Exporting an animation with a custom resolution

You can choose to export videos of a desired resolution (width and height). The resolution of the video that can be exported largely depends on whether the graphics card on your machine supports the desired resolution for your exported video.

Check the display settings properties of your graphics card and see if your graphics card and monitor support the resolution you want for your exported video. Make sure the display resolution is set to the desired resolution, which would encompass the desired video resolution. When exporting to video, on the Options dialog box, specify the width and height for the exported video in pixels and check to resize the application window to temporarily accommodate this custom extent.

1. Click the Animation drop-down menu and click Export Animation.
2. Click the Save in drop-down arrow and choose a location.
3. In the File name text box, type the name of the video file you want to create.
4. Click the Save as type drop-down arrow and choose the type of video file you want to create.

   You can export to .avi or .mov.

5. Click Options.
6. If you want the entire application to be present in the exported video, check Record entire application window. If you want only the viewer to be exported, uncheck this option.
7. Check Use custom extent to define the size of the window to be recorded and specify a width and height for the exported video in pixels.

   Specify a width and height that maintains the aspect ratio of the desired output video. This allows you to export a video with minimum distortion. For example, if the desired video resolution is 1600 x 1200 (aspect ratio 4:3) but your maximum screen resolution is only 1024 x 768, you can export a video of 1000 x 750, maintaining the aspect ratio of 4:3. After exporting the video, you can resize your video to 1600 x 1200 resolution using third-party software.

8. Check Resize application window to temporarily accommodate this custom extent.

   By checking this option, the application window is temporarily resized during the video export to accommodate the custom extent set. The distortion in the output video file is kept to a minimum when the custom extent specified is much different than the actual application window or viewer size.

   The maximum achievable resolution (width and height) is displayed, giving an indication of the limits on the resolution that can be set when the application window is resized temporarily.

9. Click OK.
10. Click Export.

    A video file of the given name and type is created in the specified location.

Tip:

• If the option Resize application window to temporarily accommodate this custom extent is unchecked, you may see some distortion in the output video. This happens because the output video frames are stretched or contracted to conform to the specified custom video resolution. The video would look stretched if the specified custom width or height is larger than the actual application or viewer size, whereas it would look contracted if the specified custom width or height is smaller than the actual application or viewer size.
• When you export your animation to a video file, make sure you move other windows away from the application or the viewer that is playing the animation to prevent them from appearing in the exported file. To enable the continuation of your work while the animation is exporting (allowing windows to be opened in front of the application and preventing your screen saver from appearing in the exported video), it is recommended that you click Options on the Export animation dialog box and check Enable Off-Screen recording. This option is only available if the application is maximized.
• If the custom resolution you need to use when exporting is larger than the display settings properties of your graphics card, you can set a lower resolution while maintaining the aspect ratio of the desired video output. For example, if you want to create a video with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 on a machine that supports a resolution of 1280 x 1024, you can export the video to half the size: 960 x 540. You can then use third-party software to resize the exported video to the desired resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Feedback on this topic?