Export to YouTube

[Olivier Beltrami]

Hello,

Is there a way to export a finished HelpXplain project to YouTube ?
Very best regards,

Olivier

[Tim Green]

Hi Olivier,

Is there a way to export a finished HelpXplain project to YouTube ?

No, because HX isn't video and is really an alternative to video. What you could do is use Camtasia or a similar tool to capture the Xplain in action, then save it as an MP4 and post that to YouTube.

[Olivier Beltrami]

Thank you very much.

[Kooswillem]

Hi Olivier,

Is there a way to export a finished HelpXplain project to YouTube ?

No, because HX isn't video and is really an alternative to video. What you could do is use Camtasia or a similar tool to capture the Xplain in action, then save it as an MP4 and post that to YouTube.

I just tried this (but with CamStudio, this is free), but this is not easily doable without making extra costs and retaining a nice quality. You can set a region with CamStudio, but then you need to start recording beforehand, because when I start the sequence with the play button, it will not play the animations in the first slide, but continue to the next.

When the recording was a succes, I had to trim the recording to just keep the presentation. This can be done with LightWorks which is a free Video editor. But it would take my *.avi file, skewing it almost beyond recognision. This could be solved using the free tool EyeFrame Converter which was written to to convert files to a Lightworks friendly format. Finally I was able to edit the recording and exporting it to an MP4 format, but the non-premium version of Lightworks doesn't deliver very high quality.

So yes, it is possible but not very easy. At least not with freeware.

I would really like to see a video format as export, but I understand this could be a challange on your side.
But can it then at least be made possible to export to GIF, but including all the animations, exepting that this could result in very large GIF files.
You can then easily convert your gif to an *.avi

Kind regards,

Kooswillem

[Martin Wynne]

So yes, it is possible but not very easy. At least not with freeware.

Hi,

For a free screen recorder you might like to try the free version of FlashBack Express (it's not Flash): https://www.flashbackrecorder.com/express/

The Recorder component is the same as in the Pro version. In Tools > Options you can set the recording quality to Lossless GDI, and also set keyboard shortcuts to pause, stop and start recording (which makes it easy to synchronise with an Xplain). Export to MP4, AVI, WMV.

(Lots of editing functions in the Pro version of the Player component, but not free.)

p.s. Are you sure you need video? An animated GIF can be inserted in an Xplain to show screen activity which HX can't capture.

cheers,

Martin (no connection).

[Kooswillem]

Hi Olivier,

Is there a way to export a finished HelpXplain project to YouTube ?

No, because HX isn't video and is really an alternative to video. What you could do is use Camtasia or a similar tool to capture the Xplain in action, then save it as an MP4 and post that to YouTube.

I just tried this (but with CamStudio, this is free), but this is not easily doable without making extra costs and retaining a nice quality. You can set a region with CamStudio, but then you need to start recording beforehand, because when I start the sequence with the play button, it will not play the animations in the first slide, but continue to the next.

When the recording was a succes, I had to trim the recording to just keep the presentation. This can be done with LightWorks which is a free Video editor. But it would take my *.avi file without skewing it almost beyond recognision. This could be solved using the free tool EyeFrame Converter which was written to to convert files to a Lightworks friendly format. Finally I was able to edit the recording and exporting it to an MP4 format, but the non-premium version of Lightworks doesn't deliver very high quality.

So yes, it is possible but not very easy. At least not with freeware.

I would really like to see a video format as export, but I understand this could be a challange on your side.
But can it then at least be made possible to export to GIF, but including all the animations, exepting that this could result in very large GIF files.
You can then easily convert your gif to an *.avi

Kind regards,

Kooswillem

[Tim Green]

Hi Willem,

I would really like to see a video format as export, but I understand this could be a challange on your side.

I can only repeat that HelpXplain is not video so video output doesn't make any sense. The whole point of HelpXplain is that it is NOT video. If you want video, use a video program. Trying to create video with it is like trying to eat clear soup with a fork. Wrong tool.

[Martin Wynne]

If you want video, use a video program. Trying to create video with it is like trying to eat clear soup with a fork. Wrong tool.

Hi Tim,

I don't think folks are actually asking for video as real video, certainly not as fuzzy MP4 video.

What is needed is a means to distribute Xplains as a single file. Lossless SWF Flash would have been ideal for Xplains. But that visually-excellent format has now been denied us in favour of fuzzy MP4 which was designed and intended only for real-world camera video, and is utterly useless for computer graphics. Vastly increased file sizes to deliver a vastly inferior result.

Yes, I know SWF was a security risk, but surely some modern lossless equivalent could have been devised to replace it? It's daft that folks are looking to primitive animated GIFs, as the only alternative available.

cheers,

Martin.

[Tim Green]

Hi Martin,

What is needed is a means to distribute Xplains as a single file.

Already there in 1.2. It now supports eWriter output and there is an eViewer app on the Windows Store that is installed automatically on Windows 8 and 10 when the user opens an .ewriter file. The Win32 installer for Windows XP, Vista and 7 is available directly at https://www.helpandmanual.com/ewriter/