Steps Recorder a Secret Feature of Windows 10, 8 and 7

Steps Recorder a Useful Hidden Feature of Windows 10, 8, and 7

There are several features present in Windows and a few of them are secret. An ordinary user would not aware of these secret features. And many times a user uses Third Party Tools for a specific purpose, while that purpose could be fulfilled with the help of the existing feature present in Windows. "Steps Recorder" is one such feature of Windows.

What is Steps Recorder (PSR) Feature of Windows, and how it helps you?

Steps Recorder, as the name itself, is telling. This is a feature which records every move of the user, and not only records the moves, but also generates a description of those moves. Its comparison with any 'Screenshot capturing tool' would be absolutely unjust, because it is more than that. Not only for professionals, but Steps Recorder is also very helpful for the common users. It can be used for different actions. Such as, you can create your own "How to / Step by Step Guides". If you want to tell someone, that how to perform a specific task. Then with the help of Steps Recorder, you can easily show and explain him step by step. If you are experiencing an issue on your computer, you could tell the expert about that issue step by step. And especially when it's difficult to describe the problem by speaking or writing. In such a situation, nothing could work better than the Steps Recorder. One more advantage of Steps Recorder is that it also provides the exact versions of the used programs during the recording.

Recommended:- Create Windows Desktop Shortcut For Any Program File Folder

Things to know about Steps Recorder:

Some friends must be thinking that Steps Recorder is a new feature released with Windows 10 and was not available in the previous Windows. So I must tell you that this is not a new feature. It is also present in Windows 7 and 8. Windows 10 users can find out this program in the start menu, and Windows 8 users can check it out in the all applications under the start screen. But in Windows 7 there is no shortcut to access Steps Recorder, and that's why the most of the Windows 7 users do not know about it. In Windows 7 it is called 'Problem Steps Recorder', and users can access it only through the command line. Steps Recorder is not available for the Windows released before of Windows 7, such as Vista and XP.

How to Access Steps Recorder in Windows 10, 8 and 7:

Steps Recorder can be accessed by simply using the command ‘psr’. Open Run or the Search box and type 'PSR' in it, then hit Enter. This will work for Windows 10, 8, 8.1 and 7.

You can also open Steps Recorder from the shortcut available in Windows 10 Start Menu. And in Windows 8 or 8.1, go to All Applications under the Start Screen and find out the Steps Recorder program there. But in Windows 7, there is no shortcut available to access Steps Recorder. In Windows 7, Steps Recorder can be only accessed by the command line.

Step by Step Guide to Use built in Steps Recorder in Windows 10, 8 and 7:

Step 1: Open 'Run' using Win + R, then type 'psr' and hit enter.

Step 2: A new small rectangular window named 'STEPS RECORDER' will appear. It has a very simple interface with three available options, the start record, stop record, and add comment. To start recording, click on 'Start Record'. You can pause and resume the recording anytime, using the 'Pause Record’ button.

Step 3: Now the steps recording will be started. Whenever you click any of the mouse buttons or use the keyboard keys, the Steps Recorder will capture that click and generate its description. Note it will not record the strokes on alphanumeric keys.

Step 4: (Optional) During the recording, if you want to add some text to a specific step, just click on 'Add Comment' in the steps recorder, then select the screen area to highlight any portion using click and drag. And then type your text/message in the comments box and click on 'OK'. Here it will catch every keystroke including the alphanumeric keys.

If you want to select the entire screen, click anywhere on the blank space on the desktop. In addition to click and drop, if you need to select the entire window of a specific program, you can also do that by clicking at the corner of that program's window. This works only in Windows 10 and 8.

Step 5: When you complete the recording of your steps and want to stop it, click on the 'Stop Record' button.

Step 6: Now Steps Recorder will close and a new window appears, in which you can see all your recorded steps along with their descriptions. On the top you can see 2 buttons 'New Recording' and 'Save', click on 'Save' first if you want to start recording a new session. Then click on 'New Recording'. If you start new recording without saving your current recording, then it will be lost.

Step 7: After clicking on save choose a file name and the path and then click on 'Save' on the bottom. Now Steps recorder will save your recorded session as a mhtml document (.mht) inside in a zip file. You can open this .mhtml document in Internet explorer, Edge browser or in Microsoft word.

Extra Available Options in Problem Steps Recorder that Works in Windows 10, 8, and 7:

1. Steps Recorder allows you to set the output file name and path before starting the Steps Recording. By doing this, the chances to lose the recording will be Zero, but you will have to do this every time before starting the recording.
2. You can set the number of screen captures to store. By default it is 25, you can increase or decrease it as per your requirement.
3. You have the option to enable or disable screen capture. By default, it is enabled. Steps Recorder will not save the screenshots of your steps if you disable it. It will just provide the description with a message saying ‘No screenshots were saved for this problem step’. But if you add a comment, then it takes the screenshot no matter that you have disabled the screen capture.
4. You can Review your recorded steps as a slide show. After saving the Recorded session, open the saved .htm file in Internet Explorer or Edge Browser. Now you can see the available options just above the ‘Problem Steps’. Click on the 2nd option ‘Review the recorded problem steps as a slide show’. It will start the slideshow of your recorded steps.
5. You can also save the screenshots of your recorded session separately. Open your recorded session, then right click on the screenshot which you want to save, and then 'save picture as'.

Recommended:- Backup Google Chrome Firefox Data when Windows Doesn't Start

Step by Step Guide to Change the Settings in Problem Steps Recorder program.

All the settings you adjust in Steps Recorder are temporary and they go back to the defaults when you close or reopen Steps Recorder program.

Step 1: Open Steps Recorder and Press Alt + G, or you can also select the settings located just next to the Help icon of Steps Recorder.

Step 2: Now click on 'Settings'.

Step 3: In the settings window, you can see the 3 available options. The output file, screen capture, and the number of recent screen captures to store. Set any of the options as per your requirement.

Step 4: After selecting the options, click 'OK' and start recording.


So now it’s your turn. Do you learn anything new from this guide? Was this helpful to you? Leave comments, I love to hear you.