There are many reasons why you might want to record your screen on your Google Chromebook, and whatever your reason, you can learn to do so quickly and easily by following our tutorial down below.
For any other queries, see our FAQs at the bottom of the page.
Note: Ensure that you have the latest Chrome OS (OS89 or higher) installed first.
Note: A little frustratingly, Chromebook screen recordings are stored as WEBM files. To convert them to the more readily usable MP4 file-type, we recommend you use an online converter, of which there are many free and reliable ones to choose from.
Table of Contents
How to record your entire screen on your Google Chromebook
- Click the clock/time in the bottom-right corner of your screen’s taskbar
- If the pop-up window is not already fully-expanded, click the little upwards arrow
- From the tools available to you, click the ‘Screen Capture’ icon
- You will now be presented with the varying options for capturing your screen, which as default will be turned to taking pictures rather than video. Tap the video icon (looks like a camcorder) on the left of the toolbar.
- Now select the full-screen icon (there are three icons in the middle of the toolbar, it is the left-most)
- Click the gear-shaped settings icon, and toggle the microphone on or off, depending on whether you do or don’t want audio in your screen recording
- Now, to start recording your full-screen, simply click anywhere on the screen
- There will be a three-second countdown, and then the recording will then start
- To finish recording your screen, click the red stop icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen at any time
- A message will pop-up stating ‘Screen Recording Taken’, click it to be taken to your Downloads folder, where you’ll find your new screen recording
- You can now decide what to do with it – share it, upload it to Google Drive (if it isn’t automatically), rename it, edit it, or delete it.
How to record just a part of your screen on your Google Chromebook
- Click the clock/time in the bottom-right corner of your screen’s taskbar
- If the pop-up window is not already fully-expanded, click the little upwards arrow
- From the tools available to you, click the ‘Screen Capture’ icon
- You will now be presented with the varying options for capturing your screen, which as default will be turned to taking pictures rather than video. Tap the video icon (looks like a camcorder) on the left of the toolbar.
- Now select the partial-screen icon (there are three icons in the middle of the toolbar, it is the middle one – a box with a + on it)
- Click the gear-shaped settings icon, and toggle the microphone on or off, depending on whether you do or don’t want audio in your screen recording
- Now, to start recording your full-screen, drag a box over the area of your screen you wish to record, and then click the record button which appears
- There will be a three-second countdown, and then the recording will then start
- To finish recording your screen, click the red stop icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen at any time
- A message will pop-up stating ‘Screen Recording Taken’, click it to be taken to your Downloads folder, where you’ll find your new screen recording
- You can now decide what to do with it – share it, upload it to Google Drive (if it isn’t automatically), rename it, edit it, or delete it.
How to record just one window of your screen on your Google Chromebook
- Click the clock/time in the bottom-right corner of your screen’s taskbar
- If the pop-up window is not already fully-expanded, click the little upwards arrow
- From the tools available to you, click the ‘Screen Capture’ icon
- You will now be presented with the varying options for capturing your screen, which as default will be turned to taking pictures rather than video. Tap the video icon (looks like a camcorder) on the left of the toolbar.
- Now select the window icon (there are three icons in the middle of the toolbar, it is right-most)
- Click the gear-shaped settings icon, and toggle the microphone on or off, depending on whether you do or don’t want audio in your screen recording
- Now, to start recording your full-screen, simply click the specific window you wish to record, and your Chromebook will begin the countdown
- There will be a three-second countdown, and then the recording will then start
- To finish recording your screen, click the red stop icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen at any time
- A message will pop-up stating ‘Screen Recording Taken’, click it to be taken to your Downloads folder, where you’ll find your new screen recording
- You can now decide what to do with it – share it, upload it to Google Drive (if it isn’t automatically), rename it, edit it, or delete it.
And there you have it. Whether you want to record your entire screen, just a part of it, or even just the one application or window you have open, you can do so in just 11 easy steps on any Google Chromebooks. For any other queries you might have, see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Google Chromebook?
A Google Chromebook is a type of laptop or tablet which is developed specifically by Google, to be used exclusively with Google products and software, and which holds minimal hardware memory, tending instead to store all data, files, and user information on the Google Cloud, instead. As such, a Google Chromebook can sometimes operate in a manner which you might be unfamiliar with, given that it is unique compared to Windows PCs or Apple Macs.
Why would I want or need to record my screen?
There are myriad different reasons why you might want to record your screen, and they have only expanded in recent years, what with the globalised lockdowns enforced in order to protect against the spread of Covid-19. For example, with so many social interactions now taking place over video calls, instead of in-person, you may well want to record your screen so as not to miss a crucially fun or important family or friendship moment. But screen-recording can also be really handy in the workplace. For example, if you provide customer care and support, or are a digital technician or teacher, for example, you might find it useful to record your screen as you complete or carry out a task, so that you can then send this to your clients/pupils, for them to learn from. Perhaps you’re playing a game on your Chromebook, and just want to record an epic moment!
What happens when I record my screen?
Thanks to Google Chromebook’s in-built capture tool, this is really up to you. You can, if you like, make it so that when you record your screen, from the moment you start recording to the moment you stop, your every movement and action on screen is captured as video, which will be converted (a little annoyingly, into a WEBM file – best to use an online converter to turn it into an .mp4 file) once you’re done. This means any windows you navigate between, any applications you use, your cursor movements, zooms, messages, you name it – anything you do on your Google Chromebook will be recorded and turned into video. However, by following our tutorial above, you can also decide to turn audio capture off, or to capture only one window, or one part of your screen, thus avoiding recording any information you wish to keep private. If you’re wondering what it will look like in the end, you will almost certainly have seen screen recordings if you’ve ever watched a YouTube tutorial, for example, about how to do something on your laptop.
Can I delete the recording or make it private?
Yes, absolutely. Remember though that Google Chromebooks tend to store everything on the Cloud, and so you will have to access the screen recording file on Google Cloud and delete it from your Cloud account, and then make sure that it is permanently erased from any ‘Deleted Folder’ it may have been sent to. In terms of privacy, any files you create on a Chromebook and which are uploaded to the Cloud should technically only be accessible by you, and only once you’ve securely signed into your Google Account, using your Google ID and password; as such, they are pretty secure already. If you want to make your screen recording more secure, however, then you could look into creating a secure folder on the cloud, and moving the file in there.
To do so should be fairly simple, especially from Google Drive or the Google Cloud. Simply locate the file you wish to share, and right click on it. Click ‘Share’ and you’ll be shown a pop-up window in which you can choose how you wish to share the file. You can either add people directly to the file’s permissions list, so they can do what they want with it, or just copy the link to send to them, and whilst doing so choose whether people with the link can just view the file, add comments to it, or actually edit it.
