I’m amazed at how many people aren’t aware of or don’t use Autodesk Screencast. It’s a free, screen recording utility from Autodesk but it;s also a lot more.
While Screencast will record any application, a number of Autodesk applications have a lot tighter integration. Here’s some of the additional things Screencast will do that most other screen recording applications miss when you capture from an Autodesk application…
- Record and display characters typed during playback
- Record and display mouse picks (e.g. left button, right button, etc.) and movements during playback
- Display product(s) and versions used during playback
- Display commands used
- List commands used during playback
- List system variables/Settings changed during playback
- List dialog boxes displayed during playback
- Unlimited cloud storage (no limit that I could find)
- Store recordings in Private, Unlisted or Public modes
- Public recordings can be used as search results in Autodesk’s Knowledge Network search results.
- Embed Screencast into web pages
- Easily download your recordings video
Not all Autodesk applications have as much details as others (AutoCAD records a lot of data, Navis less data).
While you can use Screencast for the typical uses of any screen recording software like training, where I think it really shines is in support both internal and external, If you’ve ever had your users unable to reproduce a problem while you were looking, this gives them a good way to get that information to you. Additionally, you can see exactly what they are/are not typing and picking in the even there’s a very nuanced user interface interaction they’re missing that you pickup on or that they are having a hard time communicating.
I especially like using Screencast when submitting Support tickets to Autodesk. They are easily able to see what I see and what I type and pick eliminating a lot of unnecessary Email communication about steps to reproduce. This alone makes Screencast worth it’s weight in gold because it cuts down on the non-value added time spent during the support process. The Autodesk tech immediately sees everything and can jump start their troubleshooting and/or research.
You can download and learn more about Screencast from this link.