On a related note, MacOS QuickTime Player has the ability to record the screen, or sections of it, and it is super easy to use. I wish MS would build a similarly easy-to-use tool into Windows.
Is there a Win utility that is as easy? I’ve tried 3-4 but have struggle to make short recordings of portions of the screen without a struggle.
You can bypass the app! Hit Cmd-Shift-5 to get the exact same interface from anywhere on MacOS. Makes it much easier to record things while on a separate space, for instance.
For recording a single application or the full screen, you can use the Xbox game bar which is built into Windows.
I don't know about recording part of your screen, though, I haven't tried it so I don't know if it's possible with the built in functionality. I'd probably go for OBS but that's far from easy to work with.
I very rarely use Windows, but when I wanted to do a screen recording I heard about the X-Box gamebar thing. IIRC, it required a version of Windows other than the base license level and you had to sign into a Microsoft account just to use it.
Instead, I opened up a Windows VM in Parallels on my MBA and did a quick screen recording with Quicktime. No Microsoft (or other) logins needed.
No, the game bar is in any version of Windows since the Creators Update (I believe?). It should be available in either home or pro, and you shouldn't even need a working license key to use it. You also don't need to sign into anything to use the recording functionality. Microsoft REALLY wants you to, but it's not a necessity.
Its settings are in the Xbox app somewhere, but you don't need to sign in for that part: you can simply close the popup, or accept the defaults (like storing the videos in your user folder instead of somewhere else).
To use it, hit Win+G to open up the game bar and hit the record button. Alternatively, you can start/stop recording immediately with Win+alt+R.
The various releases of Windows 10 aren't different licenses, they're similar to Apple's OS X releases: iterative improvements within the same code base, with new features and such.
Oddly enough I just used QuickTime to edit some audio files, it has a built in "trim" tool that is quite nice. First time I ever really used it, it was a pleasant experience.
Is there a Win utility that is as easy? I’ve tried 3-4 but have struggle to make short recordings of portions of the screen without a struggle.