Record iMac Screen: Pro Tips & Tools

How to Record Screen in iMac: A Complete Guide

Do you want to record your screen on your iMac for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, sharing presentations, or capturing gameplay? If so, you might be wondering what the best ways to do it, and what tools and settings you need to use. In this blog post, we will show you how to record screens in iMac using different methods, both native and third-party, and how to optimize your recordings for quality and performance. We will also cover some tips and tricks to make your screen recordings more engaging and effective. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this guide will help you master the art of screen recording on your iMac.

Why Record Screen in iMac?

Screen recording is a useful feature that allows you to capture everything that happens on your iMac screen as a video file. You can use screen recording for various reasons, such as:

Creating tutorials or demos for your products, services, or skills
Sharing presentations or slideshows with your audience or clients
Capturing gameplay or live streams for entertainment or education
Documenting bugs or errors for troubleshooting or feedback
Recording webinars or online meetings for reference or review
Making screencasts or podcasts for content creation or marketing

Screen recording can help you communicate your message more effectively, showcase your expertise or creativity, and enhance your personal or professional brand. However, to get the most out of screen recording, you need to know how to do it properly and what tools and settings to use.

How to Record Screen in iMac Natively

One of the easiest ways to record screens in iMac is to use the built-in tools that come with macOS. There are two main options: the Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player. Both of them can record the entire screen or a selected portion of it, and save the recording as a MOV file. However, they have some differences in terms of features and functionality. Let’s take a look at each option and how to use it.

Using the Screenshot Toolbar

The Screenshot toolbar is a handy tool that allows you to take screenshots and screen recordings on your iMac with just a few clicks. It was introduced in macOS Mojave in 2018 and has been improved with every macOS update since then. To use the Screenshot toolbar, follow these steps:

Press Shift + Command + 5 on your keyboard to open the Screenshot toolbar at the bottom of your screen.
Choose whether you want to record the entire screen or a selected portion of it by clicking on the icons highlighted below.
Before you start recording, click on Options to change the recording settings. You can choose where to save the recording, whether to show mouse clicks, whether to use a timer, and whether to record audio from a microphone.
When you are ready, click on Record to start recording the screen on your iMac.
To stop recording, click on the Stop button in the menu bar or press Command + Control + Esc.
The recording will be saved automatically in the location you chose, and you can preview it by clicking on the thumbnail that appears in the corner of your screen.

The Screenshot toolbar is a simple and convenient way to record screens in iMac without installing any additional software. However, it has some limitations, such as:

It cannot record system audio (the sound coming from your iMac speakers)
It cannot record multiple screens at once (if you have more than one monitor connected)
It cannot edit or trim the recording (you need to use another app for that)

If you need more advanced features for screen recording on your iMac, you might want to try QuickTime Player instead.

Using QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a media player app that comes pre-installed on every Mac. It can also be used as a screen recorder for your iMac, with some additional features that the Screenshot toolbar does not have. To use QuickTime Player as a screen recorder, follow these steps:

Open QuickTime Player from your Applications folder, then choose File > New Screen Recording from the menu bar.
A small window will appear with a Record button and an arrow next to it. Click on the arrow to change the recording settings. You can choose an audio source (such as a microphone or system audio), whether to show mouse clicks, and whether to use high-quality video.
When you are ready, click on the Record button and then take one of these actions:

Click anywhere on the screen to begin recording the entire screen.
Drag to select an area to record, then click Start Recording within that area.

To stop recording, click on the Stop button in the menu bar or press Command + Control + Esc.
The recording will be saved as an untitled MOV file in QuickTime Player. You can preview it, edit it, or save it to a different location or format.

QuickTime Player is a more versatile and powerful tool for screen recording on your iMac than the Screenshot toolbar. It has some advantages, such as:

It can record system audio (if you install a third-party plugin such as Soundflower or iShowU Audio Capture)
It can record multiple screens at once (if you have more than one monitor connected)
It can edit or trim the recording (using the Edit menu or the yellow handles)

However, QuickTime Player also has some drawbacks, such as:

It cannot record a specific window or application (only the entire screen or a selected portion of it)
It cannot record webcam video along with screen video (only audio)
It cannot add annotations or effects to the recording (you need to use another app for that)

If you need more features or flexibility for screen recording on your iMac, you might want to try some third-party apps instead.

How to Record Screen in iMac with Third-Party Apps

There are many third-party apps that you can use to record screens in iMac, each with its own pros and cons. Some of them are free, some of them are paid, and some of them offer both free and paid versions. Here are some of the most popular and reliable ones that you can try:

ScreenFlow

ScreenFlow is a professional screen recording and video editing app for Mac. It is designed for creating high-quality screencasts, tutorials, demos, presentations, and more. ScreenFlow has many features and benefits, such as:

It can record the entire screen, a selected area, a specific window, or a specific application.
It can record system audio, microphone audio, webcam video, and iOS device screens.
It can record multiple screens and multiple audio sources at once.
It has a powerful video editor that allows you to trim, crop, rotate, zoom, pan, add transitions, annotations, effects, captions, and more.
It has a built-in stock media library that offers access to over 500,000 images, videos, audio clips, and more.
It supports various video formats and resolutions, including 4K and 60 FPS.
It has direct export options to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.

ScreenFlow is one of the best screen recording apps for Mac in terms of quality and functionality. However, it is also one of the most expensive ones. ScreenFlow costs $129 for a single license, with optional upgrades and add-ons available. You can also download a free trial version that adds a watermark to your recordings.

Camtasia

Camtasia is another popular screen recording and video editing app for Mac (and Windows). It is similar to ScreenFlow in many ways, but it also has some differences. Camtasia has many features and benefits, such as:

It can record the entire screen, a selected area, a specific window, or a specific application.
It can record system audio, microphone audio, webcam video, and iOS device screens.
It can record multiple screens and multiple audio sources at once.
It has a user-friendly video editor that allows you to trim, crop, rotate, zoom, pan, add transitions, annotations, effects, captions, and more.
It has a built-in stock media library that offers access to over 900,000 images, videos, audio clips, and more.
It supports various video formats and resolutions, including 4K and 60 FPS.
It has direct export options to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.

Camtasia is another great screen recording app for Mac in terms of quality and functionality. However, it is also quite expensive. Camtasia costs $249 for a single license, with optional upgrades and add-ons available. You can also download a free trial version that adds a watermark to your recordings.

OBS Studio

OBS Studio is a free and open-source screen recording and live streaming app for Mac (and Windows and Linux). It is mainly used for broadcasting live video to platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and more. However, it can also be used for recording screens on your iMac. OBS Studio has many features and benefits, such as:

It can record the entire screen, a selected area, a specific window, or a specific application.
It can record system audio, microphone audio, webcam video, and iOS device screens.
It can record multiple screens and multiple audio sources at once.
It has a customizable interface that allows you to arrange different sources, scenes, and filters as you like.
It supports various video formats and resolutions, including 4K and 60

Conclusion:

Recording screens in iMac is a useful skill that can help you with various purposes, such as creating tutorials, sharing presentations, or capturing gameplay. In this blog post, we showed you how to record screens in iMac using two native tools: the Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player. We also introduced some third-party tools that offer more features and functionality, such as system audio recording, multiple screen recording, and video editing. We hope this guide helped you master the art of screen recording on your iMac in 2023 and beyond. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!