How do I use Steps Recorder?
Problem Steps Recorder 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.
Steps Recorder (called Problems Steps Recorder in Windows 7) is available in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 operating systems.
When you record steps on your computer, anything you type will not be recorded. If what you type is an important part of recreating the problem you're trying to solve, use the comment feature described below to highlight where the problem is occurring.
Some programs, like a full-screen game, might not be captured accurately or might not provide useful details to a support professional.
To Record and Save Steps on Your Computer
1. Open Problem Steps Recorder by clicking the Start Menu button, and then type psr.
2. Click Start Record. On your computer, go through the steps on your computer to reproduce the problem.
You can pause the recording at any time, and then resume it later.
3. (Optional) As you record, select Add Comment, use your mouse to select the part of the screen that you want to comment on, type your comment, and then select OK.
4. When you’re done, select Stop Record.
5. Review the record of the steps you followed to make sure it shows what you want it to show. Select Save, name the .zip file, choose where to save it, and then select Save. Now you can attach and send this .zip file to the person helping you troubleshoot the problem on your PC. It can be viewed in any web browser.
To view the record of the steps you recorded, open the .zip file you just saved, and then double-click the file.
The document will open in your browser.
To Adjust Settings
When you adjust settings for Problem Steps Recorder, they're only saved for your current session. After you close and reopen Problem Steps Recorder, it will return to the regular settings.
1. Open Problem Steps Recorder by clicking the Start Menu button, and then type psr.
2. Click the help down arrow
, and then click Settings
3. You can change the following settings for Problem Steps Recorder:
Output Location. If you don't want to be prompted to save a file after recording, click the Browse button to set a default output file name.
Enable screen capture. If you don't want to capture the screen shots along with the click information, select No. This might be a consideration if you are taking screen shots of a program that contains personal information, such as bank statements, and you are sharing the screen shots with someone else. The app will still record a text description of your steps.
Number of recent screen captures to store. While the default is 25 screens, you can increase or decrease the number of screen shots. Problem Steps Recorder only records the default number of screen shots. For example, if you took 30 screen shots during a recording but only had 25 screen shots as the default, you would be missing the first five screen shots. In this case, you would want to increase the number of default screen shots.
Steps Recorder (called Problems Steps Recorder in Windows 7) is available in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 operating systems.
When you record steps on your computer, anything you type will not be recorded. If what you type is an important part of recreating the problem you're trying to solve, use the comment feature described below to highlight where the problem is occurring.
Some programs, like a full-screen game, might not be captured accurately or might not provide useful details to a support professional.
To Record and Save Steps on Your Computer
1. Open Problem Steps Recorder by clicking the Start Menu button, and then type psr.
2. Click Start Record. On your computer, go through the steps on your computer to reproduce the problem.
You can pause the recording at any time, and then resume it later.
3. (Optional) As you record, select Add Comment, use your mouse to select the part of the screen that you want to comment on, type your comment, and then select OK.
4. When you’re done, select Stop Record.
5. Review the record of the steps you followed to make sure it shows what you want it to show. Select Save, name the .zip file, choose where to save it, and then select Save. Now you can attach and send this .zip file to the person helping you troubleshoot the problem on your PC. It can be viewed in any web browser.
To view the record of the steps you recorded, open the .zip file you just saved, and then double-click the file.
The document will open in your browser.
To Adjust Settings
When you adjust settings for Problem Steps Recorder, they're only saved for your current session. After you close and reopen Problem Steps Recorder, it will return to the regular settings.
1. Open Problem Steps Recorder by clicking the Start Menu button, and then type psr.
2. Click the help down arrow
, and then click Settings3. You can change the following settings for Problem Steps Recorder:
Output Location. If you don't want to be prompted to save a file after recording, click the Browse button to set a default output file name.
Enable screen capture. If you don't want to capture the screen shots along with the click information, select No. This might be a consideration if you are taking screen shots of a program that contains personal information, such as bank statements, and you are sharing the screen shots with someone else. The app will still record a text description of your steps.
Number of recent screen captures to store. While the default is 25 screens, you can increase or decrease the number of screen shots. Problem Steps Recorder only records the default number of screen shots. For example, if you took 30 screen shots during a recording but only had 25 screen shots as the default, you would be missing the first five screen shots. In this case, you would want to increase the number of default screen shots.