What makes GIFs useful?

GIFs have a number of advantages that make them useful for a wide variety of needs: <ul> <li>Endless looping: Automatic looping makes it easier to catch and maintain viewers’ attention as they scroll.</li> <li>Communicate clearly: GIFs are great for enhancing <a href="https://experience.dropbox.com/resources/what-is-visual-communication">clear communication</a>, especially when compared to a still image.</li> <li>Smaller file size: With their smaller size, GIFs can be an ideal format for scenarios where size matters—like texting, or posting online.</li> </ul>

How do the Windows and macOS versions of Dropbox Capture differ when it comes to creating GIFs?

With Dropbox Capture for macOS, you can record GIFs directly from the desktop app, without needing to record your clip as a video first. With Dropbox Capture for both Windows and macOS, you can export any clip under 30 seconds (including trimmed clips) as a GIF.

What else can Dropbox Capture do?

In addition to creating GIFs from screen recordings, Dropbox Capture has a number of other capabilities: <ul> <li>Record yourself with your webcam, in addition to your screen.</li> <li>Record a voiceover with your microphone.</li> <li>Transcribe your recorded videos, with automatically-generated closed captions and transcripts.</li> <li>Playback your recorded clips in 4K.</li> <li>Share your recordings directly from Dropbox Capture and get notified when the clip is viewed.</li> <li>Control who can access your clips, with video-specific sharing settings.</li> <li>Viewers can leave time-specific comments on your clips, as well as emoji reactions.</li> <li>Creating content for different audiences or purposes? Add clips to collections to curate related sets of recordings and share them together.</li> </ul>

GIF recorder

Record a GIF of your screen, edit it, and export it—all in one place

Dropbox Capture makes creating a GIF from a screen recording simple.

Record your screen, edit your clip, download it as a GIF, and share—it’s that easy.

Try Dropbox Capture

An animated GIF demonstrating how to use Dropbox Capture to record a video of yourself and your screen, which can then be converted into a GIF.

Record GIFs

Record your screen and convert to GIF

With Dropbox Capture’s advanced screen recording capabilities, it’s easy to get the clip you need:

Download screen recording videos under 30 seconds as GIFs or, if you’re using macOS, record GIFs directly
When recording GIFs, choose whether to capture your full screen, parts of the screen, or individual app windows
Record your screen in 720p, 1080p, and 4K video quality
Annotate your screen with freehand drawing while recording for additional clarity
Custom keyboard shortcuts allow you start recording instantly, saving precious seconds in those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments

A visual representation of the Dropbox Capture desktop app interface, demonstrating the recording options available.

How to create GIFs with Dropbox Capture

1. Open Dropbox Capture

Install the Dropbox Capture desktop app, or open it directly from dropbox.com.

2. Hit record

Hit the red record button to record your screen, a selected area, or an app window.

3. Trim

Once you’re done, the clip will open in your browser, where you can trim it to under 30 seconds.

4. Download as GIF

Download any recording under 30 seconds as a GIF, directly from the clip’s Share settings.

Edit GIFs

Trim your clip down to size—no editing suite required

There’s no need to add more tools to your workflow if you simply need to condense a longer recording into a short, bite-sized GIF.

Trim your screen recordings to remove unnecessary footage with Dropbox Capture.

A visual representation of the Dropbox Capture interface, demonstrating how to trim a clip.

Send GIFs

Export and share your clips as GIFs

Any Dropbox Capture recordings under 30 seconds, or clips trimmed to under 30 seconds, can be downloaded as GIFs.

Once downloaded, they’re ready to be shared however you prefer:

Embed your GIF on a webpage
Post on social media
Share via a messaging app
Or any other platform that supports GIFs

Start creating GIFs

A visual representations of the Dropbox Capture interface, demonstrating how to export a screen recording as a GIF.

Frequently asked questions

A GIF is a type of image file. The acronym stands for “Graphics Interchange Format” and the file type has remained popular since it was first introduced in the 1980s.

GIFs are perhaps best-known for their ability to include multiple frames. This allows them to be used to create looping animated clips, without the need for embedding or sharing large video files.

GIFs have a number of advantages that make them useful for a wide variety of needs:

Endless looping: Automatic looping makes it easier to catch and maintain viewers’ attention as they scroll.
Communicate clearly: GIFs are great for enhancing clear communication, especially when compared to a still image.
Smaller file size: With their smaller size, GIFs can be an ideal format for scenarios where size matters—like texting, or posting online.

With Dropbox Capture for macOS, you can record GIFs directly from the desktop app, without needing to record your clip as a video first.

With Dropbox Capture for both Windows and macOS, you can export any clip under 30 seconds (including trimmed clips) as a GIF.

In addition to creating GIFs from screen recordings, Dropbox Capture has a number of other capabilities:

Record yourself with your webcam, in addition to your screen.
Record a voiceover with your microphone.
Transcribe your recorded videos, with automatically-generated closed captions and transcripts.
Playback your recorded clips in 4K.
Share your recordings directly from Dropbox Capture and get notified when the clip is viewed.
Control who can access your clips, with video-specific sharing settings.
Viewers can leave time-specific comments on your clips, as well as emoji reactions.
Creating content for different audiences or purposes? Add clips to collections to curate related sets of recordings and share them together.