How to pause a screen recording on Windows

When to pause

Pause when you need a moment that the viewer does not need to see:

• A page or a build is loading. Nobody wants to watch a progress bar. Pause, then resume when the next step is ready.
• You lost your place. Pause, check your plan, and carry on from the step you meant to show.
• You need to look something up. A price, a setting name or a file path is easy to check while paused.
• A notification pops up. Pause before you open it, so a private message does not end up in the video.
• A password or a token is about to be typed. Press CtrlAltJ before you type it, and press it again after.

How pausing works

Pausing keeps the same take, so you carry on in the same file. The paused time is not recorded, so the video runs only through the parts you actually recorded. When someone plays it back, the frame before the pause is followed directly by the frame after it. The hotkeys are global, so they work in any app: a browser, a code editor or the product you are demonstrating. You can rebind any of them in Settings.

Pause step by step

1. Start the take with CtrlAltP, as you normally would.
2. When you need a break, press CtrlAltJ. The recording pauses.
3. Do the thing that needs the break. Wait for the page to load, or look up the price you need.
4. Press CtrlAltJ again. The recording resumes in the same take.
5. When the session is finished, press CtrlAltP to stop and save the MP4.

Each pause and each resume uses the same key, so there is only one to remember.

Pause or stop

Pausing and stopping do different things:

• Pause (CtrlAltJ) keeps the same take. You resume into the same MP4.
• Stop (CtrlAltP) ends the take and saves the MP4 in your Videos folder, under Director. The take then opens in Director’s editor.
• Start again after a stop makes a new take with a new file.

Use pause for a short break in the middle of a lesson. Stop when the lesson is finished. If you stop in the middle, the rest of the lesson goes into a second file. A second file can also help when one session covers two separate topics, so you can upload each one on its own.

Pause is not fast-forward

Fast-forward is a different tool. CtrlAltF plays a stretch at 3× and keeps it in the video, so the viewer still sees it, just faster. A pause takes that time out of the video.

Use fast-forward for a slow part that is still worth showing, like a file that takes a minute to copy. Press the hotkey again for normal speed. It only works when you record without a microphone and without sound effects. With either one on, use pause. Every hotkey is listed in screen recording hotkeys on Windows.

Pausing does not undo a mistake

Pausing does not remove a mistake that already happened. If you click the wrong button and the wrong page opens, that moment stays in the take. For a small slip, carry on from where you are. For a big mistake, stop and record the video again.

Plan the pauses before you record

Most pauses are predictable. Before you record a lesson or a demo, go through your steps and mark the places where you will probably need a moment: a page that loads slowly, a value you have to look up, a password you will type.

Prepare those places before you start. Open the pages you need, sign in and close the tabs you will not use. Then there is less to wait for, and fewer pauses to make. Write one line for each planned pause, such as “pause during the export,” so you do not have to decide in the middle of the recording. Put the steps in the order you will show them, too, so you never need to go back and repeat one.

Tips for a clean pause

• Say a short line after you resume. For example, “Back to the form.” It gives the new part a natural start, so your voice does not sound abrupt.
• Keep the cursor where it was. Before you resume, put the cursor back where it was, so viewers do not lose track of it.
• Check the take afterwards. Play the seconds around each pause once. It takes a minute, and it shows whether each pause feels natural.

Related guides

For every hotkey in one place, read screen recording hotkeys on Windows. To add zooms while you record, see how to zoom in on a screen recording on Windows. For sound, read how to screen record on Windows with audio.