Seeing “I made some changes, but I don’t remember what I did” in posts, I thought I should post this old tip and this old adage…Knowing is better than trying to remember or guess. I place this in the Window 10 forum but it applies to Windows 7 – 11.
What Did I Do?
What
Instructions to have Windows record what changes you make so you know the steps to take to undo what you did in case you need or want to.
Why
Many users make changes in their settings only to find out that they either made a mistake in making the changes or they don’t like the changes and for either reason they want to undo the changes and put things back like they were. The first thing they say to themselves is “What did I do?” and what steps did I take making those changes. These situations have caused those users a lot of stress trying to remember what steps they took and what exact changes they made, and some users never get the settings back like they were. What if that user thru a couple clicks had Windows record each step the user takes in making those changes and afterwards the user could use that recording to know exact what changes were made. Windows does have that function and the following instructions explain how to make use of this function and know “What you did”.
Note: This applies to Windows version 7 thru 11.
How
Steps Recorder (PSR)
Microsoft’s Steps Recorder app, according to Microsoft, “is a program that helps you troubleshoot a problem on your device by recording the exact steps you took when the problem occurred. You can then send this record to a support professional to help them diagnose the problem.” This app was created to capture the step that trigger a problem for a problem that repeats itself. You can also use that app to record the steps you take when you make changes and have a recording of the changes you made before you have a problem. After you make the changes, nobody but you will know what changes you made unless you keep a recording of those changes. The following instructions explain how to use the Steps Recorder to record the changes you make including screenshots of each step in the changing process.
Using Steps Recorder
o To open the Steps Recorder, open a Run box (WinKey + R), enter psr, and press the Enter key. If you plan on using the Steps Recorder often, then you should create a shortcut for it as follows:
Open a Run box (WinKey + R), enter Shell:AppsFolder, and press the Enter key which opens the Applications folder in File Explorer.
Scroll down the alphabetical list of apps, right click the Steps Recorder icon and select Create shortcut.
A message box will open and state that the shortcut can’t be put in the folder and ask if OK to place the shortcut on the Desktop, which you click Yes and a shortcut to open the Steps Recorder is on your Desktop.
o There are different ways to use the Steps Recorder so the following instructions are for the default setup.
o Once the Steps Recorder opens it will be a small window that you can place anywhere on the Desktop, but the window’s size can’t be adjusted. Also the Steps Recorder window must be on the Desktop (not minimized) for the Steps Recorder to work.
o To start the recording click the Start Recoding button in the Steps Recorder window or use the keyboard shortcut Alt + A.
o Once the Steps Recorder is started it will record any mouse click, keyboard shortcut entry, or function key entry with a text statement of what action was taken as well as a screenshot of the Desktop when that action was taken. It will not record typing; however a screenshot of the next mouse click will show what was typed. When a mouse button is clicked a red dot will momentarily appear at the tip of the mouse pointer. This means a step was recorded and a screen shot of the Desktop was taken.
o Once you finished making changes, click Stop Record button.
o The Steps Recorder window will expand with the recording and different options in viewing the recording of text written steps taken and screenshots.
o Click the Save icon to save the recording. The recording will be saved inside a .zip file. Choose a name for this zip to reflect what it recorded such MouseChanges.zip for changes to your mouse settings. Inside the .zip file is a .mht file of the recording that has the date (YYYYMMDD) and time (24 hr format) as the name for this file. Also nice way to know exactly when you made those changes.
o Close Steps Recorder when not in use.
Options and Notes on using Steps Recorder and viewing the Recordings
o Click the drop down arrow next to the ? icon in Steps Recorder and select Settings. You can enter a name for the .zip file and Browse to a location to save the Output File before you start the recording, which when you stop the recording the file will be automatically saved as you set. There is an option to turn off screenshots and keep the text statement only which I would leave the screenshots On. Notice that the default limit for the number of screenshots in a single recording is 25 and if you plan on having more than 25 steps in the recording, then that value needs to be changed.
o To view a saved recording you will need to extract the .mht file from the .zip file. The .mht file is usually opened in a browser and should have the icon of the default app for .mht. In my case it is Chrome; however, the .mht files generated by the Steps Recorder opened in Chrome do not display the screenshots and only shows the text statements. The screenshots will display in Edge and in Word.
o There are limits to the Steps Recorder and it is not designed to record everything you do. Some apps (such as games with graphics) Steps Recorder will not be able to record the screenshots accurately when recording changes to the apps settings. Try to limit the use of the Steps Recorder to a few steps and have too many steps in a single recording to be of use to you.
HTH, Dana:))
