Captions

Can captions be generated via Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) for videos not in English?

Yes, the video must placed in a specific folder, and the language must be set for that folder. Only one language per folder. See Panopto Guide See How to Use Multiple Language ASR Captioning for more info.

Can instructors request paid captions?

No, As of 9/29/2025, this specific permission is disabled for instructors. To request paid captioning for a video, send a Service Request to ETO via the Service Hub, or by emailing eto@framingham.edu

Panopto's Automatic Captioning keeps spelling my name (or some other common word) wrong! Is there any way I can avoid this?

Yes, Panopto admins can add a word to our Panopto site's custom dictionary. To request this, send a Service Request to ETO via the Service Hub, or by emailing eto@framingham.edu. Provide the correct spelling of the word and a written phonetic pronunciation (example: Worcestershire, wuh sti sure). Panopto admins: see How to Create a Custom Dictionary for instructions.

Can I make it so that ASR captions are automatically generated and applied to all videos in a folder?

Yes, you can configure this setting in the folder settings, but it will only apply to new videos added to the folder, not existing videos. See How to Enable ASR Captioning for a Folder for instructions. For existing videos, creators must go in and add ASR captioning one by one by following the steps listed in How to Add ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) Captions into a Video. Currently, this settings must be configured on a per-folder basis, and will not be automatically applied to all of a user's folders.

Caveats: please note that this will make ASR captions visible to viewers immediately, before the Creator has had a chance to edit them. This process does not eliminate the need for Creators to review and edit ASR captions for accuracy. Creators should attempt to do that as soon as possible. 

If I have ASR captions automatically enabled for a folder, how will it affect imported Zoom recordings?

If a folder is set to enable ASR captions to all newly added videos, it will only apply it to videos that do not already have captions. Therefore, it will NOT automatically add ASR captions to imported Zoom recordings if the recordings already have a file.

When Zoom cloud recordings are automatically imported into a Panopto folder via the LTI integration, the audio transcript from Zoom will come with it, and be applied as the video's caption file. ASR captions will NOT automatically overwrite the zoom transcript. If the user wishes to replace the Zoom captions, see How to Replace Captions with Automatic Machine Captioning.

However, in the case that the zoom recording does not include a transcript file for some reason, then the ASR captions will be automatically applied.

When a Zoom meeting recording is imported into Panopto via the integration, do the captions from Zoom come over?

Yes, a .vtt file will be passed from Zoom with a time-stamped audio transcript of the meeting, and Panopto will automatically set that file as the caption file for the video (to see this for a specific video, go to Settings>Captions>Available Captions. You should see "Zoom Transcription Import" listed there.)

Prior to 4/2/2026, sometimes TWO .vtt files were being passed from Zoom meetings: the audio transcript, and a "closed captions file." The closed captions file would have just been a file containing the live captions as they appeared on screen. For a variety of reasons, these files may have been less complete and less accurate than the audio transcript file. At present, account settings have been adjusted such that only the audio transcript is passed to Panopto.

The only reason why no caption file would be passed to Panopto for an imported zoom recording would be if the meeting host has disabled the "Create Audio Transcription" option under "Advanced cloud recording settings" for their individual Zoom account. This setting is ENABLED by default for all user accounts, so this would only happen if the user intentionally chose to disable it. This setting cannot be adjusted on a per-meeting basis.

If an imported Zoom recording comes with captions from Zoom, can I replace those captions with Panopto ASR Captions or paid captions?

Yes, as of 4/1/2026, the overwrite behavior setting for Panopto allows creators to replace existing captions with ASR captions. See instructions: How to Replace Captions with Automatic Machine Captioning. Additionally, users who have permission to request paid captions can also replace existing captions with the paid caption service of their choice using the same instructions.

Alternatively, captions imported from Zoom can be edited for accuracy by creators just like any other captions. See How to Edit or Delete Captions and Audio Descriptions

Panopto Canvas Assignments

What kind of video-based Canvas Assignments can I create using Panopto?

In general there are two different types of Canvas Assignments you can create using Panopto video:

• Watch Assignment (students assigned to watch a video): this workflow requires the instructor to create a Canvas Assignment and use the Submission Type: External Tool feature. Students' grade will be automatically generated based on either Percentage watched, or results of an embedded quiz (instructor must have set up the quiz ahead of time).
• Create Assignment (students assigned to create a video): this workflow does NOT employ the Submission Type: External Tool feature. For students to create/upload a video, instructors should select Submission Type: Text Entry, and instruct students to use the Panopto button in the Rich Content Editor (RCE). In fact, this workflow can be used anywhere students have access to the RCE such as discussion boards. It doesn't have to be a Canvas Assignment. IMPORTANT: for students to be able to create Panopto videos (whether for an assignment, discussion board, or anywhere else), the instructor must first create an Assignments Folder within the course Panopto folder.

