How to use Dropbox Capture

Updated Oct 10, 2023

Dropbox Capture is available to all Dropbox customers, but some features may require different plans.

With Dropbox Capture, you can record your screen, camera, and microphone to create video messages, audio recordings, screenshots, and GIFs to share with others.

Note: Mac users will need to give Dropbox Capture access to screen recording, camera, and microphone through their System Preferences.

Watch this video for a quick overview of Dropbox Capture.

How large can recordings be in Dropbox Capture?

Your recording time depends on the plan you have:

Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Family customers can record up to two hours total, with no limit on individual recordings.
Dropbox Professional, Essentials, Business, Business Plus, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise customers have unlimited recording time up to their storage limit.

Your remaining recording time will appear at the top of the Dropbox Capture desktop app in the taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac). This time will appear after you record your first video. Deleting videos will remove their length from your recording time. Additional time can be added by referring Dropbox Capture.

How to apply camera effects in Dropbox Capture

Before you start recording, you can apply effects to your camera in Dropbox Capture, including selecting camera size, turning your camera on or off, selecting virtual backgrounds, and touch-up your appearance.

Note: To turn off the camera effects, select None in the Virtual backgrounds menu and slide Touch-up appearance to 0.

To apply camera effects, your camera must be on. Turn your camera on or off:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Select Screen + camera recording or Camera.
Click the camera icon to turn your camera on or off.

Notes:

When you turn your camera off, the background will be your Dropbox avatar or your initials and a solid background color. The Virtual backgrounds and Appearance features will be disabled.
If you start a new recording, the camera feature will turned on and will use the last setting you had for your virtual background and touchup.

To select your camera size:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Select Screen + camera recording or Camera.
Click the square icon below the face bubble in the bottom left.
Click and hold the corners to adjust the camera size.

To select a virtual background:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Select Screen + camera recording or Camera.
Click the person icon below the face bubble in the bottom left.
Choose an option from the menu that appears:
- Solid colors: Your background will be replaced with a solid color.
  - To add a new color, click "+" (plus icon) to the right of the colors.
  - To remove a color, select a color and press delete on your keyboard.
- None: No background effect will be added.
- Blur: Your background will be blurred.
- Gradient: Your background will be replaced with a gradient of colors.
- Custom image or video: Your background will be replaced with a custom image or video.
  - To upload a custom image or video to use as a background, click “+” (plus icon) under None, Blur, or gradient.

Notes:

When you select an option, your background will automatically update.
Uploaded images and videos are saved to your background library unless you delete them.

To touch up your appearance:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Select Screen + camera recording or Camera.
Click the sparkle icon below the face bubble in the bottom left.
Click and drag the slider to adjust the filter intensity.

How to record with Dropbox Capture

To record on dropbox.com:

Log in to dropbox.com.
Click Create.
Click Screen recording.
- For the first use, you’ll be asked to give permission to Dropbox Capture to use your camera and microphone.
Follow the browser prompts and select Entire Screen, Window, or Tab.
Click Share.
Choose your recording settings:
- Click the microphone icon to toggle your microphone on or off or to select a different microphone.
- Click the camera icon to toggle your camera on or off or to select a different camera.
Click the start icon (red circle) to start recording.
Click the pause icon (two vertical lines) or the stop icon (white square in a red circle) to stop recording.

Your capture will automatically save to your Dropbox account.

Note: Screen recordings made through dropbox.com will be saved in the folder they’re initiated from. However, if you’re recording in a team or shared folder, the recording will be saved to the team or shared “Capture” folder.

To record your screen:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Choose what you’d like to record:
- Click Screen + camera recording to record your screen and camera. You can also record your microphone, if you’d like.
- Click Screen recording to record only your screen and microphone.
- Click GIF record your screen as a GIF file.
Choose which part of the screen you’d like to capture:
- Click once to record your entire screen.
- Click and drag to record a desired area of your screen.
- Press the spacebar to record a specific window.
Click the microphone icon to turn your microphone on or off.
(Screen + camera recording only) Click the sparkle icon on your camera preview to blur your background, if you’d like.
Click the start icon (red circle) to start recording.
Click the pause icon (two vertical lines) or the stop icon (white square in a red circle) to stop recording.

To only record your camera:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Click Show more, then Camera.
Click the microphone icon to turn your microphone on or off.
Click the sparkle icon at the bottom of your camera preview to blur your background, if you’d like.
Click the start icon (red circle) to start recording.
Click the pause icon (two vertical lines) or the stop icon (white square in a red circle) to stop recording.

To only record your microphone:

Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Click Audio recording.
Click the start icon (red circle) to start recording.
Click the stop icon (white square in a red circle) to stop recording.

While recording your camera or screen, you can:

Click the Draw icon in the side panel to draw on your recording.
Click the Pause icon in the side panel to pause/resume recording.
Click the Redo icon in the side panel to stop the recording and start over.
Click the Cancel icon in the side panel to stop and cancel the recording.

A link to your recording(s) will be copied to your clipboard and a copy of your recording will be saved to the “Capture” folder in your Dropbox account.

How to use an external microphone or camera

To use an external microphone or camera while recording:

Plug in the device.
Open the Dropbox Capture desktop app.
Click “⁝” (vertical ellipsis) in the top-right corner.
Click Preferences.
Select the device you want to use from the dropdown next to Camera and Microphone.