Add caption tracks to your video files

You can make your video content available to a larger audience when you add captions. If you want to reach deaf, hard-of-hearing viewers or speakers of different languages, captions help these groups understand your videos.

To add caption tracks, use a caption file, which contains the text and other information to time your captions with your video.

Prepare your caption file

A subtitle or closed caption file contains the text of what's said in the video. It also contains time codes for when each line of text should be displayed. Some files also include position and style info, which is especially useful for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers. See what file formats Drive supports below.

Basic file formats

If you're new to creating caption files, we recommend using one of the following basic file types:

Format name	File extension	More info
SubRip	.srt	Only supports basic versions of these files.  No style info or markup is recognised.  The file must be in plain UTF-8.
SubViewer	.sbv or .sub	Only supports basic versions of these files.  No style info or markup is recognised.  The file must be in plain UTF-8.
MPsub (MPlayer subtitle)	.mpsub	"FORMAT=" parameter is supported.
LRC	.lrc	No style info or markup is recognised. Enhanced format is supported.
Videotron Lambda	.cap	This file type is primarily for Japanese subtitles.

If you're new to creating caption files, you may want to use SubRip (.srt) or SubViewer (.sbv). They only require basic timing info and can be edited using 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

Use these file formats if you want to have more control over the styling (markup) or positioning of your captions.

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

Broadcast file formats

These file formats are typically used for closed captions for broadcast content (TV and movies) and support either of these standards: 

• CEA-608
• EBU-STL

Drive tries to display the captions from these files as if they were on a TV – with the same styling, colour and positioning.

Format name	File extension	More info
Scenarist Closed Caption	.scc	These files have an exact representation of CEA-608 data. This is the preferred format whenever captions are based on CEA-608 features.
EBU-STL (binary)	.stl	European Broadcasting Union standard.
Caption Center (binary)	.tds	Supports CEA-608 features.
Captions Inc. (binary)	.cin	Supports CEA-608 features.
Cheetah (ASCII text)	.asc	Supports CEA-608 features.
Cheetah (binary)	.cap	Supports CEA-608 features.
NCI (binary)	.cap	Supports CEA-608 features.

Upload captions

After you upload your video, you can add captions to it.

1. On your computer, sign in to drive.google.com.
2. Click the video that you want to add captions to.
3. Click More   Manage caption tracks.
4. Click Add new caption tracks.
5. Click Select file and choose a caption or transcript file.
6. Choose the language for the captions and a name for the track.
7. Click Upload.

Edit caption tracks

1. On your computer, sign in to drive.google.com.
2. Click the video file with caption tracks that you want to edit.
3. Click More Manage caption tracks.
4. Click the caption track that you want to edit.
5. Click Edit.
6. You can edit its name and language. You can also turn on or off the track for the video.
7. Click Save.

Delete captions

1. On your computer, sign in to drive.google.com.
2. Click the video file with caption tracks that you want to delete.
3. Click More Manage caption tracks.
4. Next to the caption track that you want to delete, click Delete .
5. Click Delete.

Translate captions

After the caption tracks to your videos are processed, you can translate them.

1. On your computer, sign in to drive.google.com.
2. Open the video with the caption track that you want to translate.
3. At the bottom right, click Settings .
4. At the bottom of the language list, click Auto-translate.
5. Select a language from the list.

Sharing settings for captions

The video's sharing settings also apply to captions. If someone else can edit the video, they can also upload, download and edit captions for the video. Learn more about sharing files in Google Drive.

Caption error messages

If you get an error while uploading your file, make sure that the file is:

• In the correct format. The file types listed under basic, advanced and broadcast file types on this page are supported.
• Not too large. The caption file must be less than 2 MB.
• Not longer than the video. If the file is longer than the video, the video won't be able to auto-sync.

Automatically generated captions

You can easily add captions to your videos. 

1. In the Google Drive homepage, right-click on the video that you want to add captions to.
2. Click 'Manage caption tracks'.
3. While watching the video, click More 'Manage caption tracks'.

Google Workspace admins can turn on automatic captions for all uploaded videos in your company's Google Workspace.

Tip:

• Automatically generated captions will be turned on by default. Captions will be generated automatically when you upload a video to Drive.
• Your Google Workspace admin may require you to request caption generation.
  • Right-clicking the video in your Drive  Manage caption tracks Generate automatic captions.
  • While viewing the video, click More Manage caption tracks Generate automatic captions.
• Your Google Workspace admin may have this feature disabled.