When a student starts watching a Panopto Watch Assignment video and still hasn't finished it after 3 hours, what happens?

The percentage of the video watched will be sent to Canvas. If the student continues watching, the updated percent will not be sent. The student would need to re-launch Panopto to continue the video and get an updated grade. See more info about this type of assignment: Panopto Watch Assignment in Canvas: Grade on Percentage Viewed.

Miscellaneous

Can users get videos out of archive themselves?

Yes! How to Restore Archived Content

Can you have a virtual Background in Panopto?

Yes, in Panopto Capture but not in Desktop. Read more about how to use Panopto Capture

How can you see your webcam and powerpoint at the same time while recording a video?

Yes, it is possible. If you have a two-monitor setup, it is very easy. The Powerpoint will be displayed on one monitor, and the Panopto recorder interface (including the preview of your webcam) will be on the other monitor. This applies to all operating systems and Panopto Clients (Panopto Capture, Panopto for Windows, Panopto for Mac).

If you do not have a two-monitor setup, it is more challenging because when you begin presenting the powerpoint, it will take over your screen. It is possible to see a preview of your webcam while presenting, but only if you use Panopto Capture, not Panopto for Windows or Panopto for Mac. The instructions for doing this are described in detail in Panopto Capture: Preview Your Own Webcam Video while Recording a Powerpoint Presentation. It can be challenging to achieve a clean recording that does not include a view of "switching between applications," especially on Mac. While it is very easy to edit these transitions in the Panopto Editor, Mac users who are concerned about this may also want to consider using the "spaces" feature. See Work in multiple spaces on Mac.

Can you pause in Panopto Capture?

No, there is no pause button in Panopto Capture, but there is in the Desktop Clients.

Is it possible to make an audio-only recording in the Panopto Mobile App?

No, that is not currently possible

Is it possible to share YouTube videos through Panopto?

It is NOT possible to directly import a YouTube video into Panopto through the "Upload Media" button. Nor is possible to simply "convert" a YouTube video into a Panopto video, or add a YouTube video to a Panopto folder or playlist.

What is possible is to insert a Youtube video into an existing Panopto video as described here: How to Embed a YouTube Video into a Panopto Video. This process requires that the Panopto video has already been created. However, you can create an audio-only Panopto video that is just a few seconds long (it can just be a mic recording silence), and insert the YouTube video at 0:00. It is recommended that you do select the "Show YouTube Controls" option when inserting the YouTube video, so that users can turn on YouTube closed captions. Panopto will NOT generate captions for the inserted YouTube video.

Is it possible to blur or hide part of a video using the Panopto Editor?

No, that is not possible as of December 2025 (See Feature Request)

Is it possible to add graphics, text overlays or effects using the Panopto Editor?

No, that is not possible as of December 2025 (See Feature Request)

What do I do if a Panopto video is stuck on processing?

In some cases it will process eventually, sometimes overnight. If not, the video Creator or a Panopto Admin can re-process the video. As of 3/2/2026, Users with the Creator Role now have this permission.

Instructions: Open Settings for the video in question by hovering over the video and clicking on the gear icon. Click on Manage in the left-side navigation. Scroll to the bottom and click Re-Process. In the pop-up window, select Ok.

Panopto Desktop Clients (Panopto for Windows, Panopto for Mac)

When I use a Panopto Client to make a recording, is a copy of the recording stored locally on my computer?

Yes, when you us a Panopto desktop Client to record a video to a folder in a Panopto Cloud (such as a course folder), a copy of the recording is stored locally. In Panopto for Windows, there is an option under Settings>Basic Settings>Systems to "delete recordings once they are uploaded." As of 4/21/2026, there is no similar setting in Panopto for Mac. In either client, the local recordings can be deleted manually.

For more information about how to find and delete local recording files, see: 

Mac: How to Configure Panopto for Mac and How to Record with Panopto for Mac

Windows: How to Use Panopto for Windows Basic and Advanced Recording Settings and How to Record with Panopto for Windows

For Administrators

Why are there no "Personal folder" settings under "Canvas" in our Identity Provider settings?

Because our Panopto site is using IDP Consolidation (unification), then personal folders will be controlled from the Panopto internal IDP.

Can you find a list of videos with information such as date created, length, creator, etc?

Yes, this type of report can be generated by an admin. Navigate to System>Usage, then click "Create New Report". There are several types of reports that can be created. See How to Create System Usage Reports

Is it possible to make it so that users do not see the "Courses" parent folder?

No, a parent folder name is a required field in the Canvas IDP settings. It can be changed, but not left blank. There is no setting to hide it, only to have the name hidden and replaced with "Private," which would be worse.