Add click indicators to Mac training videos

Training videos have a job most demos don't: the viewer is expected to do the steps, not just watch them. That makes an unmarked click a real problem — a learner who can't see where you pressed will pause, rewind, and guess. macOS has a built-in click indicator called Show Mouse Clicks. Turn it on once and every recording in your course marks each click, so learners can follow along without hunting.

Turn on the indicator

1. Press Shift+Cmd+5 to open the screen recording toolbar.
2. Click Options.
3. Tick Show Mouse Clicks.
4. Choose your capture area and record your first lesson.

From now on, each click draws a dark circle at the pointer for a moment. Crucially, the setting is remembered between recordings — so once it's on, every clip in a multi-part course carries the same indicator without you re-checking the box each time. That consistency matters: learners come to rely on the ring as "this is the thing I click."

Lock it in for a whole series

If several people on your team record lessons, or you set up a dedicated recording machine, set the indicator as a system default so nobody forgets it:

# Standardise click indicators across all lessons
defaults write com.apple.screencapture show-clicks -bool true
killall SystemUIServer

# Remove them if a course no longer needs them
defaults write com.apple.screencapture show-clicks -bool false
killall SystemUIServer

The command writes the same preference the checkbox does, so it's a reliable way to make a fresh Mac match your recording standard. It behaves identically on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia, and it flows through to QuickTime's New Screen Recording since that uses the same recorder.

Recording habits that make lessons easy to copy

The indicator does more when your pace gives it room to work:

• Arrive, pause, click. Let the pointer settle on the target for a beat before clicking so the ring reads clearly. Learners are copying you in real time — a rushed click is a missed step.
• Narrate keyboard steps. The indicator marks pointer clicks, not keystrokes. When a lesson uses a shortcut, say it and consider a caption, because there's no ring to show it.
• Keep the frame calm. Turn off banner notifications so the click ring is the only thing drawing the eye. A pop-up mid-lesson is exactly the distraction that makes a learner lose their place.
• Consider a bigger pointer. On a dense app, a slightly larger cursor plus the click ring makes the target unmistakable even when the video is played small.

None of this changes the actual click — the indicator is purely cosmetic, drawn on top of your normal interaction. That's what makes it safe to leave on for an entire course and switch off the day you're done.

Record one short pilot lesson and watch it back before committing to the full series — it's the fastest way to catch a too-fast click or a missed narration cue while it still only costs you one clip instead of twenty.

Keep every lesson distraction-free

A click indicator only shines when nothing else pops into frame. Before you record the next module, set up hiding notifications while screen recording so a stray banner never lands on top of the step you're teaching.