How to record the screen on your iPad

Dave Johnson

Apr 23, 2019, 19:11 IST

Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Once the feature is set up in your Control Center, you can screen record on your iPad with just a swipe and a tap.

You can screen record a video of almost any app or screen on your iPad.
Screen recordings are great for showing off apps, recording action in a game, or showing how to perform a task.
Before you can record your iPad screen, you need to add the screen recording button to your Control Center, which you can do using the Settings app.
To record the screen, pull down the Control Center and tap the record button. Completed videos are saved in the Photos app.
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One of the lesser known capabilities of your iPad is the ability to record the screen. This doesn't take a screenshot - a still image - but instead records a video that captures a movie of whatever you're doing on your iPad.

That can include making a video tutorial demonstrating how to use an app, documenting a bug for tech support, or showing your winning move in a game. No matter what you want to do, you can record it.

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There's one big (and logical) exception: You can't use the iPad's screen recorder to make a copy of a video from a streaming service like Netflix. All you'll record is a black screen.

To make a screen recording on an iPad, you first need to add the screen recording button to the Control Center. After that, you can start and stop recording at any time.

How to add screen recording to your iPad's Control Center

1. Start the Settings app.

2. Scroll down until you find "Control Center" and tap it.

3. Tap "Customize Controls."

4. If "Screen Recording" isn't already at the top in the section called "Include," find it in the "More Controls" section and tap the green plus sign. It should move to the top of the screen.

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You need to add the Record button to the Control Center before you make recordings.

How to screen record on an iPad

1. When you're ready to record, start the app or go to the screen on which you want to start recording.

2. Swipe down from the upper right of the screen to pull down the Control Center.

3. Tap the Record button, which is a circle with a dot inside it.

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Open the Control Center and quickly start a video recording of the screen by tapping the Record button.

4. You should see the circle change into a three second countdown, and then it will turn red to indicate it's recording. You can use the countdown time to close the Control Center.

5. After the recording starts, you'll see a small recording indication at the top of the screen (and yes, this will also appear in the recording).

6. When you are ready to stop recording, tap the recording indication and then tap "Stop" to confirm this is really what you want to do.

One thing to keep in mind: If you tap and hold (perform a "long press,") the record button, you'll see additional options, including where to send the complete video and if you want to turn the microphone on so you can narrate the video. By default, videos are saved to the Photos app, but if you have a compatible app installed (like Skype or Webex) you can send it there instead.

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A quick tap on the Record button will start the three second countdown, but a long tap gives you extra options, including the ability to record narration at the same time.

How to find and edit your videos on an iPad

When you're done, your new video will appear in your photo collection. To see it, open the Photos app and it should be the most recent item. You can edit the video - for example, you might want to trim the start and ending.

1. Tap the video in the Photos app.

2. Tap "Edit."

3. At the bottom of the screen in the video timeline, tap the arrow at the leftmost edge and drag it towards the right. As it shrinks, the entire frame will become yellow.

4. Size the frame to trim the video down to just the part you want to keep. You can press play at any time to ensure you like the edit.