A screencast is a video or animated image of what is displayed on a computer screen to show readers what the instructions in Knowledge Base articles are telling them.

Before you create a screencast

• Try to present Firefox in its most familiar form.
  • Use as many default settings as possible.
  • Use the default Firefox theme.
  • Use the default operating system theme.
• Lower the screen resolution or do not capture the entire screen, so it will fit in the browser window.
• Make sure there's enough context to know what the image is of.
• If speaking, make sure you speak clearly.
• Make sure you can export to FLV or ogg/theora.
• Screencasts should only be applied to step-by-step instructions.

Software

Windows

• BB FlashBack Express (free)
• Camtasia Studio

Mac

• iShowU HD
• Screenflow
• Snapz Pro X

Linux

• vlc (free)
• recordMyDesktop (free)

How to create a screencast

On Windows, How-To Geek has a great article on recording your screen, and, of course, there are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to create a screencast.

Here are some tips on creating screencasts:

• As with screenshots, it's best to create a separate demo profile, so you a)know that you're using the default setup, and b) aren't broadcasting any private information from your main profile.
• Record a rough walkthrough of the screencast, so you know what you materials you need to set up for the main recording.
• Write a script before recording.
• Try to speak more slowly and clearly than you normally do.

Once you've uploaded your video to YouTube, you can add it to an article using the following syntax:

[[Video:URL]]

For example: [[Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXs_YE9QyUQ]]