If you just need a downloadable, written version of your Audio-Video media -- without any features like captions – this is the guide for you. These written versions can be multilingual. If you are interested in more features, check out Transcripts with Timestamps. 

Your transcripts should follow certain formatting specifications. They should be saved in a plain text file, with the extension .txt. This guide outlines formatting requirements.

You'll upload the transcript in the Mandala Audio-Video editor. Check out the detailed steps at the bottom of the page. 

Transcript Format

You can upload a plain text file of your transcript in .txt format.
Break up your text into segments to make it more readable. You can use blank lines, new lines, or specific characters. We recommend adding a blank line between units. 

Here's an example of a plain text transcript: 

Hello, welcome to Audio-Video.
You can create dynamic transcripts with Audio-Video. 
 
We can help you get started quickly.

Multilingual Transcripts

Mandala recognizes multilingual transcripts. This lets you include multiple languages and translations in one transcript file. You can use these transcripts to make multilingual captions. 

You can separate languages by: 

  1. Putting each language on a new line, OR
  2. Using a sequence of characters to separate languages
    • You can use any set of characters, as long as the set is consistent 

Here's an example using / to separate out languages.

Hello, welcome to Audio-Video./Hola, bienvenido a Audio-Video. 
 
You can create dynamic transcripts with Audio-Video./Usted puede crear transcripciónes con Audio-Video. 
 
We can help you get started quickly./Nosotros podemos ayudarle a empezar rápidamente.

Keep language order consistent!

Make sure each language always appears in the same order. In the case above, the English transcript always comes before the Spanish transcript.

If you don't keep language order consistent, Mandala won't split up your languages properly.

Upload Your Transcript

You can add your transcript in the Audio-Video media editor. Once you've uploaded your file, you'll enter some information about the formatting. This helps Mandala process your transcript.

After saving your edits, you'll see your transcript on the media's page. It may take a couple of hours for the transcript to process.

  1. Edit or create a media asset
  2. Click Transcript
    • The transcript area will open
  3. Click Choose file 
    • The file browser for your operating system will open
  4. Open your transcript 
    • Make sure your file follows the formatting requirements above 
    • The file browser will close
  5. Click Upload
    • You’ll see a confirmation message, and the transcript wizard open
    • Don’t worry about the “empty timecode have been inserted” message; this won’t affect your final transcript 
  6. Under “Timecodes” choose the unit delimiter
    • This is the character you used to separate out sections in your transcript for readability
    • If you followed the formatting example above, the unit delimiter is “Empty Line” 
  7. Under "Languages," choose whether your transcript has one or multiple languages
  8. If your transcript has more than one language:
    1. Enter the “Language Delimiter” 
      • This is the character you used to separate out languages
      • If you used the example above, choose Custom: /
    2. Select your languages in the order in which they appear
      • Remember, you should keep the language order consistent in your transcript
      • In the formatting example on this page, "Language 1" is English, "Language 2" is Spanish. 
  9. Check your processed transcript at the bottom of the section
    • Click each language tab to make sure Mandala assigned the correct language
    • Make sure the text is separated into shorter units
  10. Click Save at the bottom of the editor
    • The media asset with your transcript will appear
    • Transcript processing may take a few minutes