What happened to Steps Recorder
Problem Steps Recorder (psr.exe) recorded your clicks and produced a zipped report with a screenshot and a description for each action. Microsoft lists it as deprecated, and Windows 11 has shown a notice since its February 2024 update saying it will be removed in a future release. Microsoft’s suggested replacements are Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar and Clipchamp, which record video rather than producing a list of steps.
Older Windows versions can still run it, so if you are on one and it works, there is no urgency. This page is for when it is gone, or when you want something that runs beyond one operating system.
What Showsteps does the same way
- Press Record, do the task, press Stop.
- Every click, typed field, selection and page change becomes a numbered step.
- Each step has a screenshot with the clicked item outlined.
- Steps have readable text you can edit.
What is different
| Aspect | Steps Recorder | Showsteps |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Windows | Chrome on Windows, macOS and Linux |
| Records | Windows desktop apps and browsers | Chrome tabs only |
| Step text | Automatic description of the action | Automatic title you can edit, plus optional description |
| Editing | Little; you edit outside the tool | Reorder, delete, merge, add notes, blur, crop |
| Output | Zipped web archive (.mht) | PDF, HTML, Markdown, DOCX, agent skill, .showsteps project |
The one thing Steps Recorder did that Showsteps does not: record native Windows apps. If your task lives in File Explorer, Excel desktop or another program, Showsteps cannot see it.
Why it works for web tasks
Most of what people used Steps Recorder to document, such as configuring a cloud console, filing an expense, running a report or setting up an account, now happens in a browser. Showsteps reads the page, so it can label a step by the button’s accessible name (Click Save changes) instead of describing pixels, and it can find that element again later.
That is also what lets it export a Playwright script alongside the guide. If a support engineer records a task, a QA engineer can replay the same steps in a test.
Moving your routine across
- Install Showsteps in Chrome. It runs the same way on Windows, macOS and Linux, wherever Chrome does.
- Open the web app you want to document and press Record. Do the task once at a normal pace.
- Press Stop and read the steps in the editor. Delete stray clicks and rewrite any title that describes the mechanics rather than the point.
- Export. Where Steps Recorder gave you one zipped web archive, you choose the format that suits the reader: PDF for a ticket, HTML for a single file, Markdown for a wiki, DOCX for someone who will edit it.
Showsteps records web apps in Chrome and does not record desktop apps. If half of a task happens in a desktop program, record the browser half with Showsteps and describe the rest in a note step.
Recording a bug report
A common use of Steps Recorder was a reproduction for a bug. Record the steps in Showsteps, blur anything private, and export the PDF or Markdown to attach to the ticket. If the developer uses Playwright, attach the exported replay.spec.ts too, so they can run the steps themselves.