There are a bunch of screen recorder apps out there to record your Windows 10 screen. But, did you know that Windows 10 has a built-in feature to record the screen? The feature is Xbox Game Bar.
Xbox Gamer Bar is basically designed to allow users to stream and record Xbox games. But, you can also use it to record the screens of non-game apps. Xbox Game Bar will recognize the currently active screen (window) as a game even if it’s technically not a game.
Before being able to use Xbox Game Bar, you need to make sure that this feature is enabled on your Windows 10 system. To do so, open the Windows Settings by clicking the gear icon on the start menu.
On the Windows Settings window, select Gaming.
If you find this feature is enabled, turn it on by sliding the button.
You can now start recording the screen. Open the window of the app you want to record and press the Windows+G keys on the keyboard. In the first use of Xbox Game Bar, you might see the following dialog.
Tick Yes, this is a game to continue. You will then see the Xbox Game Bar overlay on the screen. Click the record button (Windows+Alt+R) to start recording.
If you want, you can also record the audio from your microphone by ticking the Record mic checkbox. To stop the record, click the stop button on the floating bar.
Xbox Game Bar stores your footage to the Captures folder under the Videos folder on your Windows 10 account (C:\Users\User Name\Videos\Captures).
By default, Xbox Game Bar records your screen in the Standard MP4 format with the frame rate of 30 fps. You can change this default format on the Gaming section on the Windows Settings. Click the Game DVR tab on the left panel and look for the Recorded video section.
If you want to capture game footage, make sure the Record in the background while I’m playing a game check box is selected.
Following are some of the keyboard shortcuts you can use in using the Xbox Game Bar feature on Windows 10.
- Windows+G: Open the Game Bar
- Windows+Alt+PrtSc: Take screenshot
- Windows+Alt+G: Record the current screen
- Windows+Alt+R: Start/stop recording
- Windows+Alt+M: Turn on/off the microphone
- Windows+Alt+B: Start/pause broadcast
- Windows+Alt+W: Show camera in broadcast