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How to Copy Multiple Videos at Once in Panopto

How to Copy Multiple Videos at Once in Panopto

If you have multiple videos you would like to copy (or to move) at once in Panopto, follow the steps below. If you copy the videos, it will create reference copies (see section below). If you move the videos, they will not exist in the original location any longer, and anyone who did have access to them may lose access. Copying multiple videos at once is most often done when preparing for a new section of a class you have previously taught.

Important note: If you are copying to a new course in Canvas, click Panopto Video in the course navigation menu of your new course first. While Panopto is enabled by default for all courses, your video folder is not actually created until you click on the link. Unless you do this, you will not find a folder for your new course in step 4.

  1. First, go to the folder where your videos currently are.
    • If you are copying videos that appear in Panopto Video in Canvas, go there.
    • If the video is embedded in your course, view it and click the “View in Panopto” button along the bottom ( Open in Panopto button - a black square with a white arrow pointing to the upper right corner of the square.). Then click on the folder to the left of the title at the top of your screen.
    • If you cannot find them, log in to my.pitt.edu, search for Panopto (My Pitt Video) and enter it. Then type a video name to search for at the top. If you find the video, you can click on the folder name just under the title.
  2. Select the videos you want to copy. A selection box will appear at the top left of the video thumbnail when you point at it.
    • Once you have selected any videos, the selection boxes will appear and stay on for all videos.
    • If you want to select all, click the selection box at the top left of the list.
    • If your folder has a lot of videos, you may first want to change your results per page at the bottom of the page to see more at once.
      Annotated screenshot illustrating the location of the selection boxes and the select all box.
  3. Click the Copy or Move button from the top of the page.
    Annotated screenshot highlighting the position of the copy and move buttons above the video list.
  4. Click the folder selection drop down menu at the top of the window (#1 in the screenshot below). Either choose the new folder from the list of folders you have access to, or type the name of the folder you would like to copy it to. Folder names will be like the course name in Canvas, such as “2227_ASTRON_0089_SEC1100”. It is usually easiest to search.
  5. After selecting the folder, click the Copy (or Move) button at the top right of the folder selection window (#2 in the screenshot below).
  6. Wait. This will take a few moments, but not too long.
  7. Once Panopto has finished the work, the word “Done” will appear under the Copy button and you can then click the X to return to the folder you were in. Or, click on the link to the folder you selected to copy to and you will go to that folder (located around #3 in the screenshot below).
    Screenshot numbering parts of the Panopto copy/move window so they can be referenced in the text.

If you prefer, you can read Panopto’s help page, How to Batch Copy and Move Videos about the same topic.

What are reference copies?

When you copy videos in the above method, Panopto creates what are called “reference copies”. These are similar to shortcuts (on Windows) or aliases (on Mac), or sort of like links on the web. Panopto will show the following icon next to a video if it is a reference copy.

Screenshot illustrating the appearance of the Panopto reference copy icon, with an arrow pointing to it.

The video only lives in the one (original) place, but it is also referenced in other locations (the places you copied it to). Each location where it is referenced (including the original) has its own metadata (like viewing statistics or quiz results). Any changes you make to the original recording will update all reference copies.

If you try to edit a reference copy, Panopto will ask you if you want to go edit the original, or if you want to make a full copy that is no longer linked to the original. (If you opt to make a new copy, you will need to wait for Panopto to reprocess the new copy before you can do any editing.) This message is shown below.

Screenshot illustrating the message Panopto displays when attempting to edit a reference copy. Text reads: "This videos is a reference copy. It is linked to its original video and will automatically update if the original video changes. To edit this video, you can unlink it from the original, turning it into a full copy. You can also edit the original video, which will update all videos that reference it." Buttons to edit the original video or unlink it at the bottom.

You can learn more about video reference copies on Panopto’s help page about the topic.

Notes about relevant policies

Office of the Provost Video Reuse Policy

Office of the Provost policy states, “the recorded lecture may be used by the faculty member and the registered students only for internal class purposes and only during the term in which the course is being offered.” You should not copy and reuse recordings of your lectures but instead create videos specifically for this use. Recordings of live course meetings may contain student information (names, faces, video, voices, etc) and interactions.

EIT Digital Accessibility Policy

Please consider the University’s Accessibility Policies before you copy your video content. If you have not already captioned (or tidied your captions), you should do that before copying the video to a new audience. You can learn more (including how the policy applies and how you can get help) at the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Digital Accessibility page. We have also written directions for how to create and edit captions in Panopto.

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