A major update to Screencastify, the free screen recording tool for Chrome and Chrome OS, is now rolling out on the Web Store.
The extension allows all screen activity in a tab, Chrome App or desktop to be recorded (along with audio) and saved to a WebM video file.
Version 0.9 is billed by its developer as a ‘pretty large update’, one that brings a number of key improvements to the feature set and performance of the utility.
New Look, New Options
The first thing long-time users of the add-on will notice after updating is that the entire interface has been retooled. It’s now faster, more intuitive and more responsive to clicks.
Both the main toolbar popover for starting a screencast and the main options page have been reworked. The “Your Screencasts” section has been moved out of the popover and into its own window where it now shows thumbnails, more information, and sits alongside new uploading options (including automatic uploading to Google Drive).
Configurable microphone level gain has been added, while system audio is now decoupled from the microphone, meaning users can now record both at the same time. This makes the add-on ideal for recording tutorials or walkthroughs.
More Efficient
Changes made under the hood are said to result in ‘more efficient recording’ and ‘better video quality’ than earlier versions, while ARM Chromebook users running Chrome OS Dev will find improved audio.
Screencastify 0.9 requires Google Chrome and Chrome OS 36 or later. ARM Chromebook users running Chrome OS 37 (currently in dev) will benefit from more reliable audio recording.
Download Screencastify 0.9.0
The Chrome screen capture extension is available for free from the Chrome Web Store and works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS.