Best Practices: Recording a Session

If you are planning to record your session, we highly encourage you to adopt the following best practices in order to make sure all the content of your session is successfully recorded, especially if you plan to use the visualiser or screen share during your session.

Some frequently-asked questions about recording will also be addressed here.

In this article:

Best Practices

Switch on Recording Early

It is strongly advised that you switch on recording a few minutes prior to the session as the recording function can take up to five minutes to be set up properly.

If this message is displayed at the top right corner of the screen, recording has not started yet. 

Recording only starts when the message has turned to Recording, 

Do Not Cancel Recording During Preparation

If the recording is taking a while to prepare, do not attempt to cancel the recording while it is still in the "Preparing to record" status before switching it on again. Doing so may cause the recording to be jammed and only lengthen the waiting time.

The only time you should cancel the recording while it is still preparing is if you have decided to no longer record the session.

Inform the Members in the Room

We recommend that you inform the members in the room that recording is ongoing as video chat will also be recorded. 

Restart Visualiser/ Screen Share After Changing Tabs

In order to make sure that your visualiser / screen share content is clearly visible in your recording, it is important that if you switch tabs while you are in Presentation / Collaboration Sync mode, you must 

• switch off your visualiser/ screen share, then
• switch it back on 

so that it automatically comes back on as an expanded window on all members' screens.

Switch Off Visualiser/ Screen Share if Not in Use

Similarly, if you are planning to work on a document/ sketchpad/ typepad after switching on visualiser/ screen share, you have to switch off visualiser/ screen share instead of just minimising the window on your own screen.

Clicking Minimise Screen will not be reflected in the recording. The window will remain open and block the view of what you are working on underneath. 

We recommend switching off visualiser/ screen share when you are not using it, and only switching it on when you are using it again.

Use Only Immediately Viewable Area in Sketch

Since using tools such as zoom and pan in Sketch only changes your own personal view of the sketchpad, the recording will not be able to capture what is drawn outside the area that appears when you open the sketch. 

Refrain from using the zoom and pan tools when using the sketchpad to ensure that all your drawings/ annotations can be clearly and easily viewed in the recording. Use new sketchpads when necessary, instead of continuing to expand your drawings outside the viewable area.

Frequently-asked Questions

Is the entire screen (i.e. including the videochats panel) recorded?

Yes, the entire screen will be recorded, not just the content shown.

From whose perspective is it recorded?

The recording is not a screen recording of any member in the room. It takes an "outside perspective" which only views what is currently shown in the room. 

For example, 

• on Presentation or Collaboration Sync mode, it will automatically view the same page as everyone in the room
• when switched to Collaboration Unsync mode, it will stay on the last viewed page. It will not follow the movement of anyone in the room.
• when visualiser/ screen share is switched on, the pop-up window will automatically appear

Because of this, you do not have to worry about your on-screen actions (e.g. maximising a certain room member's screen, navigating different tabs during Collaboration Unsync mode) appearing in the recording. 

However, it is important to note that the recording does not follow manual actions. Therefore, doing actions such as maximising/minimising a screen, or changing a tab in Collaboration Unsync mode will not be reflected in the recording. 

Why did the recording not capture the window I expanded/ my tab change?

Only actions that are automatically triggered or reinforced by the room will also happen in the recording.

Can I download the recordings?

Yes. Organisation owners, admins, or certain default roles such as teacher or team leads have permissions to download recorded videos in mp4 format. 

The recorded videos saved in the virtual room under the Content tab can only be watched. It cannot be downloaded by room members.

How am I billed for the recording?

Is there a limit to the length of recording or number of recordings I can make?

No. The recorded sessions are saved to the cloud with unlimited data storage and no expiry date, and you can download them to review your sessions any time, anywhere.