Screen Recording on a Mac

MacOS operating systems have the ability to record a video file that includes a microphone input and the computer screen, allowing you to record a presentation application along with audio narration.

Screen Recording on a Mac Computer

  1. Open the presentation software (for example PowerPoint) on your computer.
  2. Press the Command + Shift + 5 keys on the keyboard to open the MacOS record options panel.
  3. Select the Record Entire Screen option. (You can also choose to record just a portion of the screen.)
MacOS record options panel
  1. Click the Options button and select a microphone from the pop-up menu. Be sure that the Show Floating Thumbnail is checked.
MacOS screen recording selecting microphone options
  1. Click the Record button to begin recording.
  2. Deliver your presentation and click the Stop button in the upper, right corner of the screen to end the recording.
MacOS screen recording stop button
  1. Click on the thumbnail of the video that appears in the lower, left corner of the screen to open a preview window. (If you see a file rather than a thumbnail, right-click or control-click the file to reveal a pop-up menu.  Choose Quick Actions à Trim.)
MacOS screen recording floating thumbnail
  1. To remove any extra material at the beginning and the end of the video, click the Trim button and drag the yellow trim bars to select the area of the video you wish to keep.
MacOS-screen recording trim button
MacOS screen recording trim handles
  1. Click the Done button to save the video as a .mov file.

Screen Recording on an iPhone or iPad

For information about screen recording on an iPhone or iPad, see Apple’s support article, Recording the screen on your iPhone, iPad, or iPad Touch.

Updated on September 22, 2023

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