Before you record content, you should set your Recording Key and Sound Pause key preferences (Tools, Preferences) if you do not want to use the defaults.
When you select New Topic or New topic with sound on the Record It! home page, the Recorder starts.
Record It! uses automatic recording to record a system process and to keep errors to a minimum. In this mode, every action after you press PRINTSCREEN (default recording key) on the keyboard is recorded until you press PRINTSCREEN again. Only two PRINTSCREENS are necessary to capture the information for all frames, one to start recording and one to end the recording. When you press PRINTSCREEN at the beginning of the topic, the Recorder captures each screen and its associated action until you press PRINTSCREEN again to complete the recording. As you record a topic, you may inadvertently capture the wrong action; these recorded frames will have to be edited out in the Topic Editor.
Note: Point events are not recorded when using the automatic recording mode because there is no way to record the action without an event such as a mouse click. For example, when you click on a menu then move your cursor to a menu item that opens a submenu. No action occurs until you click on the submenu item.
Before you begin recording, the Recorder displays instructions for you to press PRINTSCREEN to start recording and press PRINTSCREEN again to stop recording. The recorder is hidden after the first PRINTSCREEN so it is not recorded with the application.
Deskband Controls
After pressing PRINTSCREEN to start the recording, a deskband appears in the bottom right corner of the Windows taskbar. The deskband contains several controls that allow you to perform the additional actions during the recording process.
Note: If Record It! is configured to record sound, the camera sound that occurs when recording a frame is disabled so that it is not part of the recording.
Opens the Notes dialog box for adding comments. You can also add new comments or edit existing comments made during the recording after you save your work. The Add a Note button pauses sound and the recording of all user actions (mouse events, keystrokes, and so on) while the note is being entered. When the note is saved, sound and recording events resume and the Recorder returns to automatic recording mode. Note that if you add notes while recording, the action and screenshot are captured as they occur so clicking the note button always applies the note to the next frame.
The Pause button allows you to temporarily stop the recording and sound to perform steps that you do not wish to include in the recording.
The Record button displays when the recording is paused. Click the Record button to resume recording actions and sound.
This button has no function in Record It!. Record It! uses your system sound settings, which should be set before launching Record It!.
This is a visual scale depicting the recording level. Levels range from no color (no recording level), through Green, Dark Green, Yellow and Red (Very High recording level).
This visual indicator appears when a screenshot is taken. This space on the deskband also displays the type of context being recorded.
When you are finished recording, the topic opens in the Record It! Editor where you can save your work. When saving, you are prompted for a name and location where you want to save the topic. You can then distribute your topic files to any content author that has access to the Developer.
To create a topic without sound using Record It!:
Click the New topic link. The Recorder opens.
Activate the application you wish to record.
Press PRINTSCREEN to start the recording and capture the first screen.
Perform each action necessary to complete the task you wish to record.
When you have finished performing the steps in the topic, press PRINTSCREEN to stop the recording. The topic opens in the Record It! Editor.
To create a topic with sound using Record It!:
Note: Record It! uses the system sound settings. These must be set before you launch the recording of a topic.
Click the New topic with sound link.
Activate the application you wish to record.
Press PRINTSCREEN to record sound for the Start Screen.
Record the sound for the Start (Introduction) Screen.
Press PRINTSCREEN a second time to start the capturing the topic steps.
Record the sound for the first step.
Perform the action for the first step.
Continue recording the sound and performing actions to complete the task you wish to record.
Press PRINTSCREEN a third time to stop recording. The topic opens in the Record It! Editor.
To save a new topic:
In the Record It! Editor, on the File menu, choose Save.
Opens the Notes dialog box for adding comments. You can also add new comments or edit existing comments made during the recording after you save your work. The Add a Note button pauses sound and the recording of all user actions (mouse events, keystrokes, and so on) while the note is being entered. When the note is saved, sound and recording events resume and the Recorder returns to automatic recording mode. Note that if you add notes while recording, the action and screenshot are captured as they occur so clicking the note button always applies the note to the next frame. 
The Pause button allows you to temporarily stop the recording and sound to perform steps that you do not wish to include in the recording.
The Record button displays when the recording is paused. Click the Record button to resume recording actions and sound.
This button has no function in Record It!. Record It! uses your system sound settings, which should be set before launching Record It!. 
This is a visual scale depicting the recording level. Levels range from no color (no recording level), through Green, Dark Green, Yellow and Red (Very High recording level).
This visual indicator appears when a screenshot is taken. This space on the deskband also displays the type of context being recorded. 
To create a topic without sound using Record It!: