“An outstanding work! I refer to it before looking at TechSmith’s help site.” – Frank Oberc
The best Camtasia guide keeps getting better. Camtasia: The Definitive Guide has been a mainstay of the screencaster’s bookshelf since 2005. It has helped even seemingly hopeless technophobes become screencasting ninjas in less time than they ever thought possible. No Camtasia book is as comprehensive or approachable. Now it’s available exclusively as an all-digital download. Both Windows and Mac versions are fully supported.
Buy Now
Unsure? Just check out these two sample chapters (out of 13 total in the full guide):
Read Chapter 5 Read Chapter 11
Tips: Double-click to zoom in. Click and drag to pan around. Use the arrow keys to move from page to page.
Paperless Interactivity
The all-digital guide offers perks you just can’t get on paper, like easy searchability. And full-size, full-color screenshots. And 38 embedded screencasts that total over an hour of content. A lot of love went into this little tome. You’ll be able to take advantage of my 20 years’ worth of experience as a professional screencaster, learning not just features and buttons, but workflow and best practices.
All from one of the most experienced screencasters in the business.
And should you decide to purchase the full book, you’ll get all 800+ pages of content, including…
- Tips on preparation
- Recording, including best practices on recording PowerPoint and other special situations.
- The lowdown on the multi-track editing and animation functions, including the amazing behaviors function.
- Updates on all the newest features of version 2023, and how to wield them like a pro.
- Tutorials on using all the special effects, including tips on when you’d want to.
- Production advice to help you prep your screencast for any audience, any device. Avoid the “blurry” pitfalls of inappropriately scaled video!
- A special hardware Buyer’s Guide for audio equipment, so that you’ll be able to narrate like a pro.
That’s hundreds of pages of screencasty goodness, more than 300 screenshots, and an hour’s worth of video quickcasts, for just $49.
In fact, here’s one of them. It’ll show you just how easy it is to navigate the guide:
My guarantee: find it useful or I’LL PAY YOU.
Yes, you read that right. The Definitive Guide is designed to shave many hours of frustration off your learning time. If after using this Camtasia Guide for at least three weeks, you don’t believe you’ve saved at least $100 worth of time and frustration, just return it! I’ll refund 150% of your purchase price. (See terms & conditions)
I’m so sure you’re going to love the Definitive Guide that I’m putting my money where my mouth is. I would literally be paying you just to give it a try.
So get busy. You have absolutely nothing to lose.
Buy Now
Keep in mind that the book is available both within an online reader and for download as an industry-standard interactive PDF document. That means no proprietary readers. No digital rights management. The book can be opened on both Windows and Mac computers. With the online reader, you can even read the book on tablets.
On the fence? Just check out a few reviews submitted by our satisfied customers:
Average rating: 31 reviews Apr 11, 2024
A Must Have Camtasia Accessory
Camtasia without Daniel Parks' Definitive Guide is like a day without sunshine, (you're just left in the dark). It's the golden ticket to the chocolate factory, the key to the city, the bop in the bop - shee bop - shee bop. Simply put, if you intend to become a Camtasia pro, you'll get the Definitive Guide, read it, and then use it frequently as an easy reference. You're welcome.
******
Apr 10, 2024
A Camtasia Goldmine!
Daniel Parks’ book, The Definitive Guide to Camtasia2023 is a GOLDMINE! It covers every tool and feature of Camtasia as well as everything you need to ensure you prepare properly for production. There are many embedded screencasts that cover everything from best practices to workflows which really add to the learning experience. You can tell that Daniel puts his heart and soul into his book and the price is graciously affordable for the plethora of valuable content.
You have your choice of file formats, and I tested each of them (Online, EPUB, PDF). They all work seamlessly.
I have only been studying the program for 2 years (I am an advanced Snagit user) and used every resource I could find to learn Camtasia well, but this book raised my knowledge and skillset to a higher level quickly.
Thank you, Daniel, for writing this invaluable, current, comprehensive Camtasia treasure! I had been searching for a current book for quite some time, so I was excited when I found this gem.
