How PathTutorial works
Interactive, step-by-step tutorials that guide you on your own screen — pointing at the real buttons, speaking each step, and waiting until you've done it.
What PathTutorial is
PathTutorial is a free app for Windows that turns “how do I do this?” into a guided, hands-on lesson on your own computer. Instead of reading a list of steps or watching a video of someone else's screen, you run an interactive tutorial that points at the real buttons on your display, speaks each step aloud in plain words, and waits patiently until you've done it before moving on.
It's the closest thing to having a patient friend sit beside you and say “click there… now type your name… perfect” — except it's available any time, it never gets frustrated, and it's happy to show you the same step twenty times.
How it works, step by step
Getting guided help takes three steps:
- ➤Pick or create a tutorial. Choose a ready-made one from the library, or describe what you want to do and let AI build one for you.
- ➤Open it in the free Player. Double-click the tutorial file (a .ptf) and press Start. That's the whole setup.
- ➤Follow the arrow. A friendly voice tells you each step, an on-screen pointer shows you exactly where, and you do it. It only advances once you've completed the step.
What makes it different
Most “help” makes you translate someone else's instructions onto your own screen. PathTutorial removes that gap entirely.
- ➤It happens in the real app on your computer — nothing to copy across.
- ➤An arrow points at the actual button, wherever it is on your screen, at any resolution or window size.
- ➤Every step is spoken out loud and written in a bubble, in plain language — no jargon, no keyboard shortcuts.
- ➤It waits for you. It only moves on when you've done the step, so you can never fall behind.
- ➤You did it with your own hands, so your hands remember it. It sticks the way riding a bike sticks.
Where AI comes in
You don't have to wait for someone to publish the exact tutorial you need. Describe your task to the PathTutorial assistant on our website and it writes the steps and builds a tutorial on the spot. Prefer to use the AI you already have? Connect your own ChatGPT or Claude to PathTutorial, and when you ask it “how do I do this on my computer?”, it can hand you an interactive tutorial to run.
This is a safer answer to “can AI do things on my computer?” than handing an AI agent control of your mouse. The AI does the thinking — working out the steps — while you keep full control of every click and learn as you go.
Who it's for
PathTutorial helps anyone who'd rather be shown than told:
- ➤People who find computers stressful and want a patient, judgement-free guide.
- ➤Anyone learning a new app — Excel, Word, Outlook, Zoom — without wading through videos.
- ➤Families and carers helping a parent or relative learn a task without hovering over the phone.
- ➤Teams and businesses that want staff to actually learn a process, not just watch it once.
What it can teach
PathTutorial works with standard Windows apps and websites — Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, Notepad, File Explorer, Windows Settings, and sites like Zoom, Gmail, ChatGPT and Claude opened in your browser. If you can describe the task in words, you can usually get a step-by-step tutorial for it.
Is it safe?
The Player runs locally on your Windows PC and guides you — it doesn't take actions for you. To point at the right button it reads on-screen elements through Windows' built-in accessibility system, and it watches for your click so it knows when to move on. Nothing happens on your computer without you doing it. When you use the AI builder, the task you describe is sent to our AI provider to generate the tutorial.