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Vimeo Record Chrome extension

Screen recording is often the easiest way to demonstrate something — a design, a functionality, or a new tool. You can use our Record tool to record your camera and/or screen. The recording will upload to your Vimeo account and you can share that recording with others. 

In this article:

Download the Vimeo Record Chrome Extension

The Vimeo record tool can be installed as an extension in the Google Chrome browser here. 

Click on the Vimeo logo in your browser extensions, connect your Vimeo account, grant access to your camera and mic, and then you can start recording.

If you previously blocked your Chrome browser from accessing your camera or microphone, you can update those settings by following these steps: 

  1. In your Chrome browser, click the hamburger menu and select Settings from the drop-down option.
  2. Under "Privacy and security," click Site settings.
  3. Select Camera or Microphone.  
  4. Then review your blocked and allowed sites. To allow a site that you already blocked: Under "Blocked," select the site's name and change the camera or microphone permission to "Allow."

Please note that if you choose to make a recording without connecting to Vimeo first, you will need to register for or log into your existing account in order to share the video. 

Troubleshooting Tips for Mac Users 

If you are using Mac OS Catalina or later and run into an error when trying to use the extension that reads "There was an error with screen capture. Check on the permissions and try again, or visit the Help Center," (shown below), read on to resolve it:
error_message2.png

First, try updating and restarting your Chrome browser to the most recent version, then try recording again.

If that doesn't help, you may need to configure your system's privacy & security settings.

  1. Open your System Preferences, then click on the Security & Privacy icon. The System Preferences window on MacOS. The security and privacy button icon is illustrated with an icon of a silver house with a silver circle in the middle outlined in black. It has the label 'Security & Privacy' under the icon.
  2. Scroll down to Screen Recording and ensure that Google Chrome is checked. The Security & Privacy window on MacOS. In the left panel, 'Screen Recording' is selected. In the right panel, 'Google Chrome' is checked.
  3. Do the same with Microphone and Camera.
  4. You will need to relaunch Chrome for the settings to take effect.
     
    Note: If these settings are already checked, try unchecking these permissions from Google Chrome, saving your security settings, then go back in and tick the box for each again.

Recording Videos

To start recording, click on the Vimeo logo in your browser extension. You can choose from the following settings for your screen recording:

Chrome_extension.png

  • Your device's screen, just your camera, or both your screen and camera. 
    • When recording your screen, you can select from what's visible on your entire screen, a specific window, or a specific browser tab. 
  • Camera (select external camera or computer default)
  • Microphone (select external microphone or computer default)
    • If you selected Current Tab, audio that is playing back from that tab will be included by default; click the corresponding speaker icon to disable it.
  • Upload recording to a specific folder on your account or to your team account (click on your profile avatar and on the folder icon to choose your destination). 
  • Enterprise team members’ recordings will be uploaded to their private workspace on the team account. 

With the camera enabled, the camera preview overlay will default to the bottom left of the screen, but you can drag and drop camera preview to a different area of the screen.

You can also click the flip icon inside the preview to flip your camera view horizontally (i.e. if you want your camera to act like a mirror rather than a standard camera, you can flip the image).

When you have selected the desired settings, follow these steps to use the extension: 

  1. Click Start recording when you are ready to start recording your video.
  2. If you are recording your screen, Chrome will prompt you to choose between your entire desktop screen, a specific application window, or a specific browser tab. Once you choose your screen source, click Share.
  3. You will see a quick 3-2-1 countdown, and then your recording will be active. You can click the Pause button on the record overlay to pause the recording if you need to step away temporarily, and then click the same button resume recording.
  4. If you decide you want to restart the recording, click the Trash icon in the overlay to stop and delete the recording. Repeat the above steps to start a new recording if desired.
  5. When you are finished recording, click the Stop button on the camera preview overlay. 

You can also use the following keyboard shortcuts to start and end a screen-recording via the Vimeo Record extension.

  • To Start a recording: Cmd+shift+9
  • To Stop a recording: Cmd+shift+0

Some things to note:

  • Recordings are currently limited to two hours.
  • The recording will be interrupted if the extension loses access to the camera, microphone, or screen.
  • If you aren’t logged into your Vimeo account, or lose internet connection during your recording, your recording will continue and be stored upon completion. Click the extension icon after you’ve logged in or regained connection to retry the upload.
  • The controls bar (pause, play, stop) and camera will only appear in the Chrome browser since this works as a browser extension. When users switch to non-browser applications, Record continues to capture the screen but is unable to show controls and camera.
  • If you record a video and experience a blank screen when trying to play it back, please disable hardware acceleration Chrome. Then, restart your Chrome browser.

Uploading and Sharing Recordings

After you stop the recording, your video will automatically start uploading to your Vimeo account and will be added to the folder you selected. These videos will not count towards your account storage limit.

If you are an Enterprise team member, your recordings will be uploaded to your private to me folder on the Enterprise team account; you can move it afterward.

You will be able to modify a few of the video’s settings in the modal that appears including video privacy, title, and description.

  • The default privacy is Unlisted, which is an unlisted link you can share.
  • The default title of your recording will depend on what you recorded:
    • If you only recorded your screen, the title will be the name of the tab you recorded
    • If you only recorded your camera, or both the screen and camera, the title will be “New Recording" with the date and time.
  • To edit other settings, click on the gear icon next to the title to go to the video’s settings page on Vimeo. 
  • To delete the recording, click the trash icon. Closing out of the modal will not affect the upload process. 

The Vimeo Record uploading modal. At the top is a dropdown menu to select the privacy settings for the recording (in this example, it shows as 'This video is private'). To the right of that is an 'x' to exit out of the modal. Below is a thumbnail preview of the recording with the percentage of upload completion. Below that is the title of the recording, which is editable. Next to the title are two buttons: a settings gear, and a trash can (to delete the recording). Below the title is a textbox to add a description of the recording. Below the desription textbox, there is the URL for the recording in a textbox. To the right of that textbox is a button labeled 'Copy Link'.

You can also copy the video’s share link to start sharing your recording instantly.

When your viewers visit your clip page via the shared link, they’ll be able to watch your video, see your team/company logo, and either leave comments in the comment panel (if you are a Free, Basic, or Plus member) or otherwise open the Review page. 

Uninstalling the Extension

To remove the Vimeo Record extension from your browser:

  1. Go to Chrome extensions by entering chrome://extensions/ into the URL field, then press the Enter key on your keyboard to navigate to it.
  2. Find the Vimeo Screen Recorder extension.
  3. Click Remove.

The confirmation window to remove Vimeo Record from your browser.

FAQ

Can I use Vimeo Record with Safari and other browsers besides Chrome?

  • Although you cannot download the extension on those browsers, you can still record those browsers. You will need to download the extension via Chrome and click to record the "Full Screen" option. 

 

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