Master ScreenZoom Keyboard Shortcuts for Faster Recording

Why Keyboard Shortcuts Matter

If you're creating multiple recordings per day, keyboard shortcuts aren't just convenient—they're essential. The difference between clicking through menus and hitting a hotkey might be 5 seconds, but multiply that by dozens of recordings and you're looking at hours saved per month.

More importantly, keyboard shortcuts keep you in flow. You don't break concentration to hunt for buttons. You just record, mark, pause, and export without thinking.

Essential Recording Controls

These are the shortcuts you'll use every single recording session:

• Control+Command+R — Start/Stop Recording
• Control+Command+P — Pause/Resume Recording
• Control+Command+M — Add Marker

Master these three and you'll already be faster than 90% of users. You can start recording, pause when you need to prepare the next section, and mark important moments—all without touching your mouse.

Quick Export Shortcuts

After recording, you want to export and move on. Don't click through export menus—use these:

• Command+E — Open Export Dialog
• Command+Return — Export with Last Settings
• Command+G — Quick Export GIF

The Command+Return shortcut is a game-changer if you always export with the same settings. Hit it and your video starts exporting immediately—no confirmation, no dialogs.

Menu Bar Controls

ScreenZoom lives in your menu bar for quick access. Click the icon to access all features, or use the menu bar shortcuts:

• Command+Click Menu Icon — Quick Record Last Settings
• Option+Click Menu Icon — Export Last 30 Seconds

That last one is incredibly useful for quick demos. Something interesting just happened? Option+Click the menu bar icon and you've got a video of the last 30 seconds. Perfect for capturing unexpected bugs, surprising results, or spontaneous demos.

Timeline Editor Shortcuts

When you do need to fine-tune your recording in the timeline editor, these shortcuts speed things up:

• Space — Play/Pause
• Left/Right Arrows — Step Forward/Backward One Frame
• J/K/L — Rewind/Pause/Fast Forward
• Command+Z/Shift+Command+Z — Undo/Redo
• Delete — Remove Selected Zoom Keyframe

If you've used video editing software before, these will feel familiar. They're standard across most video tools, so there's no new muscle memory to build.

Customize Your Shortcuts

Everyone's workflow is different. If the default shortcuts don't fit your muscle memory, change them:

• Open ScreenZoom preferences (Command+,)
• Go to the Shortcuts tab
• Click any shortcut to record a new key combination
• ScreenZoom will warn you if there's a conflict with system shortcuts

If you're coming from another screen recording tool, you can even match those shortcuts so you don't have to retrain your fingers.

Build Your Workflow

Here's a complete keyboard-driven workflow for creating a tutorial:

• Prepare your screen and what you want to demonstrate
• Control+Command+R to start recording
• Demonstrate each step, hitting Control+Command+M at key moments
• Control+Command+P to pause if you need to prepare something
• Control+Command+R when done
• Command+Return to export immediately

Not a single menu clicked. Your hands never leave the keyboard except to demonstrate what you're teaching.

This is the workflow of power users. It feels effortless once you build the muscle memory, and you'll create recordings faster than you thought possible.