Steps Recorder (psr.exe) is deprecated: what to use instead to record steps with screenshots

What Microsoft says about Steps Recorder

• Deprecated since November 2023: Microsoft's deprecated features list says Steps Recorder is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. For screen recording it recommends Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar or Microsoft Clipchamp.
• A banner in Windows 11: Microsoft's support page on the Steps Recorder deprecation says that from the Windows 11 update of February 2024 the app shows a banner asking you to move to other tools. Earlier Windows versions still support it.
• Not removed yet: on 15 November 2026, Microsoft's list of removed Windows features did not include Steps Recorder. Microsoft gives no removal date.

What Steps Recorder gives you

Microsoft's archived article How to use Problem Steps Recorder describes the tool like this: each click gives a picture of the screen and a short text description. When you stop, it saves a .zip file, and the file inside opens in your browser. A Microsoft blog in the Learn archive explains that this file is an MHT web page with the screenshots stored inside it, which makes them awkward to reuse.

• It keeps only the last 25 screenshots unless you raise that number in Settings, and settings go back to the defaults when you close it.
• It does not capture what you type. You can add a comment to a highlighted part of the screen instead.
• Microsoft's instructions end with the .zip file. Getting the steps into a Word document or a PDF is up to you.

Option 1: keep using Steps Recorder while it is there

1. Select Start, type psr and select psr.exe.
2. For a long task, open Settings first and raise the number of recent screen captures to store (25 by default).
3. Select Start Record and do the task. Pause and resume as you need.
4. Select Stop Record, give the file a name and save it. It is saved as a .zip file.

It is built in and costs nothing. But it gets no more updates, Microsoft plans to remove it, and the result is a web page inside a .zip, not a Word document or a PDF.

Option 2: the screen recorders Microsoft suggests

• Snipping Tool: on Windows 11 it can record a video clip of a part of the screen (Windows logo key + Shift + R), and you can open the recording in Clipchamp. If it is missing, it can be installed from the Microsoft Store.
• Xbox Game Bar: opens with Windows logo key + G and has a screen recorder. It is made for games.
• Clipchamp: Microsoft's video editor, which can also record the screen. On Windows 11 you find it through search, or in the Microsoft Store.

These are good when a short video explains the task best. They do not give you numbered written steps to paste into a ticket, a manual or a work instruction.

Option 3: screenshots by hand in Word

Press Windows logo key + Shift + S to take a screenshot with Snipping Tool and copy it with Ctrl+C, or press Print Screen to copy the whole screen. Paste the picture into Word and type the step under it. This works with what you already have, but for a task of 20 or 30 clicks it takes a long time, and it is easy to miss a step.

Option 4: Stepwright ($12.99)

Stepwright is a steps recorder for Windows. Press Record, do the task as usual, and every click becomes a numbered step with a screenshot and a plain sentence such as Click the “Save” button in Harbor Notes. Tidy the steps up, then export them as a Word document (.docx), a PDF, a single-file web page or Markdown with an images folder.

• Private by default: text you type is left out of the steps unless you switch it on for that recording, and it is off again every time Stepwright starts. Text typed into boxes marked as password fields is never recorded, whatever you choose. The screenshot for a typing step is taken before the first key reaches the app.
• Blur that removes the original: the blur tool replaces the pixels of the area you choose, so the original is not kept in the saved recording or in exports.
• The right window: each screenshot shows the window you clicked in together with its open menu or drop-down list, with the click marked. You can also capture the whole monitor or a 1280 × 800 area around each click. The small recorder bar stays on top and is left out of the screenshots.
• An editor: reorder, delete and merge steps, rewrite any sentence, add notes between steps, crop, and draw arrows, boxes and highlights. Undo and redo cover every change.
• Export options: title, author and date, numbered or unnumbered steps, A4 or Letter, and a standard, compact or one-step-per-page layout, with a live preview. Recordings are saved as .stepwright files that you can open and edit later.
• Offline: no account, no telemetry, no update check. Your recordings stay on your PC.

1. Install Stepwright from the Microsoft Store. It needs Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11, 64-bit.
2. Press Record (Ctrl+R, or Ctrl+Shift+F9 from anywhere), choose what to capture and do the task.
3. Stop with the recorder bar or Ctrl+Shift+F10.
4. Tidy the steps, blur anything private, then choose Export (Ctrl+E) and the format. To see the result before you record, open the bundled sample recording.

Stepwright costs $12.99 in the Microsoft Store. Get it from Microsoft Store.

Side by side

What to expect from Stepwright

• Apps running as administrator: Windows does not let an ordinary app look inside them. Clicks in such apps are recorded without the name of the control, with a warning and a general sentence, or may not be recorded at all. The recorder bar warns you while such an app is in front.
• Screenshots show the screen: whatever is visible ends up in the picture, even with typed text switched off. Check every screenshot and blur anything private before you share a document.
• How password boxes are recognised: Stepwright goes by what the app tells Windows about the field. If it cannot tell which field has focus, it records no text at all.
• Sentences come from the app: each step is written from the name and type the app gives the control, so read the steps through and edit any sentence that does not fit.
• PDF export and the export preview need the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, which is included in Windows 11 and most Windows 10 PCs. Word, HTML and Markdown export do not need it.
• Its own file format: Stepwright opens its own .stepwright recordings. Opening Steps Recorder .zip files is not one of its features, so keep those as they are.

What Microsoft says about Steps Recorder and its suggested tools is from the deprecated features and removed features lists on Microsoft Learn, the Steps Recorder deprecation and Snipping Tool support pages, Microsoft's archived Problem Steps Recorder article and an archived Microsoft blog on Microsoft Learn, checked on 15 November 2026. The example step sentence is from Stepwright's bundled sample recording, made with a test window of our own (Harbor Notes is a made-up app).