The look and feel of the Player is changing! Upcoming changes are identified in this article by providing screenshots labeled "Old UI" and "New UI".

A Note about "Shared" Media
With the increased use of Collections to share media with other users, and with the addition of collection media to your Library page, the line between "individually shared" media and "media shared through a collection" has blurred significantly. The information on this page still applies, but understand that it applies specifically to media that someone has shared with you individually.
Furthermore, if you are a member of one or more collections that contain media put there by other people, using the Owner information on a media tile is not enough to determine if this is "shared media" or "collection media".
Regardless, if you do not own the media, the permissions you have on it will vary, depending on how you have access to it (via an individual share or through a collection). In all cases, you can view it by clicking on the tile and opening the media details page. What you can do with the media is reflected in the availability of the commands and information on the media details page.

If someone has shared a piece of media with you, it appears in your media Library. Shared media allows you to view the media outside of a course or classroom, and without the owner sending you a file or a link. This is useful if, for example, the owner wants you to review the media and assist with media or transcription edits, or other changes.

Like any media in your library, view the Shared media by clicking on the tile. This opens the media in the Media Details page where you can view it.

The easiest way to see whether something is a shared item or not is to look at the media tile. Whose name appears there? If it's your name, it is your media; you own it.  If it is someone else's name, then this is Shared media, owned by that user but viewable by you.

In the above figure, the tile shows a video owned by Tom Murphy. If you are not Tom Murphy, then this video shows up in your Library because Tom shared the item with you (or it resides in a collection you are a member of).

Understand that this is not a copy of the media; it is more like a link that gives you access to it. You may or may not be able to make changes to it (this is discussed more below). If another user makes changes, you will see them when you view it.

If / when the owner decides to "unshare" the item with you, it disappears from your library.

If / when you decide you do not need access to it anymore, you can "remove" it from your library, which simply removes your access to the item. It does not delete the media.

• Click the menu icon and select Remove
  OR
• Click on the tile to open the media details page and then click the Remove option located below the preview panel on the page.

IF you see the Remove option but it is grayed out, this media is in your library through a collection. The only way you can remove it from your library is to also remove it from the collection.

What Can I Do With Shared Media?

The purpose of someone sharing a piece of media with you is to allow you to view the media outside of a classroom or section. Click on the media tile and the media details page opens, allowing you to watch the video or page through the slides.

What else can you do with it? Well, that depends on certain settings in the system. A quick way to know is to click the Menu icon and see which commands are available. If they are gray, you cannot perform that action.

If you are viewing the media on the media details page, and your mouse changes to a "prohibited" icon (a slashed circle) when hovering over a command, you cannot perform that action. In addition, prohibited action commands are grayed out.

Download shared media

If the feature is enabled for your institution, you may be able to download the media file to your local machine. If it is not, you will not see any download options for shared media.

• Click the menu button on the media tile, click More Actions, and then select Download (if it is available)
  OR
• Click on the tile to open the media details page then click the Download option from the options below the preview panel.

  Old UI
  New UI

NOTE ABOUT DOWNLOADING SHARED CONTENT: You may find that you can download some shared items but not others. Why? If downloading shared media is disabled, then ordinarily you will not see the Download option for shared items. However, if the shared item is ALSO published to a section where downloading the class media is allowed and you are enrolled in that section, you may have the right to download that shared content. Know that downloads may be limited to only the audio portion of the file.

Copy shared media

If the feature is enabled for your institution, you may be able to create a copy of shared media. If it is not, you will not see the Create copy options for shared media.

• Click the menu button on the media tile and select Make a copy (if it is available)
  OR
• Click on the tile to open the media details page then click the Make A Copy option from the options below the preview panel.

  Old UI
  New UI

When you do this, you create a copy that you now own and which appears with YOUR name as the owner. Keep in mind that the copy is a completely different file than the Shared one you had access to. After you create the copy, a Search of your library should return both items, one with your name on it (your copy) and one that represents the shared original owned by someone else, as shown below. You may need to refresh the page to see the new copy.

NOTE ABOUT COPYING SHARED CONTENT: You may find that you can copy some shared items but not others. Why? If copying shared media is disabled, ordinarily you will not see the Create Copy option for shared items. However, if the shared item is ALSO published to a section where copying media is allowed and you are enrolled in that section, you may have the right to create your own copy of that shared content.

Editing shared media

It states above that you cannot make changes to shared media and this is generally true. Only owners (and admins) can typically edit media.

BUT...if the shared item ALSO happens to be published to a section where you are an instructor AND co-instructor editing is turned on for that section, you can edit this media. Editing media includes edits to the media itself but ALSO may involve editing transcription files, uploading closed captioning files, or changing the name or description of the item.

You will know if you can edit the shared media if the Edit and Edit media options in the Content menu are available (not grayed), or the corresponding options in the media details page are available. The icons and the captions / transcriptions drop-downs are identified in the figures below.

IMPORTANT!! Any edits you make to shared media apply to ALL INSTANCES of the media; your changes will show up in any section it's published to and in the owner's version of the file. Because it's the same file. You may want to check where the media is published to BEFORE editing the file. Shared media is simply access to a single media file. If you need to make changes separately from the original, create a copy of the shared item first.

• Click the menu button on the media tile and select Edit Details (to change the name or description) or Edit media (to make changes to the file itself)
  OR
• Click on the tile to open the media details page, then click the Edit Details option or the Edit Media option, from the options below the playback panel.

  Old UI
  New UI

• In the Media Details page, select the Edit Transcript command, identified below, to open the transcript editor. If the Edit Transcript option is grayed and not selectable, you cannot edit the transcripts for this shared media.

  Old UI
  New UI