Panopto FAQs

Panopto allows for easy recording and sharing of lectures and presentations. Panopto is designed to simplify the lecture-capture process. Recordings in Panopto are viewable on most web browsers and mobile devices.

Is there any Panopto training?

Yes! See the workshop and office hours schedule.

You can also email help@uw.edu to schedule a consultation.

Where can I find Panopto?

In your Canvas course, select Panopto Recordings from the menu on the left. If you don’t see it, go to Canvas Settings, select the Navigation tab, and add Panopto Recordings. You may also access Panopto at uw.hosted.panopto.com.

Shared NetIDs are not supported by Panopto, but you may share folders and recordings with other UW NetIDs.

How do I make my Panopto recordings available to people in my course?

Panopto recordings are automatically available to all members of a course via the Panopto Recordings tab in Canvas. You do not need to have your course content in Canvas to use Panopto. All you need to do is to publish your Canvas course to establish access for your students. Students must click on the Panopto Recordings tab to establish their access to course recordings.

I am supporting an instructor using Panopto. Can I get administrator or support-level access to Panopto?

Panopto user permissions and course folders are inherited from Canvas. If you need creator-level access to a Panopto folder, the instructor of the course can add you to Canvas in one of the following roles: Teacher, TA, Designer, Librarian, or Guest Teacher. See more details about Canvas roles.

See instructions for sharing recordings in Canvas. If you need a folder to do test recordings, you can use “My Folder” which you can be access at uw.hosted.panopto.com.

Panopto and Canvas

How do I embed Panopto recordings in Canvas?

Within your Canvas course, you can embed a recording into a Canvas page (this is in addition to the Canvas navigation menu). Follow these embed instructions from Panopto.

If a course is jointly listed in the time schedule, how will it appear in Panopto?

Panopto folders are synced up to your Canvas courses. If your course is cross-listed in the time schedule, you will only see one Canvas course and one Panopto folder. This course and folder will have the name of the parent course (whichever course comes first alphanumerically).

If you intend to manually cross-list your Canvas course, see the note for Panopto users on the Canvas cross-listed courses IT Connect page.

Why is my Canvas course not showing in Panopto?

Panopto receives course folder information from UW Canvas. You will need to publish your Canvas course and click on the Panopto Recordings tab in Canvas to ensure the connection to Panopto.

If you are not listed as the instructor of record for a course in the UW Time Schedule, you will not have access to the course. To be listed as the instructor of record, contact your departmental time schedule coordinator.

When will a course I’m teaching become available in Panopto?

Courses are automatically provisioned well in advance of the beginning of each quarter. Canvas courses are generally available as soon as the official Time Schedule for the upcoming quarter is released. See more information about course availability. In order for your course to become available in Panopto, you must publish your Canvas course.

Will Panopto show courses I taught in previous quarters?

Panopto receives course folder information from UW Canvas. If your course from a previous quarter is still published in Canvas, the course folder will show in Panopto.

Recording

Can I upload an external video file such as a .mp4, .wmv, .mov, etc.?

You may upload media to Panopto. For more information, see Panopto’s documentation on uploading recordings and uploadable file types.

By uploading recordings into Panopto, be sure that the use of the recordings as part of the Panopto Service will not violate the law, such as copyright law, or the rights of any third party, such as privacy rights.

Can I create a recording if I am not currently connected to the Internet?

Yes, if you have logged in to the Panopto Recorder while connected to the Internet and not logged out. Choose the Offline Recording folder. After your recording is finished and you have connected to the Internet, click on the recording and select a destination folder. Click Upload to complete the process. For more details, see instructions for recording offline.

If the recorder isn’t open, will my recording upload?

If you are using the Windows recorder, yes. The Windows recorder has a background uploading service that will transfer data to the server as long as the recording computer is on.

The Mac recorder does not have this service at this time.

Can I capture my Keynote presentations and what version can I use?

Panopto can capture most Keynote presentation. For more details, see Panopto Keynote compatibility.

What can I do when my recording is failing to process?

Occasionally, recordings do not process correctly, and you may re-process them by going into your recording’s Settings, navigate to the Manage section, scroll down to the Processing management section, and click Re-process. If this does not work, contact help@uw.edu.

Classroom recordings and remote recorders

Is there a place on campus where I can make recordings?

Yes! You can schedule recordings in several classrooms. Learn more about scheduled recordings.

Can I schedule a Panopto recording?

If you teach in a classroom that supports the automated Scheduled Lecture Capture (the rooms with an Automated Panopto Recorder in the classroom list), you may use the Recordings Scheduler in Canvas to schedule some or all of your classes for recording. You can change the schedule at any point during the quarter as needed for upcoming classes. You may also select to record specific times during your class session, for example, recording only the first hour of class when you are lecturing. For more details, see Schedule Lecture Capture (Automatically, via Canvas).

