Skip to content
Clevera Docs

Use keyboard shortcuts while recording

Every Clevera desktop app keyboard shortcut on macOS and Windows — pause, restart, cancel, finish, speaker notes, hide controls — and how to change or turn them off.

Updated 4 min read

Keyboard shortcuts let you control a recording without moving your cursor to the control bar, so the video doesn't show a detour to the edge of the screen and you don't click something by accident. The shortcuts work in any app, as long as Clevera is running.

Default shortcuts

Action Shortcut Works
Pause / Resume recording ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ P While recording
Restart recording ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ R While recording
Cancel recording ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ X While recording
Complete recording ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ Return While recording
Show / hide speaker notes ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ N Any time
Show / hide recording controls ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ C While recording

⌘ is Command, ⌥ is Option and ⇧ is Shift.

What each one does:

  • Pause / Resume recording — pause the current take when you need a moment, then resume. Paused time isn't recorded.
  • Restart recording — discard the current take and start fresh.
  • Cancel recording — delete the active recording.
  • Complete recording — finish the recording and start uploading it.
  • Show / hide speaker notes — open or hide your private speaker notes.
  • Show / hide recording controls — hide the control bar, then bring it back. The recording keeps running.

There is no shortcut to start a recording or open the recording window. Start from the recording window, the Mac menu bar icon or the Windows tray icon.

Change or turn off a shortcut

  1. Open Keyboard shortcuts

    In the recording window, click More → Keyboard Shortcuts. On a Mac you can also use the Clevera menu → Keyboard shortcuts, or the menu bar icon → Keyboard Shortcuts....

  2. Click the shortcut you want to change

    Each action has a row with its description, the current shortcut and a checkbox. Click the shortcut. The field changes to Press keys....

    The Keyboard shortcuts window with the Restart recording field waiting for new keys.

  3. Press the new keys

    Hold at least one modifier key and press a key. The status line confirms "Shortcut saved."

    • Press Esc to cancel without changing anything.
    • To clear the shortcut, press Delete on a Mac or Backspace on Windows. The action then has no shortcut.

  4. Turn a shortcut on or off

    Clear the checkbox at the end of a row to turn that shortcut off without losing it. Select it again to turn it back on.

  5. Click Done

To go back to the original shortcuts, click Reset to defaults ("Shortcuts reset to defaults."). On Windows, confirm "Reset all shortcuts to the recommended defaults?" first.

Messages you may see

Message Meaning
"Add at least one modifier, such as ⌘, ⌥, ⌃, or ⇧." (Mac) or "Add at least one modifier, such as Ctrl + Alt + Shift." (Windows) A shortcut needs a modifier key. Hold one or more while pressing the key.
"Already used by "Pause / Resume recording". Pick a different shortcut." Another Clevera action already uses those keys. Choose different keys, or change the other action first.
Shortcut already used (Windows, when you turn a shortcut back on) Another action now uses those keys. Change one of them before turning it on.
"Shortcut saved." The new shortcut works straight away.

Shortcuts are saved for your user account on this computer, not for your Clevera account.

Other keys

Where Key Does
Area selection Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) Starts recording the selected area
Area selection, target card Esc Cancels and closes the overlay
Anywhere in Clevera (Mac) ⌘ Q Quits Clevera
Anywhere in Clevera (Mac) ⌘ ? Opens Clevera Help
Pause, restart or cancel a recordingWhat each recording control does.Use speaker notes viewers never seeToggle your notes with a shortcut.Change desktop app settingsCountdown, start sound and more.Record your full screen, a display or an appThe full recording flow.