This guide walks you through the process of uploading a caption file to a video in Canvas Files.

Uploading a caption file is useful for media you have sent to a captioning vendor. Make sure you have downloaded the file from the vendor in one of the following formats: srt or vtt.

  1. From your Canvas homepage, navigate to the Files section of the site.
    A canvas course homepage with an arrow pointing to the “Files” link in the left navigation menu.
  2. Navigate to the video you would like to caption.
    A canvas course’s files section. An arrow is pointing to a video file.
  3. Click on the video to open the video preview screen.
    The preview screen for a video in Canvas Files. There is an arrow pointing to the hamburger menu in the top right corner of the video player.
  4. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and choose Upload Captions.
    The expanded hamburger menu in the top right of the Canvas Files video player. An arrow points to the “Upload Captions” option.
    • If you have recently uploaded this video and it is not loading a preview screen, you will need to wait a few minutes for it to finish processing.
  5. In the captioning interface that appears:
    The Canvas Files caption upload interface. Number one appears beside the language choice dropdown menu. Number two appears beside the “Choose File” area. Number three appears beside the “Upload” button.
    1. Choose the language for the captions.
    2. Choose the caption file from your computer.
    3. Click Upload.
  6. Your captions are now on the video. To view the captions, refresh the page and select the video again. In the video preview screen, enable the captions using the CC button in the bottom right corner of the video player.
    A paused video with captions appearing on screen. An arrow points to the “CC” button in the lower right corner of the video player.
  7. The captions will also appear on the video in any place within your Canvas course you have linked to the video file.

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Digital Accessibility at JMU
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807

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