Camtasia by TechSmith is by far the best screen recorder available today. Unfortunately it also comes with a premium price tag which, while great value to professionals, might not be affordable to everyone. Here is how you can use free Microsoft applications to achieve some thing similar.

What you will need:

  1. Download and install Microsoft Screenrecorder. This is what will be used to record your screen.
  2. Windows Screen Magnifier. This comes included with Windows 7. This is what will allow you to zoom in and zoom out. Note: Aero must be enabled for this to work. To launch it, click Start, type magnifier and press enter. Press Ctrl-Alt-F to switch to fullscreen mode. Then minimize it. Then press Winkey "+" together to Zoom in or Winkey "-" together to Zoom out.
  3. Windows Problem Solver. This comes included with Windows 7. This will make mouse clicks visible. To launch it, click Start, type prs and press enter. To activate it, click the "Start Record" button and minimize it. When you are finished using it, just tell it to stop recording. It will ask you to save a zip file. Just click Cancel. You can enhance mouse visibility further by clicking Start, typing "mouse" and clicking on it in the search results. Then click Pointer Options and modify the Visibility section. Click OK when done.
  4. Download and install Windows Movie Maker. This will enable you to edit the WMV videos created by Microsoft Screenrecorder.

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