Technology Tips – Published November 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
This built-in app is usually present in the Microsoft Windows operating system. In Windows 10 it’s called Voice Recorder and in Windows 11 it’s named Sound Recorder. Once activated both due the same job of recording sound from the laptop’s microphone. Obviously, this can be quite useful when attending a meeting particularly if you are taking minutes at the meeting. Instead of bringing a separate device to record the meeting just bring your PC.
The program is easily accessible in the Program menu. If you don’t see it, you can download it from the Microsoft Store. There is usually an icon for the Microsoft Store on the Taskbar. It’s a free program.
I’ve never seen a program that is so simple to run. For Windows 11 click the 4 pane Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen, then click the All apps button in the pop-up window. Scroll down the list of programs in the menu and click Sound Recorder when you locate it. To start a recording click the red button. To stop, click the white square button. To play back your recording click the right arrow button. You’ll find the recording in the Sound Recordings folder under your Documents folder. Each recording is named “Recording” followed by a sequential number so you can record, stop, then begin to record again.
In Windows 11 open the program and click the 3 horizontal dots at the top right. Click Settings, click Audo quality to try to improve the quality of the recording. Default is Auto. Best mode is the highest quality. Do this before recording as it will not improve quality after the recording is saved.
NOTE: In Windows 10 the record button is a blue microphone icon in the lower left of the program window.
If you need a more powerful tool to record or edit recordings,
Download Audacity here: Windows | Audacity ® (audacityteam.org)