Show keystrokes
DemoTake can draw the keys pressed in a take on screen, like ⌘Z ×3 or ↩, from the typing and shortcuts it already logged. Secret typing is never shown.
Tutorials often hinge on a shortcut nobody can see. DemoTake logs every typing event and key press of a take (an agent's keyboard_type and keyboard_key, keys an agent reports with take_log_event, and a person's typing in DemoTake Agent), so it can show them as a small card on the video. Like the pointer and captions, the card is drawn at render time: turn it on, restyle it or turn it off at any point, and the recording is never changed.
Turn it on
In the editor, open Effects and find Keystrokes:
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show | Off, Shortcuts, All Keys | Off |
| Position | Bottom center, bottom left or right, top left, center or right | Bottom center |
| Size | Small, Medium, Large | Medium |
| Style | Dark (like captions), Light, Accent (the take's color) | Dark |
| Show for | How long a key stays after it is pressed | 1.2 s |
| Fade | Fade in and out | 0.2 s |
- Shortcuts shows ⌘, ⌃ and ⌥ combinations and the keys ↩ ⇥ ⎋. Pressing the same shortcut again while its card is up counts it: ⌘Z ×3.
- All Keys also shows typed text, grouped into short bursts. A long burst shows its latest characters.
Select a scene first to set This scene to a different mode, for example keys on only in the scene that teaches a shortcut. One card shows at a time; a new key replaces the card before it. A bottom-center card steps above a caption instead of covering it.
Privacy
Keys typed into a password or other secure field are never shown, not even as dots. The same goes for typing DemoTake marked secret while recording, events you set to Mask in renders, fields labelled like a password or passcode, and anything Secret Guard recognizes as an email address, card number, key, token or one-time code. The hint under the settings says how many typing events were left out.
Where it shows
The card is part of the video: the editor preview, every MP4 and GIF export from DemoTake for Mac and from DemoTake Web, Reviewer Packs and share links all show it. timeline_get lists each card with its output time.
For agents
{ "tool": "keystrokes_set", "arguments": { "take_id": "take_…", "mode": "shortcuts", "position": "bottom_center" } }Set one scene with { "scene": "Save", "mode": "all" } ("inherit" follows the take again), or use edit_apply with { "op": "keystrokes", … } together with other edits. DemoTake Studio can't operate apps, so it has no typing of its own to show: log the keys your own tools press with take_log_event { "kind": "key_press", "text": "cmd+k" }.