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Everything you need to know about the VTT file format
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A VTT file is one of the many formats of caption files used to contain subtitles (as well as other information and metadata) for a video. Despite looking confusing, this file format is easy to use, and you don't need any special programs to open, edit, or create your own VTT files. This article answers many common questions about VTT files, so keep reading to learn more.
VTT Files: A Quick Overview
VTT files hold info about a video, including subtitles and metadata. These files can be opened, edited, and created in any text editor, like Notepad or TextEdit. There are also free online tools to check your VTT file for errors or convert it to a different format.
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Section 2 of 5:
What programs can open VTT files?
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VTT files can be opened by any text editor. This includes the default plaintext editor that came with your operating system, Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac), as well as Microsoft Word, Notepad++, GitHub Atom, and more.
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2Programs made to create VTT files can also open them. If you find yourself working with VTT files often, investing in a specialized VTT program may be more efficient than using a basic text editor. We've listed a few captioning program options below:
- Ooona Create+Translate : Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (web-based). Access to the program is subscription-based. A 1-month subscription to the Standard version is $30, and a 1-month subscription to the Pro version is $60.
- Annotation Edit : Available for Mac. A license costs around $300, but a free demo with limited features is available for download.
- VEED : Web-based app. It offers a free plan and paid plans that range from $25/month to $70/month (monthly).
- VTT Creator : Web-based app. It is free to use and doesn't require you to create an account to get started.
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3VTT files can also be opened in a web browser. To do this, simply drag your VTT file into the web browser of your choice. Note that you can't edit a VTT file in a web browser; you can only view it.
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4VLC Media Player can open VTT files as a subtitle track. If you don't already have VLC Media Player, download it from VideoLAN here .
- Open the video you want to add captions to.
- Click Subtitles > Add Subtitle File… in the VLC menu bar.
- Select your VTT file and click Open .
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Section 4 of 5:
How do I create my own VTT file?
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Open a plaintext editor. This could be Notepad, TextEdit, Notepad++, GitHub Atom, or whatever plaintext editor you prefer. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- We recommend using a plaintext editor instead of a word processor like Microsoft Word, as Word will try to format and autocorrect what you write, leading to errors in your VTT file.
- You can also use a caption program to create a VTT file, but this section will only cover how to write a VTT file in a plaintext editor.
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2Write WEBVTT at the top of your document. All VTT files must start with the WEBVTT header.
- Press Enter or Return twice to add a line break between the header and your first subtitle.
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3Add the range of timestamps for your first subtitle. To create a range, write the first timestamp, press Space once, type --> , press Space once, then write the second timestamp. The format for each timestamp is HH:MM:SS.### . Note that each timestamp must have two digits for the hour, minute, and second, and there are three decimal places after the second.
- For example, to add a subtitle that starts at the first second of the video and ends between the third and fourth second, the timestamp range would look like this:
- 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.500
- Press Enter or Return once to move your cursor to the next line.
- For example, to add a subtitle that starts at the first second of the video and ends between the third and fourth second, the timestamp range would look like this:
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4Write out what's being said in the video at that time. To avoid having your subtitles getting cut off the screen, you can add line breaks to the captions. However, avoid going over three lines to ensure your whole subtitle will fit on the screen and not obstruct the video.
- Write the subtitles exactly as you want them to look. Don't enclose them in brackets or quotation marks.
- Press Enter or Return twice to add a line break after the subtitle.
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5Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 to add all of your subtitles. Make sure to add line breaks after each timestamp and caption pair.
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6Save your file in the VTT format. How you do this differs slightly depending on what program you're using. Keep reading to see how to save your VTT file with Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac.
- Windows:
Go to File
> Save
.
- Change the "Save as type" dropdown to All files (*.*) and the "Encoding" dropdown to UTF-8 .
- Write a name for your document, making sure to end it with .vtt .
- Click Save .
- Mac:
Click Format
> Make Plain Text
.
- Go to File > Save .
- Change the "Plain Text Encoding" dropdown to Unicode (UTF-8) .
- Uncheck the "Hide extension" and "If no extension is provided, use .txt" checkboxes.
- Write a name for your document, making sure to end it with .vtt .
- Click Save .
- Windows:
Go to File
> Save
.
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7Check your VTT file in a validator. A validator will make sure that your VTT file is valid and has no errors. If there are any issues, the validator will point out where they are and how to fix them.
- Go to the Live WebVTT Validator
.
- There are many VTT validators online. Feel free to use a different one, as they all work similarly.
- Copy and paste the contents of your VTT file into the validator.
- Select subtitles/captions/descriptions in the "Kind" dropdown.
- Resolve any issues if the validator calls them out.
- Go to the Live WebVTT Validator
.
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