Explaining a scrim
Scrims are Scrimba's interactive coding screencasts. When something in one doesn't click, you can ask for an explainer about that exact moment. Scrimba builds it from the scrim itself: the code in the editor, what the teacher has said so far, and any lines you've highlighted.
Asking for an explainer
Click Explain in the scrim's header. The scrim pauses and the Explain this to me dialog opens.
On newer scrims you can also start from the code: open the Options menu (the three dots) on the editor pane and choose Explain. It's there while a file is open in that pane.
Type your question into the box (What would you like explained more?) and click Create explainer, or press Enter. If you leave the box empty, Scrimba asks for you: Explain what's happening here.
To focus on particular lines, highlight them in the editor before you open the dialog. The explainer makes your selection its focus and uses the rest of the scrim as background.
You need to be signed in. If you aren't, Scrimba asks you to sign in when you submit. The Explain button doesn't appear on a scrim that's locked for you.
What the explainer knows
Scrimba sends a snapshot of the scrim as it was when you asked:
- the scrim's title and the course it belongs to
- the files in the editor, including which ones were open and which one you were looking at
- the code you highlighted, if any
- the teacher's narration up to that point, when the scrim has captions
- the point in the scrim where you paused
The explainer is grounded in that code: it reuses the scrim's own file names, variables and values instead of inventing a separate example.
Some scrims are explained in the voice of the teacher who recorded them. Otherwise the explainer uses your selected teaching style.
Watching it and going back
The explainer opens on top of the scrim, so the scrim is one Back press away. The explainer page also shows a Back to lesson link with the scrim's title. It stops the narration and returns you to the scrim at the moment you asked.
Follow-ups you create from the explainer keep the same link back to the scrim.
Finding it again
Your explainers from a scrim are listed in that scrim's sidebar under Explainers, each marked with the time you asked, such as at 3:42. The list shows only your own explainers. They're also saved to your account with the rest of your explainers.
An explainer made from a scrim carries the scrim's code, so it's never more public than the scrim. If the scrim isn't public, the explainer takes the scrim's visibility instead. See Privacy, claiming and sharing.
How many you can create
A free account can create six explainers from scrims. The dialog shows how many you have left, and once they're used up its button changes to Upgrade to Pro. Pro members create explainers from scrims without a limit. See Limits and plans.