techsmith camtasia – The Logical Blog

May 5, 2025

TechSmith Camtasia 2025: Two Updates Add Features and Fix Bugs

TechSmith has released two updates to Camtasia in the past week. All updates are available on the Home screen, appearing automatically after the program starts.

2025.1.1, released May 1, 2025, fixes a startup crash that could occur when using a graphics processor that does not support Direct3D Feature Level 12_0.

2025.1.0, released April 29, 2025, adds new features and enhances others.

New Features

Added Onboarding Tooltips that will appear on hover for specific controls to help guide your Camtasia experience. This setting must be toggled on.
Added new Cursor Effects: Cursor Isolation, Gradient, Lens, and Negative.
Added new Click Effects: Burst 1, Burst 2, Burst 3, Burst 4, and Zoom.
New visual effects were added: CRT Monitor, Static Noise, and Torn Edge.

Feature Updates

Added Angle property to Slide Right and Gradient Wipe transitions.
Updated the placeholder look and text.
The Camtasia free trial no longer has a time constraint: users can explore editing and features at their own pace, with watermarked exports.
Smart Focus can now create animations for recordings with dimensions smaller than the canvas dimensions.
Modifications were also made to Smart Focus's ability to add zoom and pan animations.

June 4, 2024

TechSmith Camtasia: 2024 Version Now Available

TechSmith rolled out Camtasia 2024 today, and our step-by-step book, "TechSmith Camtasia 2024: The Essentials" is not far behind.

New in Camtasia 2024:

A new recording engine for higher frame rate and resolution screen captures
AI-powered dynamic captions. (I saw a demonstration of this, and it's a very cool feature. Powered by AI, every word onscreen can automatically be highlighted as spoken. Meaning, no manually creating closed captions… no importing SRT files.)
New effects
New filters
New transitions
More integrated assets featuring more than 100 million royalty-free images, videos, and audio files

TechSmith also announced three product plans: Camtasia Essentials, Camtasia Create, and Camtasia Pro. The product plans include Camtasia’s AI-assisted Rev, simplifying and speeding up video creation through quick layout and design choices.

“The updates to Camtasia 2024 are focused on further reducing the friction of the editing process and empowering users to unleash their creativity and go beyond what they thought possible with a video editor,” said Tony Lambert, CTO of TechSmith. “As we continue incorporating advanced AI into Camtasia to achieve this, our new product plans are designed to provide customers with the most cost-effective way to select our breadth of new features based on their unique creative needs.”

If you need Camtasia support, training, or mentoring, we've got you covered.

April 23, 2024

TechSmith Camtasia: JKL to Speed Up Preview Playback Speeds

You've been tasked with editing a multi-hour video in TechSmith Camtasia. Specifically, you need to add annotations, remove distracting audio such as breath sounds and lip smacks, and remove unnecessary video portions.

Face it: If a video has a runtime of three hours, you will be at your computer for at least every minute of those three hours. Add the time it will take to rewind, make edits, and review them; your level of effort can be two to three times the video's playtime.

Previewing a video at regular speed could be time-consuming and futile. Never fear; faster playback is possible by pressing the following keys on your keyboard: J, K, and L.

The three keys are conveniently located together on most keyboards.

Pressing the L key once increases the video's playback speed twofold.

If you can press the L key again, the playhead will hum along the timeline at six times the speed.

Not fast enough? Press the L key again, and you'll hum along the timeline at eight times the speed.

Press the J key, and the playhead will move in reverse.

Want to stop the Playhead? Press the K key.

Looking for TechSmith Camtasia training? We've got you covered with three live, online vILT courses. If our scheduled classes don't work for your schedule, you can purchase and attend the classes via pre-recorded versions of the courses. If you prefer private group training or one-on-one Camtasia mentoring, email us to discuss your specific needs.

November 12, 2023

Free eLearning calculator helps determine your development effort

One of the most common questions we hear during our live, online eLearning classes is, "How long does it typically take to create eLearning using Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, or TechSmith Camtasia?"

The answer depends upon several factors:

what is the total playtime for the course (in minutes)?
how much voiceover audio will there be (in minutes)?
what is your comfort level using the development tool?
how much access do you have to media such as images and videos?
how much interactivity will you have in the training?
how much help do you have?
is the training teaching a life skill, a software simulation, or a video demo?

We've created a calculator to help you estimate the effort necessary to develop eLearning content.

October 29, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia 2023: New Integrated Assets

TechSmith has integrated some fantastic assets with Camtasia update 23.3.2.

You will need to ensure that you are running the latest Camtasia update. To find that update, choose Help > Check for Updates. To check your version, choose Help > About Camtasia. (If you’re on a Mac, choose Camtasia 2023 > About Camtasia.)

Using the assets is simple. Visit the Media tool at the left and click the Camtasia Assets icon.

Scroll through the list or, even better, use the Search feature to find what you're looking for. (There are videos, images, and sound assets… millions of them.)

Right-click the asset you'd like and choose Add to Timeline at Playhead.

Alternatively, drag the asset directly onto the Canvas. Either way, the asset will be downloaded from the TechSmith website and added to your project.

Note that if you are using a virtual machine such as Parallels, the download process does not work. Instead, visit the https://library.techsmith.com/en and download the assets manually.

Here's a quick video demonstrating the integrated assets (some are free, and some require a subscription to the assets at https://library.techsmith.com/en).

