Using the Video editor
This guide provides an overview of how to use the Panopto video editor and the editor's features.
The points listed below are links to the different aspects of video editing in Panopto.
How to trim and cut out parts of the video
Changing the preview image/thumbnail
Adding Smart Chapters to your video
Navigating the video editor
1.1 Open the editor
1. In your video library, hover over the session you want to edit and click on the Edit icon.
2. This will bring you to the video editor as seen here.
1.2 The left side of the Editor
1. On the left side of the editor, you will see:
- Video Title: This is where you can change your video name at any time by clicking the title.
- Primary Video Stream if one was recorded.
- The Content Area allows you to add text labels, quizzes, captions, YouTube videos, website links and more. You can also use this section to edit various contents attributes such as start/end times.
1.3 Right side of the editor
On the right side of the editor, you will see:
1. Secondary Video: This is where you will see your secondary video stream.
2. Undo/redo: Use these to discard your most recent changes.
3. Apply: If you're happy with the edits you've made, use Apply to make your changes go live.
4. Revert: Your work will always be saved even if you decide not to publish. If you don't like the changes you've made, you can Revert to start over.
5. Expand: Use this to expand the timeline view to take up the entire width of the window.
6. Cut and Pointer tool: Use this to trim out sections from the beginning/end, middle or from individual streams. You can make trims by dragging your mouse, while clicking in the timeline allows you to seek around the video timeline. Since the editor is non-destructive, you can also use it to add sections back in.
7. Set thumbnail: The image set will be used to represent your video in lists, sharing and more. You can use an image from your primary or secondary stream as the thumbnail or upload your own image.
8. Plus icon: Clicking this icon will allow you to add items directly to your timeline, such as streams, clips, quizzes, YouTube videos, and web pages.
9. Timeline: This is where you will edit your video. The 'Lanes' represent Primary Videos (P), Secondary Videos (S), Slides (SL) or Audio (P). If you have Primary and Secondary videos, Primary videos will be displayed in the upper left.
How to trim and cut out parts of the video
1. To begin editing, select the Cut tool.
2. To edit out the start or end of the video, hover over the beginning or end of timeline. A dark gray edit handle will appear. Click and drag the edit handle to trim the video.
3. To cut a section from the middle of the video, position the cursor over the point you would like to start the edit, click and drag to the right and then let go at the point you want the cut to finish. This will remove the area highlighted from the video, and add a new handle at each edit point to allow you to finely trim your cut.
4. The red squares highlight the areas that will not be shown to viewers. Editing in Panopto is non-destructive, so you can add this content back in later if you need to.
5. Trim one secondary stream: If you have a primary and secondary stream and you only want to edit the secondary stream, click on the scissors tool then click into that secondary stream to click and drag the area you want to trim out. This will only gray out (trim out) the secondary stream and not the primary stream that is occurring at the same time in the video.
You can use the magnifying glass on the right to zoom in on the timeline so you can see the audio or video file in more detail to make more accurate cuts.
6. The cuts tab is also in the editor on the left. This area shows every cut that has been made and puts it into a list.
7. You can edit the cuts here as well as on the timeline. If you click on the three dots next to a cut, you can adjust the start and end time based on minutes and seconds if you need to make a very fine edit.
For more information follow How to Trim a Video in the Editor.
Changing the preview image/thumbnail
3.1 Change the preview image
1. This is how a preview image will appear for your video.
2. First, you can set the preview image using an image from your video: Find the place in the video that has the preview image you would like in either the primary or secondary viewer window .
3. Then click on the three dots next to the plus sign in the editor and select to either Set primary as preview image or Upload custom preview image.
4. If you click on the camera icon and select Upload custom preview image, you will be taken to the video Overview section. Go to the Preview image area and click on Edit .
5. Here you can click on Choose File to upload an image from your computer then click on Save to save the new preview image.
3.2 Automatic Preview Image
If you do not select your own preview image, Panopto will automatically select one for you in this order:
- The image will be the first slide (if there is a slide stream).
- The image will be chosen from .5 seconds into the first secondary video.
- The image will be chosen from .5 seconds into the primary video.
Adding Tags to your video
1.1 Adding tags from the settings menu
1. Go to your folder and locate the video you wish to add tags to and click Settings option
2. Under the Overview tab you will see the video details to the right. Select the +Tag button
3. A textbox will appear with a (#) to allow you to enter your desired tags.
Note: There is a 10 tag limit per video.
4. Type into the texbox and click Add New to add in more tags. Phrases will appear without spacaes as demonstarted below.
5. If your tag already exists it will appear as an option to select.The number showing next to the tag indicates how many another videos have this tag.
6.Your tags will now appear under the video's title in search and folders.
1.2 Adding Tags using capture
1. After recording your video, you will taken to the video processing screen where you can give a title to your recording and select a folder location.Select the +Tag button underneath the folder location.
2. Type in your tags in the textbox and select Add New to add more tags.
3. Your tags will appear below the video title in serach and the folder.

1.3 Searching content using tags
1. If you know which tag you want to search for, type in the tag using #phrase in the search bar.
All videos with the tag will appear.
2. If you want to find related content via tags, click on the tag button underneath the video title.
All videos with the tag will appear.
Adding smart Chapters to your video
1.1 Adding smart chapters
1. Open you video in the editor and select Contents. Move the toggle button to the right to enable Smart Chapters
The Generate button may appear instead of the toggle button if your video was created after you changed the smart chapters settings.
2. Once enabled, Smart Chapters will then automatically load the table of contents
At times, smart chapters may not include an entry that you would llike added. If this happens, navigate to the point in the video you'd like to add the entry and manually type the name in the Enter a table of Contents then click Enter.
1.2 Hiding smart chapters
1. Open the video in the video editor and move the toggle to hide the smart chapters.
1.3 Editing and Deleting Individual Smart Chapters
1. If there is a mistake in the smart chapter, hover over the entry you want to correct and click once on the text to make it editable. Make the edits and hit enter to save the changes.
2. If you want to remove a smart chapter, hover over the entry you want to remove and click on the three vertical dots and select Delete from the options.
Further Support
Visit the VU Collaborate Help site at https://vucollaboratehelp.vu.edu.au for up to date information and resources on blended learning or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Contact ITS Service Desk on (03) 9919 2777 or via self-service http://servicedesk.vu.edu.au for further technical support.