Screen Recording

Screen Recording

CyberSnap can record your screen to MP4 (video) or GIF (animated image) format. A built-in video trimmer allows you to cut recordings after capture.

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Recording Modes

MP4 Recording

Records to H.264 MP4 format. Ideal for:

• Software demonstrations
• Bug reports
• Tutorial creation
• Meeting recordings

GIF Recording

Records directly to animated GIF format. Ideal for:

• Short demonstrations
• Social media sharing
• Inline documentation
• Quick visual instructions

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Starting a Recording

1. Trigger recording via hotkey (MP4 or GIF, separate hotkeys), tray menu, or widget
2. Select the recording region on screen
3. A floating recording bar appears next to the region with two phases:
   • Ready — Start, FPS selector, trimmer toggle, Cancel
   • Recording — Pause/Resume, Stop, Cancel, elapsed time
4. Click Start, then Stop when finished. Pause works for both MP4 and GIF.

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Recording Bar

Full Bar and Mini Bar

• Full bar (~580×58 dip): elapsed time, pause/resume, stop, FPS menu, trimmer toggle, output size + free-disk meter, Cancel
• Mini bar (36 px tall): collapses via the chevron to a compact transport (pause/stop) anchored to the chevron position
• The format badge doubles as the recording indicator (orange for GIF, cyber accent for MP4) with a restrained pulse animation

Behavior

• Draggable — drag the bar anywhere; once you move it, auto-anchoring to the capture region stops
• Auto-hide while aiming — the bar hides while you drag/resize the recording region so it never covers the selection
• Live meters — elapsed time plus output size and free disk space, refreshed at 1 Hz; warns below ~200 MB free
• FPS menu — switch frame rate from the bar (MP4: 15/24/30/60; GIF: 15/30)
• Send to trimmer toggle — choose on the bar whether the finished recording opens the Video Trimmer
• Settings shortcut — open Video & GIF settings directly from the overlay
• Tray LED — the tray icon blinks while capturing/recording

Keyboard During Recording

• Space / Enter are intercepted while recording so they hit the bar (pause/stop) instead of the window underneath
• This prevents accidentally triggering buttons in the app you are recording
• Clicking the bar restores normal Space/Enter handling for that interaction

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Recording Configuration

Video Settings (MP4)

GIF Settings

Audio Sources

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Video Trimmer

After recording (when the trimmer toggle is on), the built-in Video Trimmer opens automatically. You can:

• Preview the recording with playback controls
• Set start/end points to trim unwanted sections
• Scrub through the timeline
• Save trimmed version or discard trim

Preview Size and Zoom

• Previews load at actual size (1:1), small videos stay pixel-exact instead of being stretched
• Oversized videos are contained on first layout so the whole frame is visible; the Fit toggle can still enlarge
• A hover zoom bar fades in over the preview (zoom out / zoom in / fit-toggle / percentage):
  • Range 10–800%, 1.2× per click or wheel notch
  • Click the percentage for actual size (100%), the fit button toggles Fit ↔ Original
  • Ctrl + Plus / Minus / 0 / 1 work the same; drag to pan when zoomed
• Preview volume and export-mute preference are remembered between sessions

Trimmer Tabs

MP4 and GIF files open in one Trimmer window using the same tab bar as Capture Preview. Opening an existing path focuses its tab; dropping several files adds them as tabs. Each file keeps its trim range, playhead, pause state, audio/export mute, loop, precise cut, time display, zoom, and pan.

• Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab: next / previous file.
• Ctrl+W or Esc: close the current tab, with a discard prompt for unsaved trim changes.
• Ctrl+Shift+T: reopen the last closed tab.
• Right-click a tab for Close tab, Close all, and Reopen last closed tab. The title-bar close button closes the window after checking all files.

One preview plays at a time. Switching releases the previous preview's decoded frames and rebuilds the selected preview. Exports keep their originating tab active through encoding and file replacement; incoming files queue as tabs. Save As New loads the exported copy into that same tab. Canceling a close prompt keeps the tabs usable. Accepting close during export waits for cancellation before disposing resources.

Trimmer Controls

Trimming Aids

• Filmstrip — thumbnail timeline under the preview; click any frame to seek
• Waveform — audio strip for MP4 recordings; click to seek, the highlighted span follows the trim range
• Estimates — segment share and output size estimate update live while trimming
• GIF exports use a two-pass palette pass for clean colors
• Drag and drop MP4/GIF files onto the trimmer to open them; the Gallery refreshes after a trim

Keyboard Shortcuts

Space/K play-pause, J or Shift+Left back 1 s, Shift+Right forward 1 s, Left/Right step one frame, Home/End jump to file ends, I/O trim start/end, L loop, P precise cut, R reset, Ctrl+S save as new, Ctrl+T or Enter trim, Esc close the current tab. Tab navigation also works while a time field is focused; other playback shortcuts pause there; zoom keeps its own Ctrl + Plus / Minus / 0 / 1.

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Output and Sharing

MP4 and GIF have separate Clipboard outcome steps. Enabling or disabling auto-copy for one format leaves the other format and screenshots, OCR, QR, and colors unchanged. Configure each under Settings → Video & GIF.

After trimming (or skipping trim):

• The recording is saved to your configured output folder
• A toast notification appears with options to:
  • Open the file
  • Open containing folder
  • Upload to a share provider
  • Copy to clipboard (GIF only)

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Tips for Better Recordings

1. Close unnecessary applications to reduce CPU usage during recording
2. Use a smaller region for higher effective frame rates
3. Plan your recording — use the trimmer to remove setup/teardown
4. MP4 for long recordings — smaller file sizes than GIF
5. GIF for short clips — under 15 seconds for manageable file sizes

Tip: the trimmer, OCR result, preview, Gallery, Settings, Editor, and widget menus all have a Help submenu with a direct link to this page (Wiki: Screen Recording...).