Oct 15, 2020
You'll need this
I started buying this book some years ago, and have upgraded every time a new version arrived to market. For my own part, I still use the book to hone my skills in Camtasia. In addition; I used the information in the book to create my own powerpoint template for my colleagues, facilitating their ability to create high-quality webcasts and interactive materials. The book is also useful when discussing possible ways to meet specifications and solve challenges in production.
Oct 14, 2020
Camtasia 2020 Definitive Guide
The Camtasia 2020 Definitive Guide is really well written. Even though I did the Techsmith certification courses related to Camtasia and the book is a great complement to what is available on the internet. I definitely recommend the book to anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly.
Oct 14, 2020
Always lives up to it's title
I've been using Camtasia for a long time. Each year the "Definitive Guide" is a MUST!! Daniel's knowledge of Camtasia is GREAT! This guide is easy to understand and full of gems and is a MUST HAVE.
Still not sure if the Guide will address your needs? Scroll down for a complete table of contents!
Enjoy!
Daniel Park
CONTENTS
What Is Camtasia?
Is Camtasia only for Windows
Is Camtasia spyware
What’s New in Camtasia 2023?
Improved Recording and Export
Canvas and Timeline Improvements
Visual Enhancements
What Other Hardware and Software Do You Need?
System Requirements
Other Helpful Software
What You Can Expect to Find in Each Chapter
A New Digital Edition Brings New Benefits
Full-color, pop-out images
Easy Navigation
Quickcasts
About the Screenshots in This Book
A Note on Terminology
Formatting Convention
Shortcut keys
Special Sections
General Guidelines
Know Your Audience
Determine All Technical Specs Ahead of Time
Tips for Making a Top-Notch Training Video
Why Train with a Screencast?
Know Your Video’s Purpose
Learn the Basic Principles of Educational Multimedia
Recording Techniques for Training Videos
Make Liberal Use of Attention-Getters
Slow It Down
Don’t Get Mired in the Details
Set Specific Goals
Tips for Making a Masterful Marketing Video
Why Sell with a Screencast?
Know Your Video’s Purpose
Address the Customer’s Need
Remember to Ask for the Sale
Tips for Making a Dynamite Demonstration Video
Why Present with a Screencast?
Determining the Video’s Purpose
Finding Information about Your Audience
Additional Reading
Training Videos
Marketing Videos
Demonstration Videos
Summary
General Tips on Scripting
Gathering All the Pieces
Avoiding the “Blank Page” Syndrome
What to Write: Form and Content
Make the Wording Audience-Appropriate
Be Consistent in Your Terminology
Possible Scripting Techniques
General Tips on Storyboarding
Choose a Presentation Layout You’re Comfortable With
Storyboard Flow
Multiple Image/Video Tracks
Summary
Making Your First Recording
Recording in Camtasia for Windows
Setting Up Your Recording
On Consistency:Capture Area Selection Revisited
Choosing Which Streams to Include
Audio
Camera
Markers
The Camtasia Recorder User Interface
Camtasia Rev
Capturing iOS into Camtasia Mac
Alternative Mobile Capture Options
Recorder Workflow Tips
Work from a Script
Take the Time to Set Up Your Shot
Don’t Mess with Your Windows
Timing Is Everything
Avoid the Scroll Wheel
Pause when Needed
Split Things Up
Summary
Other Tips
Exercises
Recorder Preferences
The General Tab
The Files Tab
The Inputs Tab
Screen
Camera
The Shortcuts Tab
Mac Preferences
Summary
Exercises
Why Record Your PowerPoint Presentations?
