Reelforge help

Getting started

The first time Reelforge opens, it shows what it adds to a recording, lets you pick a microphone and check its level, and offers a 10-second try-out: click around while it records, then see the automatic zooms in the editor.

Reelforge then waits in the notification area (the tray) near the clock.

• Left-click the icon for Record, your recent recordings and Settings.
• Right-click it for Record › Screen, Window or Region, Open library, Settings, Check for updates and Quit.
• Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R opens the capture picker from anywhere, and stops while recording.

Recording

In the capture picker, choose Full screen, Window or Region, and switch System audio and Microphone on or off. Then press Record. A 3-2-1 countdown appears on the screen you record, but never in the video.

While recording, a small toolbar shows the time, with Pause, Stop and edit, Restart and Discard. You can collapse it to a dot. It never appears in the video.

• A window recording follows the window when you move it. If you resize it, the video keeps its first size. Closing the window stops the recording.
• A region must be on one monitor.
• Screens taller than the Resolution cap in Settings › Recording (1440p by default) are recorded at half size. Choose Native (no cap) to record full size.
• Reelforge checks free disk space before and during a recording, warns you, and stops cleanly if space runs out.

Editing

Stop opens the editor with the automatic polish already applied. The preview matches the exported video.

• Zooms are pills on the timeline. Drag to move or resize them, press Delete to remove one, or Add zoom (Z). Redo auto-zoom replaces them all with fresh automatic ones.
• Trim with Trim start (I) and Trim end (O) at the playhead, or drag the trim handles.
• Cut and speed: Shift+drag on the timeline to select a part, then Cut selection, Speed up 2× or Speed up 4×. Sped-up parts are silent in the export.
• Frame: pick 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, and set the background, padding, rounded corners and shadow.

Keys in the editor

• Space plays or pauses. ← and → move the playhead; hold Shift to move one frame.
• Page Up and Page Down select the previous or next zoom. Ctrl+←/→ or Alt+←/→ nudge the selected zoom.
• Ctrl+E opens Export.

Exporting

Choose MP4 video or GIF (short clips), and a quality:

• Web — small and quick: 1080p, up to 30 fps.
• High — crisp (recommended): 1080p (1440p for tall screens), at the recorded frame rate.
• Max — full resolution: up to 4K.

GIFs can be up to 30 seconds long and have no sound. The export window shows an estimated size before you start. Exports go to Videos\Reelforge\Exports unless you choose another folder, and are named from the pattern in Settings › Export. Afterwards, Copy puts the file on the clipboard, ready to paste into a chat, email or folder, or turn on Copy the file after exporting.

What can’t be recorded

• Protected video, such as films and some streaming services, records as black. That’s Windows protecting it.
• The sign-in screen and admin prompts aren’t captured. The video holds the last picture until they close.
• The capture border: Windows may draw a border around what’s being recorded. Reelforge asks Windows to hide it, which works where Windows allows it.

Keyboard shortcuts

These work from anywhere in Windows while Reelforge is running.

Trial and license

Reelforge is free to try for 14 days, with everything turned on. After that: Recording, editing and your library keep working. Exports carry a small “Made with Reelforge” mark and are capped at 1080p.

Entering your license key

1. Buy a license. Your key appears on screen as soon as the payment goes through, and arrives by email.
2. In Reelforge, open the License page in Settings.
3. Paste the key and choose Activate. The PC needs to be online for this step.

Using it on more than one PC

One key works on up to 3 PCs. To move it to a new PC, deactivate it on the old one from the License page first. If the old PC is gone, free up its place at Manage devices, using the email address you bought with or the key itself.

Once activated, Reelforge works offline. When it's online it checks the license about once a week, so a refunded or revoked key stops working on its next check.

Bought Reelforge in the Microsoft Store? The Store edition is licensed through your Microsoft account instead, and doesn't use a key.

Updates

To get the latest version, choose Check for updates in Reelforge. It asks before installing anything.

Each update is checked against a fingerprint (SHA-256) before it runs, and installs over the current version without touching your data. Updates for the Microsoft Store edition come through the Store.

See what’s new in each version.

Your data and uninstalling

Reelforge keeps its settings and data on your PC, in this folder (paste it into File Explorer’s address bar to open it):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Hedgerow\Reelforge

To back it up, quit Reelforge and copy that folder.

To uninstall, open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Reelforge and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller asks whether to remove your data too.

Still stuck?

Email support@hedgerowapps.com and we’ll get back to you. Mention your Reelforge version (shown in Settings › About) and your Windows version. More answers are on the support page.