Add caption tracks to a video

To display the video narration in real time at the bottom of the screen, add a caption track to your video. In this article, learn how to:

Add autogenerated captions

Autogenerated captions are automatically generated for all inserted media with English speech and can be enabled for playback. To add the autogenerated caption track:

On your computer, open a video in Google Vids.
In the menu, click View Closed captions Autogenerated.
- Tip: The autogenerated captions will play once you start playback in editor mode.
Optional: To review the autogenerated captions while playback in full screen playback mode, at the bottom of the playback screen, click Closed captions Autogenerated.

Review & edit autogenerated captions

To review and make edits to the autogenerated captions, click Insert Closed captions .
To review the caption track by timestamp:
- In the closed captions side panel, on the autogenerated track, click More View.
To make edits to the autogenerated track, click More Duplicate.
Next to the duplicated caption track, click More Edit.

Manually add captions to a video

Important: Captions only show up as an option at the time of playback if they’re toggled on. Learn how to play videos with captions.

On your computer, open a video in Google Vids.
In the menu, click Insert Closed captions .
In the closed captions side panel, click + Caption track.
Click Upload file or Type manually.
Select the language of the caption.
Optional: You can add a track title.
- If you upload multiple files of the same language, a track title makes it easier to find your caption file.
Click Create new track.
- To update the caption settings or timing, in the captions side panel, next to a caption track, click More Edit.
- To duplicate the track and make edits on a new copy, click More Duplicate.

You can upload these caption file types:

Basic file formats

If you’re new to the creation of caption files, we recommend that you use one of the these basic file types:

Format name	File extension	More info
SubRip	.srt	Only supports basic versions of these files. Doesn’t recognize style info or markup. The file must be in plain UTF-8.
SubViewer	.sbv or .sub	Only supports basic versions of these files. Doesn’t recognize style info or markup. The file must be in plain UTF-8.
MPlayer subtitle (MPsub)	.mpsub	Supports "FORMAT=" parameter.
LRC	.lrc	Doesn’t recognize style info or markup. Supports enhanced format.
Videotron Lambda	.cap	This file type is primarily for Japanese subtitles.

If you’re new to the creation of caption files, you can use SubRip (.srt) or SubViewer (.sbv). They only require basic time info, and you can edit them with any plain text editing software.

The main difference between SubRip and SubViewer files is the format of the caption start and stop times. Here are examples of both formats:

SubRip (.srt) example

1

00:00:00,599 --> 00:00:04,160

>> ALICE: Hi, my name is Alice Miller and this is John Brown

2

00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,770

>> JOHN: and we're the owners of Miller Bakery.

3

00:00:06,770 --> 00:00:10,880

>> ALICE: Today we'll be teaching you how to make

our famous chocolate chip cookies!

4

00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,700

[intro music]

5

00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:21,480

Okay, so we have all the ingredients laid out here

SubViewer (.sbv) example

0:00:00.599,0:00:04.160

>> ALICE: Hi, my name is Alice Miller and this is John Brown

0:00:04.160,0:00:06.770

>> JOHN: and we're the owners of Miller Bakery.

0:00:06.770,0:00:10.880

>> ALICE: Today we'll be teaching you how to make

our famous chocolate chip cookies!

0:00:10.880,0:00:16.700

[intro music]

0:00:16.700,0:00:21.480

Okay, so we have all the ingredients laid out here

Advanced file formats

If you want to have more control over the caption style, markup, or position, use these file formats.

Format name	File extension	More info
Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI)	.smi or .sami	Only supports timecodes, text, and simple markup, like <b>, <i>, <u>, and the color= attribute within a <font> Doesn’t support positioning
RealText	.rt	Only supports timecodes, text, and simple markup, like <b>, <i>, <u>, and the color= attribute within a <font> Doesn’t support positioning
WebVTT	.vtt	In initial implementation Supports positioning but limits styling to <b>, <i>, and <u> since CSS class names aren't standardized yet
Timed-Text Markup Language (TTML)	.ttml	In partial implementation. Supports SMPTE-TT extensions for CEA-608 features. Supports iTunes Timed Text (iTT) file format. iTT is a subset of TTML, Version 1.0. Supports styling and positioning.
Distribution Format Exchange Profile (DFXP)	.ttml or .dfxp	These file types are interpreted as TTML files.

Play a video with captions

You can choose to play your video in editor mode or in full screen playback mode with captions. When you play the video with captions on, they'll show at the bottom of the screen.

On your computer, open a video in Google Vids.
1. To turn on closed captions before you play the video, click View Closed captions .
2. Select the track to use.
To play the video in full screen, at the top right, click Play .
- You can also press the shortcut for your browser:
  - Chrome OS: Ctrl + Search + 5
  - Windows: Ctrl + F5
  - Mac: ⌘ + Shift + Enter
To play the video in Editor mode, above the timeline, click Play . You can also press the spacebar.
- To use the spacebar to play or pause in Editor mode, the focus must be on the timeline. To move the focus to the timeline, use these keyboard shortcuts:
  - Chrome OS or Windows: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T
  - Mac: ⌘ + Opt + Shift + T
To turn "Closed captions" on or off in full screen playback mode:
1. At the bottom right of the playback screen, click Closed captions .
  - You can also use these keyboard shortcuts:
    - Chrome OS or Windows: C
    - Mac: C
2. Select the track you want to playback.

Tips:

Once you upload the captions, you can store and edit them.
Captions are specific to browser sessions. If you turn on captions in your playback session, it won’t turn on captions when you share the video.

Learn about Google Vids availability.