Windows 10 ships with a selection of built-in “in-box” apps to simplify common tasks. You can make sound recordings using the preinstalled Voice Recorder app, no extra software required.
First, find Voice Recorder in the Start menu. The app’s interface couldn’t be any simpler – there’s a big blue record button and very little else. Click the button to start recording.
Once recording has started, the play button will morph into a stop button. Press it again to end the recording.
During recording, you get access to two new buttons, displayed below the start/stop control. The option on the left is a familiar pause button, allowing you to temporarily suspend the recording.
The rightmost button is perhaps more interesting. It lets you flag interesting sections in the recording. These will appear as clickable bookmarks when listening to the recording in the Voice Recorder app. This is especially useful when recording phone calls – click the flag to mark a particularly noteworthy point for later reference.
Once you’ve finished your recording, you’ll be able to listen to it within the Voice Recorder app. You get a basic list of all recordings, sorted by recording date. Click a file to open it in the play pane.
Press the large Play button to listen. At the top of the screen, you’ll see a strip of all the bookmarks in the clip. Click a bookmark to jump straight to its position in the recording. You can add further bookmarks using the flag button beneath the play control.
At the bottom of the app, you’ll find buttons to Share, Trim, Delete and Rename the clip. You can also right-click a recording to open its file location. Recordings are saved as M4A files in “Sound recordings” within your Documents folder.
