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Overview
After captions are added to a Mediasite presentation, use the Mediasite Caption Editor to review and correct caption text, punctuation, spelling, speaker identification, and caption timing
without uploading a new caption file. This is especially useful for automatically generated Zoom captions that often contain transcription errors.
Common use cases:
- Names, technical terms, acronyms, or course-specific terminology were transcribed incorrectly.
- Adjust captions that appear too early or too late.
- Accessibility review requires caption corrections.
- You need to delete captions.
📌 Note: This article covers how to edit existing captions. If you haven't added captions to the presentation yet, see the companion article, Mediasite: Manually Upload Captions to a Presentation.
Before You Start
Before using the Caption Editor:
- The presentation must already contain a caption track that has been uploaded or generated successfully.
- You must have editing rights to the presentation.
- If you're editing a video that's already been distributed, you can Unpublish the captions to hide them from viewers while you correct them (for details, see D. Saving and Publishing below)
Instructions
A. Open Your Presentation & Launch the Caption Editor
1. Log in to your MyMediasite account with your Villanova credentials: https://vums-web.villanova.edu/mediasite/mymediasite/
2. From your list of available video content, select the presentation containing the captions you want to edit by single-clicking on its title.
3. After the presentation page loads, select Edit Captions from the right-hand navigation bar.
B. Overview of the Caption Editor
The Caption Editor allows you to:
- Select individual caption entries.
- Play the presentation while viewing captions.
- Move through captions in sequence.
- View caption timestamps.
The Caption Editor displays the caption text alongside the presentation Timeline. Each caption in your presentation will appear in both the Caption Panel and the Timeline. You can use either area to navigate to and select the caption you want to update.
C. Editing Captions
How to Add a Caption
To add a new caption, pause the video where you want the caption to appear. Next, in the text box at the top of the Caption Panel, type your caption, then click the Add transcription at video position button to insert it. Click the Save button to apply your changes.
📌 Note: You will not be able to preview any new or updated captions until you click Save.
How to Delete a Caption
To delete a caption entry, scroll through the Caption Panel until you locate the caption you want to delete. If it's easier, skip through the video using the Timeline and pause when the caption you want to delete is onscreen. From the caption entry in the Caption Panel, click the icon to delete the caption. Click the Save button to apply the deletion.
📌 Note: You will not be able to preview the updated captions until you click Save.
How to Edit Caption Text (Individually or In Bulk)
Edit an individual caption
1. Click anywhere inside the caption entry you want to edit. A cursor will appear and the text will become editable.
2. Edit the caption text as needed to correct:
- Spelling errors
- Grammar and punctuation
- Speaker names
- Technical terminology
- Acronyms and abbreviations
💡 Tip: Pay particular attention to names, academic terminology, and specialized vocabulary, as these are often misidentified by automatic transcription tools.
3. Click the Save button to to apply your changes. Preview your changes.
Edit multiple captions at once
If you need to edit multiple captioning errors (e.g., Villanova is spelled Villa Nova in multiple places), click the Find and Replace tab in the Caption Panel. Use the search field to identify every instance of the captioning error. You can then edit them one by one, or apply Replace All to edit them in bulk.
3. Click the Save button to to apply your changes. Preview your changes.
How to Edit Caption Timing
1. To adjust the timing of a caption entry, scroll through the Caption Panel until you locate the caption you want to adjust. If it's easier, skip through the video using the Timeline and pause when the caption you want to adjust appears on screen.
2. From the caption entry in the Caption Panel, click into the start or end time you need to adjust and type in the new timecode (hh:mm:ss.ms format).
Alternatively, you can also click and drag the captions in the Timeline window to move them, or use the handles on either side of the caption entry to adjust its length.
3. Click the Save button to apply the timing adjustment. Preview your changes.
⚠️ Important: Make small timing adjustments and test playback frequently to avoid creating additional synchronization issues.
D. Saving and Publishing
1. When you are satisfied with your updates, click the blue Save button.
2. Wait for Mediasite to process the updated captions. You will see the notification below pop up in the corner of the screen when your captions update successfully.
3. Next, to make the captions visible to your audience, click the green Publish button. You will see the notification below pop up in the corner of the screen when your captions publish successfully.
4. Click Save & Exit (accessed when you press the next to the Save button) to completely close the Edit Captions page and return to the presentation’s properties page.
⚠️ You can click the red Unpublish button at any time to hide captions from viewers while you make updates.
Known Issues & Troubleshooting
- The "Edit Captions" Option is not available: Confirm that the presentation even has captions. Additionally, confirm that you either own or have been granted editor rights to the presentation.
- Special characters displaying incorrectly: Not all characters and formatting used for mathematical and scientific notations (e.g., β, 42°C, x²) are accepted by the Caption Editor. For help with this, contact Technology Services support.
- Changes Were Not Saved: The Caption Editor page may have been closed before the changes were saved. Reapply any missing changes and select Save before exiting the editor.
- Captions Are Out of Sync: Caption timing issues commonly occur when a recording has been edited after captions were created. Adjust timing within the Caption Editor using the steps above. If synchronization issues continue throughout the recording, upload a new caption file generated from the final version of the presentation.
- Captions Contain Extensive Errors: Automatic captions may contain transcription mistakes, especially for names, technical terms, and specialized vocabulary. Review captions throughout the presentation and correct errors using the Caption Editor. Consider purchasing professional captioning services when you need high accuracy.