To record your desktop using Total Screen Recorder (specifically the Gold/Standard editions that support Flash formats), you will be encoding your screen directly into a Flash video format like FLV or SWF.
This legacy software, developed by TotalScreenRecorder, Inc. (originally Godsw, Inc.), is a lightweight Windows utility primarily used to capture full screens, regions, and desktop audio. Step-by-Step Guide to Recording
Launch the Application: Open Total Screen Recorder on your desktop. You will see a compact control panel with standard recording icons (Record, Pause, Stop) and a menu bar. Set the Target Region: Click on the File or Record dropdown menu.
Choose your capture area: Select Full Screen to record the whole desktop, or choose Fixed Region / Custom Region if you want to drag a bounding box around a specific application or active window. Configure the Video Output to Flash: Navigate to Options or Recording Options.
Under the video format/codec settings, select FLV (Flash Video) or SWF (Shockwave Flash) as your default output file type. Configure the Audio: If you want to narrate, check the box for Microphone.
If you want to capture the video sound playing from your computer (like a browser or media player), ensure System Sounds (or “Wave/Stereo Mix”) is selected so it records both simultaneously.
Start Recording: Click the red Record button (or press your designated hotkey). The program window will automatically minimize to your system tray so it does not block your capture.
Stop and Save: When finished, restore the application from the system tray and click Stop. The program will automatically generate the final Flash format file in your designated destination folder. Format Comparison: SWF vs. FLV
When recording into Flash formats using this utility, it helps to understand your options: Best Used For Characteristics FLV (Flash Video)
Standard desktop recordings, streaming clips, and presentations.
Higher compression, smaller file sizes, and standard video timeline tracking. SWF (Shockwave Flash)
Highly compressed interactive presentations or basic vector-like animations.
Tiny file footprints, but modern operating systems and web browsers have deprecated native support for playing them directly. Important Modern Alternative Recommendation
Because Adobe Flash has been officially deprecated across modern tech infrastructure, playing back .flv or .swf files can be challenging without specialized offline media players like VLC.
If you run into playback compatibility issues on your device, consider utilizing built-in or modern free tools that output to universal formats like MP4: How To Screen Record on Windows (Free & Pro Level Options!)
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