Shortcut keys for screen recording in Windows 11: every hotkey, from start to stop
Short answer: Windows 11 has two built-in shortcut keys for screen recording: WinAltR (Xbox Game Bar) and WinShiftR (Snipping Tool). In Director, press CtrlAltP to start recording, and press it again to stop. Every Director hotkey is global, so it works while you show any app, and you can change each one in Director’s Settings. The table below lists all of them.
Shortcut keys for screen recording in Windows 11
Windows 11 comes with two recorders, and each has its own shortcut. Windows 10 has only Game Bar.
| Shortcut | App | What it does | How to stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| WinAltR | Xbox Game Bar | Records the app you are in, with its sound. Saved in Videos > Captures. | The same shortcut, or the stop button |
| WinShiftR | Snipping Tool | Lets you drag an area of the screen, then click Start. Saved in Videos > Screen Recordings. | Stop on its toolbar |
| WinG | Xbox Game Bar | Opens Game Bar, with its record button and audio settings. | |
| CtrlAltP | Director | Records a whole screen, with zooms you add live. Saved in Videos > Director. | The same shortcut |
The built-in recorders start and stop, and that is all. They have no keys to zoom, pause or mark a chapter while you record, and Game Bar can’t record the desktop or File Explorer. For more on what it can and can’t do, read how to use the Windows Game Bar screen recorder. The rest of this guide covers Director’s hotkeys.
Why hotkeys beat switching windows
When you record a demo or a tutorial, the app you show needs your full attention. If you have to click a button or move to another window to control the recording, the viewer sees that switch, and you lose your place in the steps. Hotkeys let you control the recording from the keyboard while you keep working in the browser, the spreadsheet or your own product. Viewers never see you open a menu or hunt for a button.
Director’s hotkeys while you record
Every hotkey below works in any app. Press it while you record.
| Action | Hotkey | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Start or stop recording | CtrlAltP | Starts the recording. Press it again to stop. |
| Zoom in on the cursor | CtrlAltZ | Zooms in 2× by default and follows the cursor. |
| Zoom out | CtrlAltX | Zooms back out. |
| Pin the zoom | CtrlAltG | Holds the zoom where it is. Press it again to follow the cursor. |
| Spotlight | CtrlAltS | Dims everything except the area around the cursor. |
| Spotlight off | CtrlAltD | Turns the spotlight off. |
| Box | CtrlAltB | Draws a box. It stays about six seconds, then fades. |
| Text note | CtrlAltT | Adds a short text note. It stays about six seconds, then fades. The recording pauses while you place it. |
| Clear notes | CtrlAltH | Clears the notes. |
| Pause or resume | CtrlAltJ | Pauses, and resumes exactly where you stopped, with no gap or frozen frame. |
| Marker | CtrlAltN | Drops a marker. When you stop, Director lists the markers as YouTube chapters with timestamps. |
| Fast-forward | CtrlAltF | Plays that stretch at 3×, but only when you record without a microphone and without sound effects. Press it again for normal speed. |
| Fit a window to the frame | CtrlAltE | Resizes the window so it fits the frame. |
| Show the outline | Hold CtrlAlt | Draws a dashed outline where a zoom or spotlight would land. The outline is not recorded. |
| Change the zoom level | CtrlAlt and the mouse wheel | While you are zoomed in, goes from 1.25× up to 6×. |
Learn them in steps
You do not need to learn all of them at once. Start with three: CtrlAltP to start and stop, CtrlAltZ to zoom in on the cursor, and CtrlAltN to drop a marker. With those three you can record a complete take.
- Press CtrlAltP to start.
- At the start of each step, press CtrlAltN to drop a marker.
- When the cursor reaches the part you want to show, press CtrlAltZ. Press CtrlAltX to zoom out.
- Press CtrlAltP to stop.
Once those feel natural, add CtrlAltS for the spotlight, with CtrlAltD to turn it off, and CtrlAltJ to pause.
Drop each marker at the start of a step, not when you finish it. When you stop, check that the first chapter in the list starts at 0:00 before you paste the list into a YouTube description.
Pause, and speed up a slow step
Press CtrlAltJ when you lose your place, and press it again to resume. The video continues exactly where you stopped. Pausing does not remove a mistake that already happened, so for a big mistake, record the video again.
To keep a password out of the video, press CtrlAltJ before you type it and again after. For more on pausing, read how to pause a screen recording on Windows.
For a long wait with no voice, press CtrlAltF and the video plays that stretch at 3×. Fast-forward only works when you record without a microphone and without sound effects. If you talk while you work, use pause instead. How to pause a screen recording on Windows explains when each one fits.
Check a zoom or spotlight before you press it
Hold CtrlAlt for a moment before you press Z or S. Director draws a dashed outline of where the zoom or spotlight would land. The outline is not recorded, so you can check the spot first.
While you are zoomed in, hold CtrlAlt and turn the mouse wheel to set the zoom level, from 1.25× up to 6×. When you type in a field, press CtrlAltG so the frame holds still. For how the zoom follows the cursor and which levels you can pick, read how to zoom in on a screen recording on Windows.
Show your hotkeys to viewers
Under In the video, Keys you press shows Director’s own hotkeys at the bottom of the video, with what each one did, such as “Ctrl Alt Z, Zoom”. Viewers who watch the take can learn the hotkeys from it too. It does not show everything you type.
Change a hotkey that clashes with an app
If a Director hotkey clashes with a shortcut in an app you use, change that hotkey in Director’s Settings. Then press it once in that app before you record, so you know which action runs.
Related guides
To go deeper, read how to zoom in on a screen recording on Windows and how to add chapters to a YouTube video.