Record your first take
In about five minutes you will plan a two-scene take, record it, let DemoTake polish it and export a video. You need DemoTake on a Mac with macOS 15 or later and any app window to record.
macOS asks for Screen Recording permission the first time you record. Allow it in System Settings, then come back. DemoTake notices the change on its own; if macOS only applies it after a restart of the app, DemoTake offers Relaunch DemoTake and reopens on the same screen.
A take is one demo. It is made of scenes: short story beats such as "Sign in" or "Create a project", each ending at a stable screen. You record scene by scene, and any scene can be retaken on its own later. Read Scenes and takes for the full picture.
Choose File › New Take…, give the take a name and a one-sentence goal, and add two scenes. Give each scene a short intent, like "Sign in with the demo account". Plan from Goal can suggest scenes for you. Intents help DemoTake choose zooms and captions later.
On the take's recording screen, click Choose Window… and pick the app window to record, then Use Window. The window can stay covered by other windows or off to the side. It must not be minimized.
Press Start Recording. After a 3-2-1 countdown (press Esc to skip it) the first scene is live. Do the steps, then press Checkpoint to end the scene at a stable state. DemoTake moves on to the next scene.
After the last scene, press Stop. Not happy with scene 2? Retake that scene only. Scene 1 and its edits stay untouched.
Click Open Editor. The camera, the pointer and long waits are already handled. Ask the command bar for anything else, then export one or several formats at once.
Before you start
- DemoTake Agent or DemoTake Studio installed, on macOS 15 Sequoia or later. See Install and permissions.
- The app you want to demo, open in a window, with test data you don't mind showing. Anything secret can be blurred later with Redaction.
- No account. Recording, editing and exporting happen on your Mac.
Rehearse first (optional)
Press Rehearse (⌘R) before recording to walk through the flow with a live preview and nothing recorded. It is the cheapest way to find the popup you forgot about. Press Finish Rehearsal (⌘R again) when you are done.
While you record
| Action | Shortcut | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Start Recording | ⇧⌘R | Countdown, then the first pending scene starts |
| Pause / Resume | ⌘P | Paused time is not recorded |
| Create Checkpoint | ⌘D | Ends the scene at a stable state and starts the next one |
| Stop Recording | ⌘. | Saves the take. Scenes you didn't record stay pending |
The menu bar icon shows the elapsed time while you record and has Checkpoint Scene and Stop Recording too, so you never need to switch back to DemoTake.
End every scene on a screen that proves something happened: the dashboard after signing in, the new project in the list. Those are the moments viewers need to see, and the ones DemoTake protects when it shortens waits.
What DemoTake does for you
When you open the editor, the take already has:
- a smooth presentation pointer, drawn from your clicks rather than your shaky real cursor (Camera and pointer);
- gentle zooms on the actions that matter, not on every click;
- long loading waits shortened, with the start of each wait kept so the change still registers (Pacing and waits).
Everything is non-destructive. The recording itself is never modified, and every edit can be undone.
- Compressed waits longer than 1 s
- Tightened scene 2 to fit 30 s
Export
Press ⌘E or click Export and pick one or more formats: 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 1:1, GIF, screenshots, a Reviewer Pack or a written guide. Each video is checked before it's marked ready. See Formats and sizes.
During the free trial, exports carry a "Made with DemoTake" watermark. Previews in the editor never do.