recorder will be created and saved to your Desktop unless you chose a different location. You can now close the program.
How to Use Steps Recorder
Document computer issues in Windows with Steps Recorder
By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on July 20, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying GuideWhat to Know
Press Win+R > enter psr command > close everything but Steps Recorder > prepare to to recreate issue.Next, select Start Record > perform actions to recreate issue > select Stop Record when done.Next, make sure recording shows issue > check for sensitive information > Save > name file and Save. This article explains how to use Steps Recorder (formerly called Problem Steps Recorder or PSR,) in Windows 10, 8, and 7.How to Use Steps Recorder
The primary reason to use Steps Recorder is to document a process that leads to an error, which can then be shown to a tech expert for assistance. To get started: Open the Start menu or the Run dialog box (WIN+R or with the Power User Menu in Windows 10/8). Enter the following command to immediately open Steps Recorder: psrThis is an unusually small, rectangular program, and it often appears near the top of the screen. It could be easy to miss depending on what you already have open and running on your computer. Close any open windows other than Steps Recorder. The tool will make screenshots of what's on your computer screen and include those in the recording you save and then send off for support. Unrelated open programs in the screenshots could be distracting. Before you start the recording, think about the process involved in producing whatever issue you're trying to demonstrate. For example, if you're seeing an error message when saving a new Microsoft Word document, you would want to make sure you're ready to open Word, type a few words, navigate to the menu, save the document, and then, hopefully, see the error message pop up on the screen. In other words, you should be prepared to properly reproduce whatever problem you're seeing so Steps Recorder can catch it in action. Select Start Record. Another way to start recording is with the Alt+A hotkey on your keyboard, but this only works if the program is "active" (i.e., it was the last program you clicked on). Steps Recorder will now log information and take a screenshot every time you complete an action, like a mouse click, finger tap, program opening or closing, etc. You can tell when it's recording when the Start Record button changes to a Pause Record button. Complete whatever steps necessary to show the problem you're having. If you need to pause the recording for some reason, select Pause Record. Use Resume Record to continue without fully stopping. During a recording, you can also press the Add Comment button to highlight a section of your screen and manually add a comment. This is really useful if you'd like to point out something specific that's occurring on the screen to the person who's helping you out. Select Stop Record to quit recording your actions. Once stopped, you'll see the results of the recording in a report that appears below the original Steps Recorder window. In early versions of this tool, you may be first prompted to save the recorded steps. If so, in the File name: textbox on the Save As window that appears, give a name to this recording and then press the Save button. Skip to Step 10. Assuming the recording looks helpful, and you don't see anything sensitive in the screenshots like passwords or payment information, it's time to save the recording. Choose Save and then, in the File name: textbox on the Save As window that appears next, name the recording and then select Save. A single ZIP file containing all of the information recorded by Steps Recorder will be created and saved to your Desktop unless you chose a different location. You can now close the program.