Problem Steps Recorder is a new utility in Microsoft Windows 7 that allows you to record problems that you may be experiencing with a software application. Problem Steps Recorder has the ability to capture screen shots of a user’s interactions with an application, record the mouse clicks or keyboard strokes associated with the captured screen, and then package the entire experience in a .zip file. The .zip file will contain a .mht file, which is an Internet Explorer archive containing textual descriptions and images of the running application. Problem Steps recorder allows you the option to disable screenshots or increase the number of screenshots taken (the default is 25)
If you have ever worked in tech support, you will easily see just how useful Problem Steps Recorder is. As a tech support professional, you may receive an email or phone call from a user about a problem application but sometimes cannot understand without having a visual aid to show you what exactly the user is doing. On the flip side, if you are the software user, you have undoubtedly experienced times when you have tried to communicate an issue to tech support but have not been able to express the problem to their satisfaction. This is where the Problem Steps Recorder saves time for everyone involved and is indeed a miracle tool.
To use the Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7, follow these steps:
- Click Start
- Type “PSR,” without quotes and hit enter. This launches the Problem Step Recorder
- Click the Start Record button.
- Begin using the application for which you are recording a problem. Make sure to go through each of the steps that lead up to the problem.
- If you want to insert a comment at any point during the recording, you can do so by clicking the Add Comment button.
- Once you are done, click Stop Recording. This opens a “Save As” File dialog. Input a name for the file and save it to a location where you can find it easily, such as on your desktop.
- Next, send the saved file to the tech support professional who is troubleshooting the application
To change any of the default settings in the Problem Step Recorder, click the arrow next to the Help icon and choose “Settings.” You can change the default save location, whether or not screen captures are performed, and the number of screen captures to store. Chaning the number of screen captures is a particularly useful setting if you are working with a large or complicated application that requires a large number of steps to be taken.
Tags: problem step recorder, problem steps recorder, problem steps recorder windows 7, windows 7 problems, windows 7 recorder