Screen Recorder Tools

• Screen recorder tools allow you to capture videos of your desktop actions. sot/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  Screen recording tools allow you to take a quick video of anything that you are doing on your laptop. These recordings are perfect if you are teaching a lesson about how to do something. Or, you can send these recordings to IT professionals to show them what steps you took that led you to a particular error message. While most of these tools are free, some do require a fee.

CamStudio

• CamStudio is a free tool released under the GNU General Public License, which allows you to use and share this program without paying a licensing fee. This tool allows you to create a video recording of all the actions on your desktop, and it can even capture any audio associated with those actions. You can save these files either as Streaming Shockwave Flash (SWF) or Audio Video Interleave (AVI) videos. You can use this program to create lessons, demonstration videos or commercial video products. Other features of this tool include the ability to capture video-in-video recordings, and it comes with the Lossless Codec, which allows you to capture high-quality videos at smaller file sizes. You can also choose whether or not you want to record your entire screen or only a section of it.

Jing

• This tool is compatible with both the Windows and Mac operating system, and it allows you to take videos or screenshots of your monitor. A screenshot captures an image of your screen and whatever document or process that you are currently performing. You can then share these videos and screenshots via email, instant messaging or a website, or via social networking sites like YouTube and Twitter. Jing is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, and Mac Operating System (OS) X 10.5.8 or later versions. There is a free version, which offers you a limited number of features. Or, you can purchase the pro version, which costs $14.95 per year as of 2010.

ScreenToaster

• ScreenToaster is a hosted program, which means that you do not need to download anything to use this program, and it is compatible with the Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems. Videos are recorded using Flash technology, and you can share your videos on your blog, website or social networking site, or via email. This is a free program, but you can view a demo version before you start using it. To save your videos, you must create a free account on the website. Then, you simply need to hit the "Record" button to start capturing a video of your desktop.