Document workflows without recording video
Loom is a screen recorder. UIHike is a step recorder. The output is a numbered walkthrough with screenshots and written instructions, not a video file your team has to scrub through to find the relevant part.
Video for explanation. Walkthroughs for reference.
Loom is the right tool when someone needs to see your screen and hear you explain it. It's the wrong tool when someone needs to follow a process themselves, find step 7, or hand the doc to the next person.
Loom
- Screen recording with audio narration
- Viewer watches a video file from start to finish
- Can't jump to a specific step
- Can't copy text, URLs, or instructions from the video
- Re-record the whole video when the UI changes
- Large file sizes; depends on Loom's CDN
UIHike
- Step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots per step
- Viewer reads and follows each step at their own pace
- Jump to any step directly
- Copy text, URLs, and instructions from each step
- Update one step without touching the others
- Share as a link, export to PDF, .docx, or .pptx, or use the built-in presentation mode
Video is great for context. It's hard to follow.
When someone watches your Loom, they can't skip to step 7. They can't copy the URL you navigated to. They can't search for “the part where you clicked the dropdown.” They have to watch the whole thing, often more than once.
A UIHike walkthrough is a numbered list. Each step has a screenshot, a written instruction, and the URL. The reader goes at their own pace, jumps back to the step they missed, and follows the link directly in their own browser.
What the reader gets
Loom
- Video file: play, pause, scrub
- Can't copy text or URLs
- Can't skip to a specific step
UIHike
- Numbered step list: read at own pace
- Copy text and URLs from each step
- Jump to any step directly
Walkthroughs update in place. Videos don't.
When the UI changes (and it will), a Loom video becomes wrong. The button moved. The menu item was renamed. The flow has a new confirmation screen. Your options are: tell people to ignore the outdated part, or re-record the whole thing.
In UIHike, each step is independent. Re-capture step 4, update the screenshot and instruction, leave the rest. The shared link updates immediately. No re-record, no new file to redistribute.
When step 4 changes
Loom
→ Video is now wrong at 2:14
→ Re-record the entire video
→ Re-share the new link
→ Old link still exists and misleads viewers
UIHike
→ Re-capture step 4 only
→ Steps 1–3 and 5+ unchanged
→ Shared link updates immediately
→ Same link, now accurate
Send a walkthrough to anyone, in any format
Loom gives you a video link. UIHike gives you a choice: a share link, a PDF, an editable .docx for anyone who needs to modify the content, a Markdown file for your wiki, a .pptx, or a standalone HTML file that works offline.
Share the link. Present from it live.
People reach for Loom partly because they want to present something in a meeting. UIHike published walkthroughs include a built-in presentation mode. Open the share link, click present, and walk the room through each step.
No .pptx to format. No screen share to set up. No video to cue to the right timestamp. The walkthrough you already made is the presentation.
Taking it to a meeting
Loom
→ Record a Loom video
→ Screen share in the call, hope it loads
→ Scrub to find the relevant part
→ Viewers can't follow along themselves
UIHike
→ Record the walkthrough once
→ Share the link before the meeting for async reading
→ Open the same link in the meeting
→ Click present, advance step by step
Loom vs UIHike
| Feature | Loom | UIHike |
|---|---|---|
| Screen recording | ✓ (video) | ✗ |
| Step-by-step walkthrough | ✗ | ✓ |
| Per-step screenshots | ✗ | ✓ |
| Skimmable / searchable output | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jump to a specific step | ✗ | ✓ |
| Copy step text or URL | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edit one step without re-recording | ✗ | ✓ |
| Non-destructive redaction | ✗ | ✓ |
| Export to PDF | Paid plan | ✓ |
| Export to Markdown | ✗ | ✓ |
| Microsoft PowerPoint-compatible (.pptx) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Word-compatible (.docx) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Built-in presentation mode | ✗ | ✓ |
| No account needed for viewers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows native app | ✗ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Loom free?
Loom has a free plan with a five-minute recording limit and a cap on stored videos. Paid tiers remove the limit. UIHike is free to download for Windows with no recording time limit.
Can I use Loom for documentation?
You can use Loom to explain a process visually. It works less well as reference documentation. Viewers can't skip to step 7, copy a URL from a step, or search the content. For reusable process documentation that people return to, text-and-screenshot walkthroughs work better.
How do I document a process without recording video?
Use UIHike. Click through the workflow once, and you get a numbered guide with screenshots and written instructions per step. Share it as a link, no video player, no scrubbing, no file size to worry about.
Does UIHike have video recording?
No. UIHike makes text-and-screenshot walkthroughs, not video recordings. If the goal is process documentation that people can follow step by step, a walkthrough gives the reader more control. They read each step at their own pace, zoom in on the screenshot, and follow the URL.
What is the difference between Loom and UIHike?
Loom records your screen as a video. UIHike records your workflow as a numbered sequence of steps with screenshots and written instructions. Different outputs for different use cases: Loom for narrative explanation, UIHike for reproducible process documentation.
Send a walkthrough instead of a Loom
Pick the next process you'd normally record a video for. Click through it in UIHike, share the link, and see what the other person says.