What connector should I use with my laptop in a room with automated schedule lecture capture?

You will need to connect your laptop to the classroom VGA input if you want to record your presentation.

Most contemporary Mac laptops and some Windows laptops have HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort, Mini-DVI or Thunderbolt ports that allow you to connect an external display or classroom data projector using a cable. When a laptop is connected to a classroom presentation system via one of the ports listed above, the Mac and some Windows laptops output a copy-protected signal that cannot be recorded.

An adapter will allow you to connect your laptop port to the classroom presentation system via the VGA input cable at the podium. VGA does not pass audio, only the display. A stereo mini cable at the podium will pass audio when connected to your Mac laptop. For more information, see our documentation on connecting laptops for Panopto recordings in classrooms.

Where is the Panopto remote recording software available?

UW-IT does not support remote recording for individual users. Remote recording software is installed only on select classroom computers, integrated with the room’s AV system.

Sharing

How do I share recordings in Canvas?

UW Panopto is built into your Canvas course. The course navigation menu in your Canvas course includes a link called Panopto Recordings. Members of the course can click this link to see recordings saved to the course. Learn how to share recordings in Canvas.

Can I add UW groups to a Panopto recording or folder?

Adding UW groups to Panopto recordings is done using Canvas. UW Panopto receives course enrollment data from UW Canvas. By adding UW Groups or individual NetIDs to the published UW Canvas course connected to your UW Panopto folder, you will update permissions in UW Panopto. Learn how to add people to your Canvas course.

You can share Panopto videos with a UW NetID, UW Group, or UW courses. Learn how to:

Share a folder in Panopto (Note: UW has limited sharing options; you may not share recordings in Panopto with people outside the UW.)
Add people to your Canvas course

What are other sharing options?

Instructors may allow students to download a podcast of their recordings. Podcast downloads are disabled by default. To turn them on in Panopto, go to the folder-level settings on the top right of the page, select Settings, select Settings again, and then change the drop-down selection from the default of No one to Authenticated users with access. See download recordings for more details.

Can I email the link to my recording to people not affiliated with the UW?

Due to potential privacy and cost issues, UW-IT no longer supports this functionality. However, you may obtain UW NetIDS and add people to your Canvas course, and they will be able to view course recordings.

I am trying to invite a person with a UW NetID to view my recording in Panopto, but it isn’t working. Why?

Panopto uses permissions from Canvas. While most UW faculty, staff, and students can access Canvas, not everyone at the UW has access. See below for other sharing options.

What happens when I try to invite someone who is not in Canvas to view my recording?

On the Panopto Share screen, the email address highlights change from yellow to red. We have asked Panopto to improve this visual cue and to make it more obvious. You will not be able to send an email invitation to them, and they will not be able to view the recording. See below for other sharing options.

How can people who aren’t in my course view recordings?

You have several options for sharing recordings with people outside of your course:

Provide access to all course recordings by adding them to the Canvas course
Give them access limited by recording or folder by entering their UW NetID (not email address) in the recording or folder Share settings pop-up.
Select Your Organization (unlisted) and share the link. Note that anyone with the link could share the recording with others at the UW.

For more information, see documentation about sharing recordings in Panopto on IT Connect.

How do I make my recordings available to the public?

If you want to share your recording with people outside the UW, you may post your recordings on YouTube or another video-hosting site. If the public can view your recordings, you must ensure that you are not violating copyright law or FERPA and include professional captions.

How do I change the availability of a recording for viewing?

Panopto allows you to set when recordings will be published and available for viewing for both an entire folder and for individual recordings. To make recordings in a folder unavailable to students, in the folder settings section, scroll down to Availability and select never (unless set on the session). You can then select when to make individual recordings available. For detailed information, see Panopto’s documentation.

Can I control when my recording is displayed?

Yes, you may schedule when your students will be able to start and stop viewing each recording. To set recording availability, in the Overview section of the recording’s settings, scroll down to the Availability section and select when the recording will be available.

Why can’t my students access my recordings in Canvas?

To access Panopto recordings linked or embedded in Canvas Pages or Modules, students must first click on the Panopto Recordings tab in the course navigation to establish their access to course recordings.

General Questions

How do I learn about changes and new releases to Panopto?

We will email major updates to people who have recently created recordings. We also post updates on the UW Panopto Updates page, and Panopto publishes release notes.

Does UW Panopto offer full Panopto functionality?

The following Panopto features are not offered to UW users:

Google analytics (Panopto does offer analytics.)
Moodle, Blackboard, WebCT, Sakai, Desire2Learn, and Angel integration
Department-specific custom branding

Does Panopto own the content in my recordings?

No, Panopto does not maintain content ownership.

What is Panopto Pro?

Released in early 2020, Panopto Pro allows people to create basic recordings outside of their institution. Do not use Panopto Pro to create recordings you want to use at the UW because the recordings are not stored in the UW space.