Present

Present is a handy little app made for anyone who wants to create OS X software tutorials. It gives you all the tools you need to record your Mac’s desktop screen easily. So, if you're looking to share what you're doing on your screen, this app has got your back!

Setting Up Present

To get started with Present, you'll first need to install it. Once that’s done, head over to OS X’s System Preferences. From there, click on Security and Privacy, then choose Accessibility from the left pane. You’ll see a plus button; click that and add Present.app to the list of apps that can control your Mac. This step is super important for the app to work correctly.

Recording Made Easy

After setting everything up, recording your screen is a breeze! Just open Present’s status bar menu and hit the red dotted record button. Boom! You’re live!

Input Viewer for Better Clarity

If you want your viewers to really understand what you’re doing, Present shows all your inputs during recording through something called the Input Viewer. It sits in the bottom left corner of your Mac’s screen by default. This viewer displays everything from keyboard presses to mouse clicks so both you and your viewers can follow along.

Add Screen Notes for Extra Help

Want even more clarity? Present lets you add screen notes during recordings! Just click “Show Note” in the app's menu or use the shortcut “ALT + SHIFT + 1.” Easy peasy!

Customization Options

You can customize how things look too! If you'd rather not show mouse movements during recordings, no problem! You can turn that off and even pick from four different stroke colors. Plus, you can move where keyboard and mouse activity appears on-screen.

Troubleshooting Issues

However, keep in mind that we ran into some issues while testing Present on four different Macs. It wasn’t very stable and froze up on us quite a bit. The “Screen Note” feature didn’t work right either—lots of graphics glitches popped up instead!

The Bottom Line

All in all, Present is a straightforward tool that helps you record what happens on your Mac's screen with just a few clicks. No complicated steps here—just simple recording at its best!