How to Use Loom for Video Recording and Screen Capturing
Have you ever needed to record a video of your screen or capture your webcam footage? If so, then Loom is the perfect tool for you! Loom allows you to easily record videos of yourself or your screen and provides a number of powerful tools for editing and sharing your videos. In this blog post, we will show you how to use Loom to create high-quality video recordings.
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What is Loom?
Loom is a screen recording tool. You may use Loom to capture your computer’s display and upload it to your Loom account. Signing up for a Loom account and downloading the desktop client is all it takes to utilize Loom. Alternatively, you can use the Google Chrome Add-on, which also lets you record your screen.
How to record video in Loom
It’s really simple to shoot video in Loom. Loom may either be used with a desktop client or via the Google Chrome extension.
How to record video using Loom Desktop Client
The Loom desktop client is used to record video.
- Open the Loom desktop Client
- Select recording type
Select what you want to record
The client’s primary user interface is extremely simple and straightforward to understand. The top contains three important recording choices.:
- Screen + Cam
- Screen only
- Cam only
“Screen & Cam” allows you to simultaneously film both your screen and your computer/mac camera. “Screen only” records only the screen, while “Cam Only” records just the camera of your PC/MAC.
Select the area you want to record on your Screen
Loom allows you to record your screen in three ways: by selecting the “Record Screen” option, through video capture software like YouCam or Open Broadcaster Software and/or as a simple audio file. If you choose to save your screen, Loom provides three options for how you do it:
- Full Screen – records your entire Desktop
- Window – records a specific application window
- Custom Size – records a portion of the Desktop based on selection (requires Pro subscription)
If you chose “Cam Only”, you will not see this menu option.
Select your camera and microphone sources
The last configurable option before capture is to pick the camera and microphone you want to utilize. If you’re not recording your camera, it’ll display “Select Camera” instead of a camera symbol. If you’re narrating your Loom videos, a decent microphone or headset is a must-have.
Press “Start Recording” to begin your recording session
You’ve finished your preparations, and now you’re ready to record! The red “Begin Recording” button should be pressed. You will be given a countdown followed by the start of your recording session.
A red “recording” button will appear on the left side of the desktop just as it did previously, but if you click on it, it will expand down vertically to reveal three more buttons:
- Pause button
- Delete button
- Drawing tool button – Pro Subscription
How to record video in a browser
After creating your Loom account, you can utilize the extension in Google Chrome to track every purchase in real-time. As I said earlier, Loom offers a Google Chrome add-on.
Loom only supports Google Chrome for this functionality. Close and re-open Google Chrome after you’ve installed the Loom Chrome extension.
To record a Loom video using the Google Chrome extension:
- Press the Loom icon in Chrome. This will bring up the Loom extension user interface.
- Select recording type
- Select one of the following options for recording type:
- Screen + Cam
- Screen only
- Cam only
- Select Full Desktop or Current Tab
In terms of what you can capture, the Chrome plugin has fewer capabilities than the full desktop software. While the complete desktop software may record the whole screen, an application window, or a selected region, the Chrome extension can only monitor:
- Full desktop
- Current Tab
The Whole Desktop option records the entire desktop. The currently selected Google Chrome tab is only recorded by Current Tab.
Start recording
In the lower-left corner of the Chrome tab, you’ll find a Loom control area with these options:
- Start Recording (will be a green checkmark when you are recording)
Delete recording
Because the add-on is not a full desktop application, it lacks certain features of the desktop client.
Press the green checkmark button to end recording
When you click the green checkmark button, your video will be uploaded to Loom and Chome will display the video on your Loom my video page.
What is the maximum recording length can you record on Loom?
There is no duration restriction on Loom’s site. Loom will remind you to stop recording 2 hours into your video just to be sure you didn’t forget. This check is rather modest, especially when you consider that Loom is saving your video. However, it may interfere with some immersive recordings, such as a lengthy Minecraft session.
Working with your videos inside the Loom website
Editing your Loom videos
The Loom website’s editing capabilities are rather limited. There are just four alternatives:
- Settings
- Trim
- Call-to-action – Pro subscription
- Custom Thumbnail – Pro subscription
Settings
The following settings may be switched on or off:
- Comments
- Comment email notifications
- Emoji Reactions
- Loom Branded Player
- Viewer can download
- Show analytics to viewer
Trim
The Trim setting displays a video trimming view with a button (Start Trimming) that activates the cut feature.
Call-to-action
The call-to-action option, which may be added and positioned in the video, allows you to create a URL. You can also modify the button’s background and text color as well as choose from a selection of shapes for the button.
Custom Thumbnail
Loom allows you to add a custom thumbnail to your video. Loom suggests that the thumbnail be a 1280 x 720 pixels image.
Organizing your Loom Videos
Loom allows you to keep all of your videos sorted by creating folders.
- To make a new folder, go to File > New Folder and then select “Folder.”
- On the My Videos screen, click the “New Folder” button
- Name your new folder
- Click and hold the video you want to move and drag it onto your new folder.
Sharing your Loom videos
Loom videos can be watched by others. There are three methods for sharing Loom videos:
- Link Sharing
- Public
- Custom Access
The video is public unless you pay for custom access, in which case only the Loom account owner may activate it. As the name implies, shared links allow any individual who has a link to view the video. Publicity implies that anybody can view the film; however, personalized access allows you to manually enable people only if they have been added via their email address. There will be no one else able to see this movie.
How to download your Loom videos
Most Loom users will want to download their videos in order to further modify them and, eventually, post them on other platforms like YouTube. Simply click the “download” button beneath the video to save it. The video will be saved as an MP4 file.
Using Loom for Video Creation
Loom is an easy-to-use video recording and screen capturing add-on for Google Chrome. The add-on has a variety of features, including the ability to trim videos, add call-to-action buttons, and create custom thumbnails. Loom videos can be shared via link or publically, and they can also be downloaded.
