Panopto: Video Editor Key Features

This article demonstrates how to access and navigate the Panopto video editor. In addition, it provides an overview of the tools and functions available within the Panopto video editor.     

Accessing the Panopto Editor

You can access the Panopto editor from the video library. You can edit any video to which you have Creator access. To open the editor, click on the Edit button below the video title.
 
 
The editor can also be opened while watching the video, by clicking on the Edit button in the upper right corner (it looks like a pencil).

Primary Video and Secondary Streams

When the editor opens, a timeline appears along the bottom of the video. This shows the entire length of the video, as well as all the streams that are included with the video.
 

Primary Video Stream (P1)

The top bar will show primary video and audio. It is labeled “P1”. This bar is associated with the video that appears in the upper left side of the viewer. 
 

Secondary Video Streams (S1, S2)

Secondary streams, including slides (via PowerPoint or Keynote), are located below the primary stream. These are labeled “S1”, “S2”, etc. Streams are considered any visuals added to the presentation in addition to your primary video (that's the video of you talking on camera).
  

Secondary streams appear in the right side of the viewer.
 

The Video Editing Timeline

Click in the video editing timeline to navigate through the content. The red line indicates the point in the video that is being viewed.

Expand the timeline using the arrow on the left. Zoom in on the timeline by using the magnifying glass at the right.
 

Trimming Sections / Editing Your Video

To trim out sections of video, hover over the beginning or end of the video and click on the handle that appears.

Make Cuts to All Streams at the Same Time

Drag to remove a section of video.

Click and drag within the timeline to remove a section from that area. Note that, as the Creator of the video, you will still see the greyed-out areas where you made cuts when you enter the editor function in Panopto. Your viewers will not see this when they watch the video. You can always remove cuts from a video after the fact, too.

Make Cuts to Only Secondary Streams

Click and drag on either “S1” or “S2” to cut only that line.

Click and drag on “P1” to cut sections from all lines.

Focus Tool

If editing a presentation with multiple primary or secondary streams, the Focus tool will become available. The focus tool allows which primary or secondary source will appear in the viewer, while trimming out the other sources of the same type.
 

If “Preview cuts during playback” is selected, changes made can be previewed.
 

Other Items You Can Edit

Title

Other items may be updated in the editor. On the upper left side of the editor, notice the video Title.  Click in the box to change it.

Table of Contents

In the Contents area, descriptions can be added and updated. Table of Contents entries can be edited or removed. Toggle on "Show Smart Chapters" if you want Panopto to auto-generate chapter titles for you. These are based on PowerPoint slide headers and / or webpage headers for content you share.

Captions

Captions enables the ability to edit, remove, and add new captions. There are also options for importing automatic captions or uploading captions. More information on editing captions can be found at this link.

Edit or Add PowerPoint Slides

The Slides function allows the ability to change the position of or remove slides. Additional slide presentations may also be added. If you add slides to a presentation after the fact, they will appear on a new line in the timeline with the label “SL”. Note that you can only edit a slide's location and not its text using the Panopto editor.

Quizzes

Quizzes permit the capability to edit existing quizzes or add additional quizzes. More information on adding quizzes to your video can be found at this link.

Cuts

Cuts provides a list of all the sections that have been trimmed out of the video. These trims may be edited here instead of in the timeline. Click on the three dots next to the cut listing to edit the length of the cut.
 

Streams

In Streams, additional streams of video may be uploaded and edited.
 

Add Clips, YouTube videos, or Web Pages to a Video

In addition to these options, there are a few additional functions to highlight. Add items to the video using the Add Content button.

Add additional video streams and clips to the timeline. This tool also allows another Panopto session to inserted into the session currently being edited. 

From here, a quiz can be added. In addition, YouTube videos and live web pages may be embedded within the Panopto presentation.

Select the tool, then click and drag over the source to be focused upon. The other primary or secondary sources will be trimmed out.

Finally, change the thumbnail by clicking on the icon that resembles three dots. Choose from primary stream, secondary stream, or an uploaded file to serve as the thumbnail.
 

Undo/Redo Buttons

While editing, use the Undo and Redo buttons at the top. Note that cuts can be undone in the future.
 

Finishing Your Edit: Apply Changes

When editing is complete, either select Apply to make changes visible to viewers, or select Revert to return to the video in its original state. Once Apply is selected, the presentation will reprocess, and changes will be viewable.