For Camtasia training, check out our certificate program at https://www.iconlogic.com/techsmith-camtasia-certificate-live-online-course.html. For Camtasia development support, visit https://www.iconlogic.com/basic-development-services.html.

October 25, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia: Say Hello to Rev and Goodbye to Labor

AI comes to TechSmith Camtasia, making enhanced video creation as easy as click, click, click!

Ensure that you're using the latest Camtasia build and then start the recording (either by starting the Camtasia Recorder 2023 app or clicking the Record button from within a Camtasia project).

On the lower right of the Recorder control panel, you'll see the Camtasia Rev icon. If necessary, click the toggle to enable Rev.

Record the video as you would normally do and when you stop the recording, Rev appears onscreen. There are five tabs, each offering curated formatting options.

On the Size tab, you can choose between the size you used when you recorded or specify Wide, Vertical, or Square.

Switch to the Layout tab, and you can choose from several layouts that change how your video appears on the learner's display.

Click to add a background to your video on the Background tab.

The Effects tab allows you to instantly add features like a Drop Shadow, Cursor Shadow, Highlight, and increase the size of the mouse pointer seen by the learner.

After you've clicked through the tabs, all that's left to do is click Export to publish the project.

Creating video demos truly does not get any faster than this!

If you need Camtasia training, mentoring, or development support, we've got you covered: https://www.iconlogic.com/instructor-led-training/software-title/camtasia.html

If you'd like to see Rev in action, check out my short video on YouTube.

August 21, 2023

eLearning and Copyright: Are You at Risk?

Online training is more popular than ever. With powerful development tools such as Articulate Storyline, Articulate Rise, TechSmith Camtasia, Adobe Captivate, and Lectora, it’s never been easier to create relevant, highly interactive, and visually stunning eLearning.

Regarding the visually stunning part of eLearning… adding compelling images and videos to your training is a great idea. But where are you going to get those assets? A quick search on the internet finds this great image of Mickey Mouse. Another search finds a cute cat video that will add the perfect amount of humor to your module. The online options are endless, and the assets are easy to download and import into your project.

You publish and upload the project to your web server or Learning Management System. Along with the kudos from your learners comes a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyers at Disney. Worse, that cat video gets you sued for significant money. Even worse? You have to pay the fine, and it's painful.

According to copyright.gov, “anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed.”

Let those numbers sink in for a moment… $30,000… $150,000…

As the boundaries between traditional and online education continue to blur, educators and institutions face unique challenges and opportunities to ensure that their eLearning content is effective and legally compliant. This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of copyright law within the context of eLearning, enabling you to confidently create, distribute, and use digital educational materials while respecting the rights of content creators.

Give us 90 minutes, and we've got you covered!

Learn more about copyright as it pertains to training and eLearning during this 90-minute, live, instructor-led course. Throughout the course, we will explore key copyright concepts such as the fundamentals, fair use and its application in eLearning, open educational resources, licensing models, and strategies for obtaining proper permissions. We will also delve into real-world scenarios and case studies, providing practical insights to inform your eLearning endeavors.

Who Should Attend?

eLearning developers
Technical communicators
Educators
Instructional designers
Training managers
Trainers
Administrators

August 15, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia: Get Certified as an IconLogic Camtasia Developer

Get certified by the people who wrote the book on Camtasia via our popular “TechSmith Camtasia 2023: The Essentials.”

The ideal path to certification starts with TechSmith Camtasia training through our virtual instructor-led courses. After completing all three classes, you will be well-positioned for the exam.

If you feel like you already have extensive experience with eLearning and TechSmith Camtasia, you can bypass the classes and head straight for the certification exam.

July 8, 2022

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA 2022: Cursor Path Creator

I'm hard at work on my new Camtasia book, "TechSmith Camtasia 2022: The Essentials." As I poke around the new features, I'm loving one that I just found: Cursor Path Creator.

If you create videos using Camtasia, the cursor in the resulting TREC files can be modified in the Camtasia Editor (you can add highlights, sounds, etc.). However, if you create a video demo in another recording tool and forget to turn on the mouse pointer, you're out of luck… until now.

Using the Cursor Path Creator in Camtasia 2022, you can now add a mouse and control its path even if the cursor wasn't in the original video.

Check out a recording I made of the process in the video below.

July 16, 2021

ACCESSIBLE COLORS FOR ELEARNING: Strategies for Selecting Appropriate Color Palettes

I was teaching a virtual Camtasia class recently and, while selecting colors for a canvas annotation, we had a robust discussion about colors. Specifically, which colors work for learners who are color blind?

According to Dr. David Nichols, University of Connecticut, approximately "one in 20 people are colorblind in some way."

When someone is colorblind, "one or more of the types of cone cells in the eyes — the cells we use to detect color — does not work normally," said Nichols. "A person who is colorblind sees a reduced color space; two colors which appear distinct to a person with normal color vision may appear to be the same to a person who is colorblind."

Nichols went on to say that "most people who are colorblind have some form of red-green colorblindness, such as deuteranomaly, deuteranopia, or protanopia."

"It can be difficult or impossible to distinguish whether a given color is red or green, and shades of red and green may have very low contrast. Instead of using a color palette of red and green, consider using a similar magenta and green color palette instead," stressed Nichols.

When adding colors to your eLearning projects, Nichols suggests using accessible color palettes. Here is an example as seen on the "Coloring for Colorblindness" website.

You can learn more about accessible colors here. And check out this awesome color contrast analyzer. The tool is helpful when adding colors to your Camtasia, Storyline, and Captivate projects.