Almost as Good as Being There
Audio and Video
Ink Annotations
Portability
Better Playback Control
Interactive Features
Security
Capture of Third-Party Applications
Camtasia Add-In Toolbar
Add-In Options Dialog
Program Options
Video and Audio Options
Picture-in-Picture Options
Record Hotkey Options
Watermark Options
Recording Your Presentation
Moving Your Project to Camtasia
Playing Camtasia Screencasts within PowerPoint
Adding a Full Video
Troubleshooting the Add-In
Importing PowerPoint into Camtasia
Summary
Exercises
The Camtasia User Interface
Importing and Using Your Media Clips in Camtasia
Importing from Google Drive
Getting Started with Google Drive
Setting up Mobile Connectivity
Selecting Mobile Content
Capturing Mobile Content
Preview Mobile Content & Connect to Camtasia
The Media Bin
Previewing Your Clips
Special Media Bin Functions
Reverse Video
Proxy Video
Adding a Clip to the Timeline
Adding a Clip to Your Canvas
Snapping and Align Assist Guides
Rulers and Custom Guides
Adjusting Your Canvas Dimensions
Editing on the Timeline
Viewing Your Work on the Timeline
Previewing Your Content
Basic Timeline Editing
Moving Clips Around on the Timeline
Selecting Content for Editing
Selecting Entire Clips
Zooming In and Out on the Timeline
Trimming Content from the Timeline
Advanced Editing Techniques
Splitting a Clip
Extending a Video Clip
Adjusting Clip Speed
Cropping a Clip
The Multi-Track Layout
Adding new tracks
Locking Your Tracks
Magnetic Tracks
Track Visibility
Grouping Track Contents
Deleting tracks
Fun with Markers
Moving, Deleting, and Synching to Markers
Saving Your Work
Saving a Project in Windows
Saving a Project on Mac
AutoSave
Creating or Opening a Project
Importing or Exporting a Project
Summary
Exercises
Working with Audio Clips
The Voice Narration Tool
Double-Checking Your Audio Setup
Basic Editing of Your Audio Tracks
Camtasia’s Intergration with TechSmith Audiate
Working with Visual Clips
Adjusting Visual Properties
Animations
SmartFocus
Anchor Points
Lottie Files
Visual Effects
Managing Visual Effects
Blend Mode
Media Matte (& Track Matte)
Motion Path
Cursor Properties and the Cursor Path Creator
Remove a Color
Annotations
Annotation Types
Transitions
Adding a Transition
Changing Your Mind
Style Types
Other Behavior Properties
Zooming
Panning
Managing Your Zoom-n-Pan Effects
Cursor Effects
Basic Cursor Properties
Adding Cursor Effects
Captions
Captioning in Windows
Paste-n-Sync
Synchronizing Your Caption Content
Manual Addition and Organization of Caption Points
Speech-to-Text
Captioning in Mac
Importing and Exporting Captions
Captioning Options
Formatting Tips for Captions
Gesture Effects
Quizzing
Managing Quizzes
Exercises
The Library
Using Library Assets in Your Project
Adding Timeline Elements to Your Library
Managing Your Library
Removing Library Assets
Exporting and Importing Your Library Assets
Camtasia Assets
Themes
Adding a Placeholder
Replacing a Clip
Templates
Starting from a template
Saving your own Templates
Presets & Favorites
Adding a Preset
Adding a Favorite 663
Packages 666
Summary 670
Exercises
Exporting in Camtasia for Windows
The File Formats
Dimensions
Encoding
Audio
Captions
Smart Player
Animation File (GIF)
Audio Only (M4A)
Production in Camtasia for Mac
The File Formats
MP4
Quicktime Movie (MOV)
Animated GIF
Other Production Settings
The TechSmith SmartPlayer
Caption Style options
Quiz display options
SCORM options
Table of Contents
Sharing to Online Services
Screencast
After Uploading
TechSmith Knowmia
TechSmith Video Review
YouTube
Panopto
Exercises
Custom Exporter Presets
Batch Export
Batch Export in Windows
Selecting an Export Preset
Batch Export for Mac
Additional Output Options
Share History
Saving an Individual Video Frame
Saving Just the Audio
Summary
Exercises
Buying the Right Mic
Microphone Type
Directionality
Buying Tips
Microphone Accessories
Microphone Cable
Microphone Stand
Pop Filter
Monitors
Buying the Right Preamp
Analog Preamps
Audio Interface Devices
USB Microphones 799
The Basics of Acoustic Treatment 802
Buying the Right Video Camera