The Zoomcast guide

Everything you need to go from install to a finished tutorial video. It takes about five minutes to read and two to learn.

Install and pin

Add Zoomcast to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. It works in Google Chrome 116 or newer on Windows, macOS and Linux.
A welcome page opens with a short tutorial. You can come back to it any time from the question mark in the Zoomcast popup.
Click the puzzle icon at the top right of Chrome, then the pin next to Zoomcast. The round Zoomcast icon now sits beside the address bar.

Record your first video

Open the website you want to record. Our practice page is a good place to start.
Click the Zoomcast icon and press Record this tab, or press Alt Shift R.
A 3-second countdown appears on the page. The countdown is not part of the video.
Use the page normally. A red REC badge on the icon shows you are recording.
To finish, click the icon and press Stop and edit, or press the shortcut again. The editor opens with your video.

Zoomcast records only the tab you started on, including its sound. Other tabs, apps and your desktop are never recorded.

How the zoom works

Click: zoom in

Every click becomes a smooth zoom onto that spot. The camera starts moving just before the click so the viewer arrives with you.

Several clicks: one shot

Clicks close together share one zoom. The camera glides from one click to the next instead of bouncing in and out.

Drag: zoom out

Dragging a slider, a card or a file pulls the camera back out, so the whole movement stays in frame.

Tip: move a little slower than usual and pause for a second after important clicks. Your viewers will follow more easily.

Recording across pages

By default Zoomcast only sees clicks on the page where you pressed Record. If you click a link to another page, the video keeps recording but new clicks there are not zoomed.

To zoom across pages, open the Zoomcast popup and turn on Follow new pages. Chrome asks once for permission to read the pages you record. Zoomcast uses it only to see where you click while recording, and nothing leaves your computer. You can turn it off again at any time.

The editor, control by control

The first time it opens, a short tour points out each part. You can replay it from the question mark at the top.

Preview: Your video with zooms, cursor and background applied. It is exactly what will export. Press Space to play or pause.
Timeline: Blue bars mark zoomed-in moments, dots mark clicks and striped areas mark drags. Click or drag on it to move around. Arrow keys step one second.
Auto-zoom on clicks: Turn it off to export a plain recording without zooms.
Zoom depth: How close the camera gets. 2x shows a quarter of the page. Use 1.5x for wide layouts and 2.5x for small buttons.
Stay zoomed: How long the camera holds after a click before easing out. Longer feels calmer; shorter feels snappier.
Show cursor: Draws a crisp pointer that follows your mouse, scaled with the zoom so it stays readable.
Click ripple: A short ring on every click, so viewers notice exactly when and where you clicked.
Background: The color behind your recording: Ocean, Sunset, Mint, Graphite or Paper.
Padding: Space around the recording, with rounded corners and a soft shadow. Set 0% to fill the whole frame.

Your choices are remembered for the next recording.

Export your video

Press Export video at the top right.
The video plays through once in real time while it is saved, so a 2-minute take takes about 2 minutes. Keep the editor tab open and visible.
The file goes to your Downloads folder as a WebM video, up to 1920 pixels wide. YouTube and most course platforms accept WebM directly.

Free export and license

Recording and editing are always free, and your first export is free too. When you want to export more, the editor shows a Get a license button.

Buy a lifetime license for $10. It covers one computer.
Your license key appears on the page right after payment, and Dodo Payments also emails it to you.
In the editor, press Export video, paste the key under Already have a license key? and press Activate.

Activating sends only your license key and a generic label such as "Chrome on macOS" to our payment provider, Dodo Payments, which confirms the key and counts this computer. Zoomcast re-checks the license about once a month when you are online, and keeps working offline. Your recordings are never sent anywhere.

Moving to a new computer? Click Lifetime license at the top of the editor and press Deactivate on this computer, then activate the same key on the new one. Lost access to the old computer? Email support@enviable.in and we will reset it.

Keyboard shortcuts

`Alt` `Shift` `R`	Start or stop recording the current tab
`Alt` `Shift` `Z`	Open the Zoomcast popup
`Space`	Play or pause in the editor
`Left` `Right`	Step one second on the timeline

Change them at chrome://extensions/shortcuts, or from the welcome page.

What stays on your computer

All of it. Zoomcast has no account, no servers that receive your data, no analytics and no tracking. Your latest recording is stored inside Chrome so the editor can open it, and exports are saved to your Downloads folder. Uninstalling Zoomcast deletes everything it stored. Read the full privacy policy.

Troubleshooting

"Chrome doesn't allow recording this page"

Chrome blocks extensions on its own pages, such as the new tab page, settings and the Chrome Web Store. Open a normal website and try again.

Nothing zooms in my video

Check that Auto-zoom on clicks is on in the editor. If you changed pages while recording, turn on Follow new pages in the popup before your next recording.

The page is silent after I start recording

Zoomcast plays the tab's sound back to you while recording. If it stays silent, check the tab is not muted in Chrome.

My export stopped or is blank

Exports need the editor tab to stay open and visible. Bring it to the front and export again. Your free export is only used when a file is actually saved.

Something else

Email support@enviable.in. We reply within 2 business days.