Who can do this?
Administrators for all media, Instructors, and Teaching Assistants for media they own and course media if editing is enabled for co-instructors / teaching assistants.
Some institutions generate their closed captioning files rather than using a captioning service. EchoVideo allows users to upload captioning files to media manually. You are also able to delete captions from media if necessary.
It is also possible (if ASR is enabled) to download the transcript files for a Capture and upload them as captioning files. Alternatively, users can select Apply to CC in the transcript editor to apply a transcript as a closed captioning file.
For tips and instructions on how to generate your closed caption files, see the following online articles:
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebVTT_API
- http://www.3playmedia.com/2017/03/08/create-srt-file/
Adding Captions to Media
Users with editing rights on media can upload a captions file to be applied to an audio, video, or interactive media file. The instructions below assume the media is selected from the user's library. However, instructors and teaching assistants can also open the media details page from the class list by selecting Details from the media icon menu.
Caption uploads will either apply or replace the existing captions on the media. If the capture already has a captioning file, uploading a new file replaces the existing captions with the latest file's contents.
Only VTT and SRT file types are accepted as valid caption uploads.
Non-administrator users (Instructors, Schedulers, etc.) who have been granted permission to order captions can send any media they own out for closed captioning. Non-admins are limited to selecting from closed caption configurations set up to Allow Ordering.
To order closed captioning files to a capture
- Select the media tile of the item you want to add from your Library.
The Media Details page opens.
- Select Accessibility from the menu under Details.
- Click Add Closed Captions or the + next to it, as shown in the figure below.
- Click Order Captions.
The Order Closed Captions modal opens.
- Select the desired configuration for captioning from the dropdown.
- Click Order Captions to start processing the captions for your media.
The captions will be processed, and you will receive a notification when they are complete.
To upload closed captioning files to a capture
- Select the media tile of the item you want to add from your Library.
The Media Details page opens.
- Select Accessibility from the menu under Details.
- Click Add Closed Captions or the + next to it, as shown in the figure below.
- Select Upload.
- In the Filepicker window that appears, navigate to and select the closed captioning file to apply to this capture.
At this time, only VTT and SRT file types are accepted.
- Click Upload.
Once the file is uploaded, it is applied to and synced with the capture / media. This processing should be brief. You might need to refresh the content details page to see the captions applied to the media.
If a user edits the media, the captioning file may need to be re-done and re-uploaded to apply to the edited media.
Deleting Captions From Media
Instructors can remove the captions from media that have them. This may be necessary if there is a problem with the existing closed captioning file and you do not yet have a valid file to apply to the media.
Deleting captions from media is permanent and cannot be undone. Click the captions VTT file link from the Processed Files list, and download the current captions file before deleting it from the media. This provides you with a copy to edit and upload later if necessary.
If the Delay media availability option is enabled (either at the section level specifically or as forced down from a higher level), removing captions from the media will make it unavailable to students until captions are re-applied. As the instructor, you will see the media in your class list, but students cannot see it and, therefore, cannot view it until it is captioned again.
To delete closed captioning files from a capture
- Select the media tile of the item you want to add from your Library.
The Media Details page opens.
- Select Accessibility from the menu under Details.
- Click the vertical action dots and choose Delete from the menu.
- Review the information in the warning dialog box. If appropriate, click OK.
The captions file is removed from the media.