How do I edit captions in My Media?
Starting on January 6, 2026, media files added to My Media or to the Media Gallery in a Canvas course (Kaltura) will be automatically (Machine) captioned.
Beginning on February 6, 2026, automatic language detection will also be enabled for a pilot period of one year. This means that each media file uploaded or recorded with speech in a language supported by Kaltura ASR (opens new window) should have machine captions automatically generated using the first language spoken within the file. For additional details, see the announcement about captioning changes (opens new window).
YouTube videos added to Kaltura will be automatically captioned in English.
For any media file that was added to Kaltura prior to January 6, 2026, any file uploaded or recorded with speech in a language not supported by Kaltura ASR, and any YouTube video in a language other than English, captions must be requested by the owner of the file or someone with permission to edit it (co-editor).
After Machine captions have been added to a video or audio file, the captions should be reviewed and edited to ensure that they are accurate. A file's owner or co-editor can edit the captions.
For steps to request captions, see:
- How do I request to add captions to a file in My Media? (opens new window)
- How do I enable captions requests for all files in Media Gallery? (opens new window)
If your media file has an empty auto-captions file, see How do I add captions to an empty captions file in My Media? (opens new window) for steps to edit it.
Important: If your media file has speech in a language supported by Kaltura ASR (opens new window) and the captions file was generated in the incorrect language, please contact the Learning Technology Services (LTS) team at [email protected] to report the issue. Please include the name of the affected media file in your email.
Note:
- For course content, instructors may request Professional captions for improved accuracy.
- For additional assistance with captioning, please reach out to the Captioning Team at [email protected]
Tip: You may give someone permission to edit captions on a file you own by following the steps to add them as a Co-Editor (opens new window).
Go to My Media.
Select My Media from your Global Navigation Menu.
Note: Steps for McIntire School of Commerce instructors to access McIntire My Media can be found in How can I access McIntire My Media? (opens new window).
Select the file to edit.
In My Media, choose the video or audio file with the captions to edit by selecting its thumbnail or name.
Select Actions, then Edit.
- Scroll down on the page under the media player.
- Select the Actions menu.
- Select Edit.
Select the Captions tab.
Select the Edit Captions button.
Select the captions to edit, if needed.
In most cases, there will only be one captions file attached. The Captions menu will display the language of the captions file currently shown on the page followed by a dash and its label in the media player, for example, English - English [auto] for an automatic captions file that is in English. A video or audio file can have multiple captions files in different languages associated with it.
If your video has multiple captions files attached, select the file to edit from the Captions menu.
Search for and replace terms.
Search for terms.
Enter text in the Search box, and press Enter or Return on your keyboard to search for specific terms. Blocks of text in the captions containing that term will be highlighted in yellow.
Replace terms.
You can correct erroneous text in all instances where it appears in the captions by using the find and replace function in the Closed Captions Editor.
- Select Replace.
- Enter the text you would like to locate in the Find match field, and enter the desired text replacement in the Replace with field.
- Select Replace.
Add speakers, if needed.
Select captions and add a speaker.
If your video or audio file includes multiple speakers, you should identify them as follows:
- At each timestamp where the speaker changes and the speaker is not yet indicated, select the checkbox to the left of the caption spoken by that person. For example, if someone named "Mom" is the speaker for two captions in a row, select the checkbox to the left of the first caption. The next time Mom starts to speak after someone else has spoken, select the checkbox corresponding to that caption.
- Select Add speaker.
- In the Speaker name text box, enter the person's name.
- Select the Add speaker button.
View speakers.
The speaker's name will be added in brackets in front of each selected block of text in the captions, for example: "[Mom] What is this letter from your school?"
Correct errors.
Auto-generated captions need to be edited so they are accurate.
- Play the video or audio file to check the timing of the captions (i.e., the text displays at the same time as the words are spoken), and their accuracy.
- Select a timestamp to edit it and correct any error in timing.
- Select a block of text to edit it. The player on the page will automatically skip to the timestamp in the video or audio file with the selected text. The text shown in the player will update as you edit it.
Save your changes.
Once you've made all the necessary changes, scroll up near the top of the page and select Save.
Update the captions' accuracy percentage and save.
A Confirm caption accuracy dialog will pop up.
- Use the slider to adjust the accuracy percentage of the file to the best of your knowledge.
- Select Save.
Note: If a captions file's accuracy percentage is less than 99%, UDOIT will warn that the captions may have been automatically generated and include errors. For information on using UDOIT to check course content for accessibility, see the help articles on UDOIT (opens new window).
Select Back.
Select the Back link near the top of the page to return to the video or audio file's editing page.
Edit the captions label, language, and accuracy as needed.
It is recommended to remove the "[auto]" indicator from the captions label to let viewers know that the captions are accurate and edit the language and accuracy if needed.
Select the Captions tab.
On the video or audio file's editing page, select the Captions tab.
Select Edit.
A table listing the Language, Label (the text of the option in the media player to display captions), File type and Accuracy of the captions file will display, along with Actions, which includes buttons you can use to modify the captions file's properties.
Under Actions, select the pencil (Edit) button.
Edit captions.
An Edit captions window will pop up. In this window:
- If the Language for the captions does not match the language spoken in the media file, select the appropriate language from the drop-down menu.
- If needed, edit the Accuracy percentage for the captions to the best of your knowledge.
- Edit the Label for the captions to remove the "[auto]" indicator, for example, change it to English.
- Select Save.
Note: If a captions file's accuracy percentage is less than 99%, UDOIT will warn that the captions may have been automatically generated and include errors. For information on using UDOIT to check course content for accessibility, see the help articles on UDOIT (opens new window).
Manage multiple captions files.
You may need to hide an incorrect captions file or change which captions file displays by default if:
- A captions file was automatically created in the wrong language. For example, an English captions file was added by default, but your media file includes spoken audio in a language other than English.
- Your media file includes multiple captions files, for example, a closed captions file and a translated subtitles file.
Select the Captions tab.
If you are not already viewing the Captions tab, select that tab on the media file's editing page.
Hide incorrect captions.
To remove a captions file, select the Don't Show On Player (play button in a rectangle) icon. Captions that have been hidden will not be available for viewers to select as an option in the media player.
Set the default caption file.
If your media file should have multiple captions files associated with it, you can change which captions display by default when a viewer selects the Enable Captions (CC) button in the player. Under Actions, select Set as default.
View edited captions.
Refresh the page and return to the video or audio file to display the edited captions and/or transcript. For complete steps to view captions and transcripts, see the following articles: