Windows 7: Problem Steps Recorder

   Information

You can use Problem Steps Recorder to automatically capture the steps you take in Windows 7, including a text description of where you clicked and a screen shot during each click. Once you capture these steps, you can save them to a .zip file containing a .mht (MHTML) file of them. This file can then be used by a support professional or someone else helping you with a computer problem. If you like you can use it as a sort of Slide Show type demo to.

   Note

When you record steps on your computer, anything you type will not be recorded. If what you type is an important part of recreating the problem you're trying to solve, use the Add Comment button (step 6) while recording to add text to highlight where the problem is occurring.

   Warning

Some programs, like a full-screen game, might not be captured accurately.

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. In the search line, type psr.exe and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

3. To Adjust the Settings

A) Click the help down arrow, and then click on Settings. (See screenshot below)

B) You can change the following settings for Problem Steps Recorder: (See screenshot below)

• Output Location - To make it easier to find the files you save, click the Browse button to set a default location for the Problem Steps Recorder files.
• Enable screen capture - If you don't want to capture the screen shots along with the click information, select No. This might be a consideration if you are taking screen shots of a program that contains personal information, such as bank statements, and you are sharing the screen shots with someone else.
• Number of recent screen captures to store - While the default is 25 screens, you can increase or decrease the number of screen shots. Problem Steps Recorder only records the default number of screen shots. For example, if you took 30 screen shots during a recording but only had 25 screen shots as the default, you would be missing the first five screen shots. In this case, you would want to increase the number of default screen shots.

C) When done, click on OK. (See screenshot below)

4. To Start Recording Screenshots

A) When ready to record, click on the Start Record button. (See screenshot below)

5. On your computer, go through the steps to reproduce the problem. You can pause the recording at any time, and then resume it later.
NOTE: As you click screenshots are being recorded. You will see a red dot while you click to indicate this.

6. To Add a Comment

A) Click on the Add Comment button. (See screenshot below)

B) Use your mouse to highlight the part of the screen that you want to comment on, type your text in the Highlight Problem and Comment box, and then click OK. (See screenshot below)

7. To Stop Recording

A) When you are done recording, click on the Stop Record button. (See screenshot below)

8. To Save the Recording

A) In the Save As dialog box, navigate to where you want to save the .zip file containing the .mht (MHTML) file of your recording. Type in a name for the file, and then click on Save. (See screenshot below)

9. When done close the Problem Steps Recorder window. (See screenshot below)