How do I play a media file in Canvas Studio?
In Canvas Studio, the media player includes a variety of options you can use to manage your viewing experience.
If your institution uses the Canvas Studio LTI in Canvas LMS, Studio media may be embedded as part of a Canvas course page or group content via the Rich Content Editor. Embedded media in Canvas may or may not include the comments feature.
Note: The Canvas Studio Media Player supports keyboard shortcuts. View the Studio Media Player Keyboard Shortcuts document.
Open Media
In Studio, the My Library page opens by default. The library displays media preview tiles with the most recently added media displayed first.
To open a media file, hover the cursor over the preview tile and click the View link [1].
Media that includes a video quiz displays the Quiz icon [2].
Media that includes captioning displays a Caption icon [3].
Search and Filter Library
To search for a specific media item, click the Search icon [1].
By default, most recently added media displays first. To display media in alphabetic order by name, click the Sort By drop-down menu [2]. Then, click the Name link [3].
By default, all media in the library displays. To view only media collections, click the Filter By drop-down menu [4]. Then, click the Collections link [5]. To view media by caption status, click the Media drop-down menu [6]. Then, click a caption status option [7].
Play Media
To play the video or audio file, click the Play button [1]. View the total length of the media in the timeline [2].
View Timeline
To pause the media as it plays, click the Pause button [1]. As the media plays, the numbers will change to indicate the elapsed time in the media.
Set Volume
To set the playback volume for the media, click the Volume button [1] then click and drag the volume indicator [2]. To decrease the volume, move the indicator to the left. To increate the volume, move the indicator to the right.
Note: Playback volume is based on the current volume set for your computer. You may also have to adjust the volume for your computer output.
Set Playback Speed
To set the playback speed of the media, click the Media Settings icon [1], then select the Speed option [2]. By default, the media plays at the set original speed (1x). You can slow the media playback (0.5x or 0.75x) or increase the playback speed (1.25x, 1.5x, or 2x). To manage the playback speed, select an option [3].
Note: You cannot change the playback speed for media uploaded from YouTube and Vimeo.
View Full Screen
To view the video in full screen, click the Full Screen icon.
Note: Not all media uploads include a full screen option.
Toggle Captions
If the media file includes a caption transcript, you can turn captions on and off from the media player.
To enable captions for the media, click the Toggle Captions On icon [1].
To turn off captions, click the Toggle Captions Off icon [2].
View Captions
When closed captioning is enabled, you can view the text as the video plays. The media player also includes a variety of options you can use to customize your caption viewing experience.
View Comments
If your media includes inline comments [1], they will display by default. To manage displayed inline comments in your media, click the Media Settings icon [2] and click the Comments toggle [3].
Note: You can only turn inline comments to display all or to display none. You cannot manage individual inline comment display settings.
View Comment Timeline
When inline comments are turned on, timeline dots indicate comments added by a user [1]. A comment preview also displays in the media player [2].
You can view comments directly in the Comments tab [3]. Comments are arranged chronologically by time and are highlighted as they appear in the media timeline.
Comments can also include replies from other users [4]. Studio displays the first five replies. However, if a comment includes more than five replies, you can load additional replies.
Note: If there are more than 100 comments in a video or audio file, the inline comments option is automatically turned off. However, comments still display in the Comments tab.
View Media Details
If your media includes comments, you can also view the details of the video or audio file. The Details tab shows the name of the video [1], the description [2], the profile picture (if supported) and name of the user who uploaded the media [3], the date the media was uploaded [4], and any tags associated with the media [5].
Note: If you uploaded the media, you can also view the Edit Details button, which allows you to edit the details of the media.
View Keyboard Shortcuts
You can navigate through the Studio media viewer with your keyboard by pressing the Tab key consecutively. This is an accessibility feature for keyboard-only users.
Press the Tab key to cycle through the onscreen navigation items until the Keyboard Shortcuts icon displays in the Studio media viewer [1]. Then, press the Enter or Return key.
The Keyboard Shortcuts window displays common keyboard shortcuts you can use in the Studio media viewer [2].
To close the Keyboard Shortcuts window, click the Close button [3].
