If you have ever tried recording your screen on Windows 7 or older, you already know how much of a hassle it used to be. Older versions of the Windows operating system didn’t have native software that allowed users to record videos of their screens or any other screen capture features (except making a screenshot).
As such, users had to download third-party software that allowed them to record their screens, which often wasn’t free, or if it was, it offered poor quality and frequently an additional watermark over the recording.
However, Windows 10 features a native screen recorder functionality in the form of the Xbox Game Bar. This feature is extremely easy to use and allows users to record high-quality videos of their screens - not only in games, but in any other applications as well.
Below, you’ll learn how to screen record on Windows 10, along with tips, customizing settings, and all the other relevant information.
Recording your screen on Windows 10 with the Xbox Game Bar
The easiest solution for recording your screen on Windows 10 is by using the Xbox Game Bar. To open the Xbox Game Bar, press the Windows key + G at the same time. The Windows key is located in the bottom left corner of your keyboard, between the Control and Alt keys. A prompt might pop up asking you whether the application you’re trying to record is a game - even if it isn’t, check the “Yes, this is a game” box.
An overlay should be displayed over your screen now, on which you’ll notice a bunch of windows, including audio settings, detailed information about your PC’s performance, a top bar, and possibly some others. In the top left corner of the screen, you’ll see one window with screen record options available - from there, you can take a screenshot, start recording your screen, and set whether your microphone should also record sound during the recording. There is also a button that allows you to quickly access any past recording if you need to.
Once you click the record button, you’ll see another small window pop up on the right side of the screen with more options. From this point on, your screen is being recorded, along with your voice from the microphone if you enabled it. To stop the recording, you can press the Stop button on this little bar - it will stay open even after closing the Xbox Game Bar.
There is also a way to just start recording without having to manually open the Xbox Game Bar. Simply press the Windows key + Alt + R to start recording your screen on Windows 10, and then press it again whenever you want the recording to stop.
Where are screen recording videos saved on Windows 10?
To access your saved videos, you’ll have to navigate to the Videos folder and a subfolder named Captures. You can find this folder by accessing This PC shortcut on your desktop, or by opening the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen and clicking the Documents icon on the left. A window will open - click “This PC” in the navigation bar on top of the window, and then select the Video's folder from there. The Capture subfolder should be located inside.
You can also access your recordings from the Xbox app directly. If you can’t locate the Xbox app, simply type “Xbox” into the Start menu, and you should be able to find it with ease. Check the Game DVR menu for all your past game screen recordings. There, you can also trim and edit the video, as well as share it on Xbox Live and other platforms.
How to change screen recording settings on Windows 10?
Now we know how to record our screens on Windows 10 whenever we want - but what if the recording quality isn’t what we would like it to be? Or if we want to change the save location for recording files?
Don’t worry - the record screen feature in Windows 10 is fully customizable! You can change a variety of settings and personalize them to your preference. The default settings should be enough for most users, but just in case you want to change things up, here’s how to do it.
First, access the Settings menu from the Start menu (a little gear icon on top of the Power button). From there, choose the Gaming section and select Captures to access the screen recording settings. You can also access the Xbox Game Bar settings from the Gaming menu, allowing you to customize keyboard shortcuts however you like.
Once you’re in the Captures menu, you’ll see a variety of settings you can tinker with. On top of the settings windows, you’ll find the save location of your recordings - you can change it to whatever you like if you want to, in case you want to save disk space on your system partition, or just make them easier to access in a different folder.
A bit lower, you’ll find the Background Recording option - enabling this will make Windows 10 automatically record the last 30 seconds of your screen. This is especially useful for games - whenever something cool happens, you can simply press the Windows key + G to open the Xbox Game Bar and save the last 30 seconds into a recording- no more missed opportunities for cool clips!
Below, you’ll find more options to customize, including the max recording length, whether you want to capture audio, the video frame rate (30 fps is the default, but you can easily change it to 60 fps for smoother video), video quality, and more!
Can you record your whole screen on Windows 10?
Unfortunately, using the Xbox Game Bar to record your screen, you can only record a single app at a time. A third-party app will require a third-party app to record the entire desktop with all the windows, allowing you to swap between the windows while recording.
You can choose one of the many free apps available for Windows for screen recordings, like OBS Studio or Streamlabs. Both apps feature additional functionality that the Xbox Game Bar does not, including saving your videos to the cloud, streaming directly to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms (possibly all of them at the same time), as well as adding various overlays on top of your recording.