[closed] Global hotkeys

[dwacc]

Hi. Thanks for this amazing solution to video production!

One little obstacle we've run into is when we want to cut to a Camtasia screen-capture of the same desktop as VidBlaster. If we move out of VidBlaster (to say Firefox, to show people a website) it will not switch to the screencapture when we press "2".

Is there a way to get VidBlaster to respond to hotkeys while the program window is inactive? If not, could this be added?

[Mike]

Thanks! :D Did you create any shows with it yet, anything online for us to see?

No, VidBlaster will not capture shortcuts when it is not active. Yes I can add that, but it would be very un-Windows to do that. Please think about the consequences if you loose control over certain keys when VidBlaster is running. You may want to do your email, type some notes, prepare an overlay, and accidentally switch cameras in doing so! I am very very reluctant to add this functionality as I foresee great disasters in live shows. I am however willing to hear others about this subject, as you are not the first to ask for this.

PS: you need Camtasia to capture a screen while VidBlaster can do that too?

[dwacc]

Yeah I used Camtasia because selecting capture areas seemed easier. Maybe I just don't know how to do it in VidBlaster yet. Actually I'm just using trian right now, but I'm in the middle of starting a cooking show with a friend of mine. On that note, how's Studio coming along?

I totally agree that it'd create a lot of problems, but if there's enough demand for this, this might be a compromise: Instead of unleashing the hounds by having vidblaster pick up camera-switches from all over windows, you could include a specific "minimized capture" feature, toggled by a specific shortcut. While in minimized mode, users cannot switch cameras/videos, add overlays, or do anything except hit that toggle key to restore vidblaster to normal mode.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t307/dwalo/vblast.gif

Something like that. People don't really need control over cameras/players/overlays/recording/streaming while in this mode because all they want to do is show the viewers something on their desktop. When I'm done, or need to change an overlay or access a different camera, I hit the toggle key, the window is restored, and I can go about my business. Having a "return to"-camera/player avoids viewers seeing the VidBlaster window restore onto the desktop.

[FogTom]

I like this idea. I was using a second (extended) display for this because I couldn't get VidBlaster and the screen I wanted to capture on at the same time without overlapping the windows.

From reading your description, I think this is how you would use it.
1. Use VB to set a screen capture (i.e. of the browser) as Camera 1
2. Bring VB back to the foreground
3. Enable VB Minimize mode (setting Shift F9 as the toggle key)
4. Set Camera 2 as the live camera.
5. Start streaming/recording using Camera 2
6. When it's time to show the browser, press Shift F9 (or click on the Camera 1 to select it) and VB goes away and switches to Camera 1 (screen capture)
7. After you are done showing the screen capture, press Shift F9 and VB switches back to Camera 2 and VB pops back on screen.

The time when you use this is very controlled so the keys are not globally enabled. You could even limit the use of the Hot Key to only when the Screen Capture is the video source and require enabling the Screen Capture "camera" the way it exists now. In this case the Hot Key could be renamed, Return From Screen Capture.

BTW, you set the screen capture area in VB by right clicking in the Camera window used for screen captures. You click on "Select Capture Area" and use the mouse (drag with left button pressed) to create the capture area.

-Tom