1. Welcome

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of AccsiCapture, a powerful utility for Windows designed for accessible, quick, and easy screen and audio capture. It operates from the system tray, using global hotkeys to make capturing your screen, video, or audio effortless. Key features include clear audio cues for all actions, a visual countdown for video and GIF recording, and a simple configuration dialog, making it a perfect tool for all users.

2. Usage Guide

2.1 System Tray Menu

Right-click the AccsiCapture icon in the system tray (near the clock) to access its main menu. This is the central control hub for the application.

• Capture Modes: Quickly take a screenshot of the full screen, a free-form region, or the active window.
• Recording Controls: Start/Stop video, audio, or GIF recording. When a recording is active, this section will change to a submenu with options to Pause/Resume or Stop the current recording.
• Configure...: Opens the detailed settings window.
• Pause/Resume Hotkeys: Temporarily disable or re-enable all global hotkeys.
• Help: Opens this documentation file.
• Check for Update...: Checks if a new version of the software is available.
• Visit accsify.com: Opens the official website in your browser.
• About AccsiCapture: Displays version and license information.
• Exit: Shuts down the application.

2.2 General Workflow

1. Press the hotkey for your desired action (e.g., Free Form capture or Start GIF Recording).
2. For video or GIF recording, a 3-second countdown will appear on screen.
3. An audio cue will play to confirm the action has started. The tray icon will turn red if a recording is in progress.
4. Perform your capture or recording.
5. Press the same hotkey again to stop recording, or complete the capture action (e.g., release the mouse button for free form).
6. An audio cue will confirm the action has stopped. A tray notification will appear confirming the output (e.g., "GIF saved to file...").

3. Screenshot Modes Explained

AccsiCapture provides five distinct modes for taking screenshots, each with its own hotkey.

Capture Full Screen

Instantly captures everything visible across all your monitors.

Capture Free Form

This advanced mode darkens the screen and allows you to click and drag to select a rectangular region. It features a magnifier loupe attached to your cursor for pixel-perfect selection and displays the dimensions of your selection in real-time. Right-click or press Esc to cancel.

Capture Active Window

Captures the currently active foreground window. This mode is intelligent: if the foreground window is not a suitable target (e.g., the desktop), a dialog will appear listing all open, valid windows for you to choose from.

Capture by Keyboard Focus

Captures the specific control (like a button, text box, or list) that currently has the keyboard input focus.

Capture by Mouse Focus

Captures the specific control that is currently underneath the mouse cursor.

4. Recording Modes Explained

Video Recording

Can be set to record the Full Screen or the Active Window. When in Active Window mode, recording will automatically pause if the target window is minimized or another application's window is brought into the foreground. Recording resumes automatically when the target window is focused again. You can also pause/resume manually at any time.

Audio-Only Recording

Records audio from your selected source(s) into a dedicated audio file (MP3, M4A, or WAV). This mode can also be paused and resumed manually.

GIF Recording

Creates an animated GIF. It can be set to record the Full Screen or the Active Window. When in Active Window mode, the recording will stop automatically if the target window loses focus. You can also set a maximum duration in the settings for the recording to stop automatically.

5. Configuration

Access the settings by right-clicking the tray icon and selecting "Configure...". The settings are organized into the following tabs.

5.1 General Tab

Start with Windows: Check this to have AccsiCapture launch automatically when you log in. Note: Disabling this may require administrator privileges if it was enabled for all users.

5.2 Screen Capture Tab

Output Mode: Choose whether screenshots are copied to the clipboard, saved to a file, or both.
Play sound on capture: Toggles the confirmation sound for screenshots.
Save Location: Set the folder where screenshots are saved. Defaults to `...\\Pictures\\AccsiCapture`.

5.3 Video Recording Tab

Video Mode: Choose between Full Screen and Active Window recording.
Video Quality: Select a resolution from Low (480p) to UHD (2160p).
Audio Source: Select No Audio, External (Mic), Internal (System), or Mixed.
System Volume: Adjust the recording volume for system audio.
Play sounds for recording events: Toggles sounds for start/stop/pause/resume.
Save Location: Set the folder for video files. Defaults to `...\\Videos\\AccsiCapture`.

5.4 Audio Recording Tab

Audio Format: Choose MP3, M4A (AAC), or WAV.
Audio Quality: Select a bitrate for MP3/M4A formats.
Audio Source: Select External (Mic), Internal (System), or Mixed.
System Volume: Adjust the recording volume for system audio.
Play sounds for audio events: Toggles sounds for start/stop/pause/resume.
Save Location: Set the folder for audio files. Defaults to `...\\Music\\AccsiCapture`.

5.5 GIF Recording Tab

GIF Mode: Choose between Full Screen and Active Window recording.
Duration (seconds): Set a time limit for the recording. Set to 0 for manual stop.
Play sounds for GIF events: Toggles sounds for start/stop.
Save Location: Set the folder for GIF files. Defaults to `...\\Pictures\\AccsiCapture`.

5.6 Hotkeys Tab

View all available actions and their currently assigned hotkeys. Select an action and click "Change..." to assign a new key combination.

6. Default Hotkeys

All hotkeys can be changed in the Configuration window.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my video recording pause by itself?

You are likely in "Active Window" video recording mode. The recording automatically pauses when the window you are recording is no longer in focus. It will resume automatically when you focus the window again. You can disable this by switching to "Full Screen" mode in the Video Recording settings.

Why did my GIF recording stop by itself?

This can happen for two reasons: 1) You are in "Active Window" GIF mode and you clicked on a different window, which stops the recording. 2) You have set a "Duration" in the GIF Recording settings, and the time limit was reached.

Where are my files saved?

By default, screenshots and GIFs go to your Pictures folder, videos to your Videos folder, and audio to your Music folder, each inside a subfolder named `AccsiCapture`. You can change these locations in the configuration window.

A hotkey isn't working. What's wrong?

Another application on your system might be using the same hotkey globally. Try setting a different, unique key combination in the Settings dialog. Also, ensure hotkeys are not paused (an option in the tray menu).

Something went wrong. Is there a log file?

Yes. AccsiCapture creates a `log.txt` file in the same directory as the configuration file (config.ini). This file contains diagnostic information that can help identify the cause of any issues.