Installing and starting
"Windows protected your PC" when installing. The installer isn't code-signed yet. Click More info → Run anyway. Download Briefcast only from withbriefs.com/briefcast or the official GitHub releases.
Launching Briefcast just brings an existing window forward. Only one copy of Briefcast runs at a time. It's already open: check the taskbar, or other virtual desktops.
The window is blank or white after waking the computer. Briefcast repairs this on its own within a few seconds of waking. If it persists, minimize and restore the window, or restart Briefcast. If the window has to reload, Briefcast reopens what you were working on, such as the video in the editor or the document you were writing, and your edits are already saved.
Recording
The camera won't start, or shows "Could not start video source". On Windows, only one app can use a camera at a time. Close Zoom, Teams, your browser's video call tab or any other app using it. If the camera is on Briefcast's live display, take it off first.
A camera or microphone is missing from the list. Plug it in, then click the refresh button beside the device list. Check Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Camera / Microphone, and make sure desktop apps are allowed to use them.
The recording bar warns about dropped frames. The computer can't keep up. Close heavy apps, choose 1080p or 30 fps in the recording options, or record a single window instead of a 4K screen.
No system audio in my recording. Turn on System audio in the recording options. It's available for screen recordings, and only captures sound while something is actually playing.
"Finishing your recording…" takes a long time. Long recordings take a while to clean up and assemble, and longer still on a busy computer. You can hide the window; the file appears in the library when it's ready. If you don't need the audio clean-up, turning off Settings → Recording → Enhance audio automatically makes this step much faster.
My recording sounds different from what I heard. Audio clean-up removes background noise and evens out levels. Turn off Enhance audio automatically in Settings to keep the sound exactly as captured.
Phone camera
The phone can't open the page, or it keeps loading. Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, not a guest network, which usually blocks devices from reaching each other. Try the other addresses listed under the QR code. Allow Briefcast through Windows Firewall on private networks.
The phone says the connection isn't private. That's expected. Tap Advanced → Proceed (Chrome) or Show Details → visit this website (Safari). See Using your phone as a camera.
The phone says "Not paired".
Open the page by scanning the QR code in Briefcast; a link typed by hand must include everything after the #.
Playing and editing
A video won't play, or plays without sound. Some formats need converting before Briefcast's player can handle them; Briefcast usually does this automatically the first time. You can also use Convert in the file's menu to make an MP4.
Thumbnails are missing or out of date. Go to Settings → Cache, clear the relevant category, and click Reload app.
An export failed. Briefcast shows the reason. The most common causes are a full disk or a source file that was moved or deleted. A failed export never leaves a broken file behind.
Files
I deleted something by mistake. Open the Trash tab at the top of the sidebar and click Restore. Docs have their own Trash on the Docs home screen. Files stay in Trash for 30 days by default.
I moved my Briefcast folder and something looks broken. Briefcast repairs links between files (such as images in a video edit) when it starts. Restart it once. Always use Settings → Storage → Change Location… to move the folder, rather than moving it in File Explorer.
Still stuck?
Briefcast keeps a log of what it does at %APPDATA%\Briefcast\logs\app.log. Use Request feature / Report a bug at the bottom-right of the window, or open an issue on GitHub, describe what happened, and attach the log if you can.
