Hotspots & Callouts
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Steps are the building blocks of Arcades.
When an Arcade is finished recording, each click will be broken out into a step. The steps are listed on the left-hand tab and are made up of either pictures, videos, or overlays. ( how Arcade chooses when to use still images and when to use video.)
When you're editing an Arcade, you can , , add, or delete steps.
Steps are the building blocks of Arcades. Each click you record is automatically broken out into a separate step. Steps can be made up of:
Pictures
Videos
Overlays
You can edit steps by duplicating, merging, adding, or deleting them.
When your recording is finished:
You'll be taken to the upload page automatically.
Once the upload is complete, go to the Edit tab to start editing.
In Edit mode, you can:
Change the Arcade title
Delete and duplicate steps
Move and add hotspots
Add hotspot text, images, videos, and overlays
Change the logo
And much more
Tip: Always add text to your hotspots to tell a story rather than just labeling clicks.
Yes. To duplicate:
Use ⌘C and ⌘V (just like copy-paste elsewhere)
Use Shift + Click to select multiple steps at once
Yes. You can copy steps from one Arcade and paste them into another using the same ⌘C and ⌘V shortcuts.
Note: You can only copy steps between Arcades within the same account.
Yes. To delete:
On the My Arcades or Team page, check the Arcade you'd like to delete
Click Delete at the top of the page or
Click the Options Menu (three dots) on the Arcade preview and select Delete
If you accidentally delete an Arcade, reach out to us — we can help recover it.
You have two options:
Delete the old step and drag in a new one
Go to the Media Library, hover over a step, and select Replace current step or Add to new step
Arcade will automatically crop all steps to match the dimensions of the first step.
To check the dimensions, hover over the Upload button.
If your Arcade uses a wrapper:
The text shown in the fake browser bar is your Arcade's title.
To update it, simply click on the Arcade title in Edit mode and change it.
Hotspots are clickable areas created automatically during recording at every place you click. Viewers must click on a hotspot to move forward (unless autoplay is enabled).
You can add a hotspot two ways:
Double-click anywhere on the Edit page
Click the Hotspot button from the top editing toolbar
A new hotspot will appear wherever you clicked.
When you select a hotspot, the editing options appear on the right-hand side. You can:
Add or edit the text
Align text (Left, Center, Right)
Choose whether text should open automatically
Choose a style: Hotspot (pulsating dot) or Callout (text box)
Change the Background color and Text color
Apply styling to all hotspots with one click
Adjust the Pointer position (left, right, top, or bottom of the hotspot)
Set the Destination (by default, it goes to the next step, but you can send users to any step in the Arcade)
Toggle Voiceover generation for the text
To add text:
Click on the hotspot.
Edit the text in the right-hand side panel.
You can also:
Use plain text or emojis
Create line breaks by pressing Shift + Enter
Yes. When editing a hotspot, you can set whether the text appears to the left, right, top, or bottom of the hotspot.
Yes. In the Destination setting:
By default, the hotspot progresses to the next step.
You can change it to send users to any other step in your Arcade.
Yes. Arcade supports autoplay in two ways:
Step-level autoplay:
Click the three dots (...) on a step
Select Progress without interaction or
Use the shortcut ⌘A
Arcade-level autoplay:
Click Design in the toolbar
Scroll to Autoplay and turn the toggle on
Notes:
Arcade-level autoplay will not work if your Arcade starts with a video (due to browser restrictions).
Engagement and completion rates will not be collected when autoplay is turned on.
Callouts are text boxes placed over your Arcade, similar to Arcades, but designed for text over drawing attention to a location (like a hotspot)
Hotspots look like pulsating, clickable dots. Callouts look like floating text boxes.
Callouts are best for:
Sharing extra information not tied to a click
Providing guidance, instructions, or tips
Highlighting key points without needing user interaction
If you want users to click, use a hotspot instead.
You can add a callout two ways:
Double-click anywhere on the Edit page and then change the style to Callout
Click the Callout button from the top editing toolbar
When you select a callout, you can:
Add or edit the text
Align text (Left, Center, Right)
Change the Background color and Text color
Apply changes to all callouts with one click
Add an arrow pointing to a specific location
Choose whether or not to show a pulsating arrow button
Set the Destination (next step by default or another step)
Toggle Voiceover generation for the text
Yes. In the callout editing panel, use the Arrow location dropdown to add an arrow pointing to a specific part of the screen.
Yes. You can switch easily between Hotspot and Callout at any time within the editing panel.
Arcade supports Markdown inside hotspots and callouts.
Markdown formatting:
Bold: **bold text**
Italic: *italic text*
Bold and italic: ***bold and italic text***
External link: [link text](https://<external_url>)
You can always reference this by clicking the ? icon in Arcade and selecting Text Formatting.
Yes. Arcade supports limited CSS inside text fields for styling.
Absolutely. You can add hotspots and callouts to videos the same way you do with images. They will stay visible over the video, and clicking a hotspot will advance the Arcade to the next step.