Recording our computer screen can be useful for various activities, such as show tutorials, tips or any activity we want to share using our computer. Given the demand for this feature, there are several options that use native or third-party apps to get results as accurate as needed. This time we will share the options to record Mac screen without installing anything.
Over the years, Apple has refined its own options for recording Mac screen. Thanks to an integrated application, it is possible to capture sound, mouse clicks, parts of your screen and all kinds of details that are usually needed when viewing actions performed on the device.
How to record the screen of a Mac computer
Record Mac screen with “Screenshot”
One of the more familiar options when it comes to recording Mac screen is relying on the same tool we use to take screenshots. The first thing is to access this function available since macOS 10.14 Mojave and therefore, for the following computers:
- MacBook (early 2015 and later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 and later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 and later)
- Mac mini (late 2012 and later)
- iMac (late 2012 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 model)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010, Mid 2012 models with Metal compatible graphics cards and late 2013)
1. Press Command + Shift + 5.
2. Once in the app “Screenshot” you will see a toolbar at the bottom of the screen. The three options on the left of the toolbar are for screenshots, so you’ll start with the middle two for recording.
3. Select a screen recording button. At this point you can choose between “Record whole screen” or click “Save the selected part”.
4. Once you’ve configured your options, it’s time to save. To do this, press the “Burn” button on the Screen Capture toolbar.
5. To end or pause recording, press “Stop” in the menu bar during the screenshot.
6. At the end of the recording, press “Options” to choose where to save the video.
When using the function “Screenshot” for recording, you can configure some options to improve the accuracy of the result. Between them:
Timer: choose when to start recording: immediately, 5 seconds or 10 seconds after clicking to record.
Microphone: To record your voice or other sound with your recording, choose a microphone.
Show floating thumbnail: choose whether or not to display the thumbnail.
Don’t forget the last selection: Choose whether you want to use the selections you made the last time you used this default tool.
Show mouse clicks: Choose whether or not to display a black circle around your pointer when you click on the recording.
To see the result of this process you can open the recording using the built-in preview program, your favorite video editing app.
Record Mac screen with QuickTime Player
While most of us are familiar with QuickTime Player as a video player developed by Apple, it is also useful for other options such as recording the computer screen. The native program is available in macOS 10.13 High Sierra and later and therefore it is compatible with the following computer models:
- MacBook (late 2009 and later)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 and later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 and later)
- Mac mini (mid 2010 and later)
- iMac (late 2009 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 model) *
- Mac Pro (mid 2010 and later)
1. Open QuickTime Player from your folder “Applications”.
2. Go to File> New Screen Recording from the menu bar and you will see the recording screen.
3. Before you start your recording, you can click the arrow next to the Record button to change the recording settings.
4. To start recording, click on the Burn button. Click anywhere on the screen to start recording the entire screen or drag to select an area to record, then click Start recording in that area.
5. To stop recording, click the button. “Stop” in the menu bar or press Command-Control-Esc (Escape).
After stopping recording, QuickTime Player automatically opens the recording as a .MOV file. Now you can play, edit or share the recording, depending on the desired purpose.
