XnView Software

For explaining and reproducing bugs a video showing the steps can be very helpful.

Can someone recommend a screen capturing software with the following spec:
- Windows platform. Optional: MacOS and Linux
- Captures and shows mouse clicks and mouse double-clicks
- Simple to install
- Simple to use
- Standard video format
- Created videos should not be too large in size
- optional: Can permanently run in background while testing.
- free (if possible)

Note:
In this forum several screen capturing programs like Debut have been introduced but market changes quickly.

I use PicPick for images
but for video Ashampoo Snap 9.0.5 (shareware) or Snap 2017 (freeware) comes to mind.

• Atomi Systems
  • ActivePresenter
    “Record screen, create video demos, video tutorials, and interactive HTML5 training contents”
• BahraniApps
  • GifCam
    “Simple screen-recording gif making app”
  • VClip
    “VClip is a simple tool to capture short video clip + loopback audio (speaker sound) from your screen pixels and speaker waves.”
• Blueberry Software
  • FlashBack Express
    “FlashBack Express is the most advanced free screen recorder on the market, compatible with all versions of Windows. Create high quality, high frame rate movies, demos and tutorials — without a high-spec PC.”
• Bobyte Software
  • AviScreen Classic (@Softpedia)
    “Capture screen activity as video or bitmap images. The unique ‘follow the cursor option’ allows you to zoom in on what’s really happening.”
  • AviSplit Classic (@Softpedia)
    “Avi splitter, video splitter and video joiner”
• Cockos Incorporated
  • LICEcap
    “LICEcap can capture an area of your desktop and save it directly to .GIF (for viewing in web browsers, etc) or .LCF”
• Hyperionics Technology
  • HyperCam (Ad-supported)
    “HyperCam is powerful video capture software that records AVI movies (screencam) directly from your monitor, for software presentations, software training, demos, tutorials, and fun! HyperCam supports text annotations, sound, and screen notes (great for creating automated software demos!). You can also select Frame rate and compression quality prior to video capture. Compatible with 32 bit and 64 bit releases of Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000.”
• Icecream Apps
  • Icecream Screen Recorder
    “Capture screen or take screenshots of the full screen or selected areas. Use "Draw Panel" for instructions, hide desktop icons and much more!”
• jp9000
  • OBS Studio (… as recommended by Erixx haxx :-)
    “Open Broadcaster Software is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Stream to Twitch, YouTube and many other providers or record your own videos with high quality H264 / AAC encoding.”
• Nicke Manarin
  • ScreenToGif
    “Screen, webcam and sketchboard recorder with an integrated editor.”
• Microsoft
  • How to Capture Video Clips in Windows 10
    “Windows 10 has a secret, built-in tool that will help you record video clips of screen activity.”
  • Problems Steps Recorder
    “Steps Recorder (called Problems Steps Recorder in Windows 7), is a program that helps you troubleshoot a problem on your device by recording the exact steps you took when the problem occurred. You can then send this record to a support professional to help them diagnose the problem.”
  • Utility Spotlight: Screenrecorder
    “Screenrecorder is a very easy-to-use screen-to-video capture program, developed on top of Windows Media Encoder, that lets you easily capture what is going on to a small video file, which you can then send via e-mail to the appropriate person.”
  • Community Clips: A fantastic screen casting, feedback and tutorial creation tool
    “If there's a new trick or skill you want to learn in Microsoft Office, but you don't have the time to take a course, check out Community Clips. It offers a portal through which you can easily browse, view, share, and discuss informal ‘how-to-use’ Office videos from around the world. It also gives you the ability to record your own screens and voice, so you can create your own training videos to share.”
  • OneNote: Audio and Video Recording
    “OneNote is a digital notebook. Whether you're at home, in school, or in the office, use OneNote to take notes wherever you go.
    And OneNote automatically saves and synchronizes your notes so you can focus on your thoughts and ideas.”
• Rendersoft Development
  • Wikipedia: CamStudio → Malicious software (… as reported by Gérard 91 :-)
    “CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs).”
• Sketchman Studio
  • Nepflex/Rylstim Screen Recorder (Portable)
    “Recording On-Screen Manipulations to AVI File”
• TechSmith: Previous Release Download Locations
  • SnagIt v7.2.5 (2005)
    “Screen capture and image editing software with automatic web page scrolling, text capture and video capture. Integrates with IE, Word and PowerPoint.”
  • Camtasia Studio v3.1.3 (2006)
    “Easily record and edit videos of screen activity in all multimedia formats, including Macromedia Flash. Stream videos live or distribute by CD-ROM and from the Web.”
• TrustFm
  • Screen2Avi
    “Screen2Avi is a free screen capturer capable to produce screencasts and screenshots from your desktop. Comes with two flavours installable and portable. Produces excellent quality captured screencasts with no effort at all. Screen2Avi can generate avi files editable with Foto2Avi.”
• VideoLAN
  • VLC Media Player: Screen Recording
    “VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.”

XnTriq wrote:

BahraniApps ([url=http://blog.bahraniapps.com/?p=569]GifCam Alternatives[/url]) wrote:Here is a list of GifCam alternatives software, they have the same idea of generating gifs by recording screen, you may find one of them suit your need, or has features GifCam miss, or has better user interface :

• LICEcap
• gooncam
• youtube2gif
• giffingtool
• gifrecorder

• Softpedia: Windows → Multimedia → Video → Video Recording → Free (RSS feed)

Thank you very much for the links to screen video capturing tools, XnTriq. I think I'll find a good one amongst them...

helmut wrote:Thank you very much for the links to screen video capturing tools, XnTriq. I think I'll find a good one amongst them...

Hello, I use "OSB" aka "Open Source Broadcaster". Didn't see it above.
It seems to work good on Windows, best i've tried. Not sure on other platforms though. I think they have a Mac version. Lots of gaming, Twitch people are using it.

You might try it: OSB

Erixx haxx wrote:Hello, I use "OSB" aka "Open Source Broadcaster". Didn't see it above.
It seems to work good on Windows, best i've tried. Not sure on other platforms though. I think they have a Mac version. Lots of gaming, Twitch people are using it.

Thanks Mr. E, I missed an important one!

BTW: I'm still using SnagIt v7.2.5 (covermount freebie).

Thanks Mr. E, I missed an important one!

Not a problem, I just seen it wasn't listed and has been really good to me over the years.

If you want to add it too your awesome bullet list above, Please do.
My little post down here may get overlooked by that thing.

Thanks

Erixx haxx wrote:If you want to add it too your awesome bullet list above, Please do.
My little post down here may get overlooked by that thing.

Done
Thanks again!

Hello
First of all, thank you for all this very interesting information
Secondly a warning on the link given above for Camstudio that lead to "http://camstudio.org/"
I went to sourceforge.net (https://sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio/) site that seems safe to me and found this
---------------
Editor-in-Chief
Malware Notice:

Camstudio.org downloads are known to contain malicious software.
All SourceForge downloads are virus-free. At the time of this writing, there is no malware on SourceForge for CamStudio downloads ... Read more »
----------------
I do not know if this is true, but beware!

Gérard

Gérard 91 wrote: Secondly a warning on the link given above for Camstudio that lead to "http://camstudio.org/"
I went to sourceforge.net (https://sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio/) site that seems safe to me and found this

Thank you for the heads-up, Gérard!

• Wikipedia
  • CamStudio → Malicious software
• VirusTotal
  • Scan report for camstudio.exe (downloaded from cleanhostbits.com via camstudio.org)
  • Scan report for CamStudio_Setup_2-7_r316.exe (downloaded from free.fr via sourceforge.net)

Boilsoft Screen Recorder is available for free today on BitsDuJour
“Boilsoft Screen Recorder is a powerful yet elegant screen-recording software that can help you capture and record and the screen activities into AVI or WMV files, You can even record audio into the video file from any sources, including the microphone, line-in, or speakers.”

Thank's XnTriq for this new proposal
Gérard