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January 24, 2023
In Development

Export captions as .vtt (WebVTT) files

  • January 24, 2023
  • 100 replies
  • 40996 views
I'd like the option to export closed captions as .vtt files. Some of my clients only accept this format, and doing it manually or with different software is either very time consuming or costly.

100 replies

Stan Jones
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 30, 2024

@Todd_Morgan,

 

No VTT yet in the newest Release 24.3.0 nor the latest Beta I have - 24.4.0.30.

 

Here's a summary of this feature request that was submitted in 2018 and was ported from the old UserVoice system. As of today, it has 116 upvotes. The porting date (1/24/23) appears for all of the earlier entries. Dates after then are the actual date of a post.

 

The status as of today is "started," and there are 2 staff responses from right after the new captions workflow was introduced in PR 2021. @Francis-Crossman17221443's reply is pinned to the top of this thread.

 

@TeresaDemel's reply still has an active link to a survey on .vtt support. It was updated at some point, so I think it is worth completing. It is IMPORTANT regarding feedback on styling and position. Some of you advocate for vtt export in its simplest form. Others want some option for exporting styling and position and vtt is one of the best options.

 

Teresa's post and the survey link are here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/export-captions-as-vtt-webvtt-files/idc-p/13523195#M5605

 

My previous comments, including the issue that there is no subtitle format export with positioning etc, are here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/export-captions-as-vtt-webvtt-files/idc-p/13542214#M7500

 

and, regarding "plain" vtt vs with styling and position, here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/export-captions-as-vtt-webvtt-files/idc-p/14162179...

 

Stan

 

Todd_Morgan
Legend
March 26, 2024

Looking to export to VTT and wondering if this has been added yet?

Participant
January 25, 2024

Still no webvtt, even on the beta? Meanwhile our hole online video output vor DRV (nearly 40.000 employees!) needs to be WEBVTT and all video editors work on adobe premiere but have to use some extra work around to deliver correct cc.
I would hate it, if they would switch to another editing software, just because of this!

Stan Jones
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2024

Bernie, make sure you go to the extra pages of this thread. Its long.

 

This Idea was ported from the old UserVoice system. All those posts have the same date when they were transferred. Newer posts have the correct date.

 

Stan

 

bernief48541811
Participant
January 19, 2024

it's 2024, I'm on version 24.1 and it still seems impossible to export subtitles to .vtt

Also, I don't see the date people posted, it all shows the same date for me, so it's hard to follow the discussion. Has this been a thing since version 14??

Participant
December 29, 2023

I'm creating subtitles in multiple languages for a client.  The original video sometimes has English text or graphics on-screen, so my subtitles need to have a dark background to keep them legible on top of other writing/graphics in the original video.  SRT files do not allow us to control font formatting or shading options.  I need to export with VTT or these subtitles don't work.  My only option would be to hard-burn the formatted subtitles into the video and create a different video for each language, which is not a workable solution.  I need to know a date on when I can export VTT files, or need to change to a new video editing platform, since this will be an ongoing need for this global client.

Chris Spiegl
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 11, 2023

Hello everyone and @Francis-Crossman17221443 , I am wondering what the current status is. I am aware that wheels at a corporation like Adobe turn slowly. But it's been a year since this has been marked as something that's beeing worked on. The Captions workflow in this is pretty good so far but the VTT export appears to still be missing.

 

Any chance to get an update on this?

 

Warm Regards,

Chris

Participating Frequently
November 22, 2023

The current best solution for me is to export SRT file into open source Subtitle Edit, make any adjustments and export VRT file. SE will also allow quick burning of open caption to video file.

Participant
November 22, 2023

Very strange that this takes forever, since the only essential difference is the word 'WEBVTT' in the first line of a file, plus the fact that all the time codes in VTT need to have a . instead of a , (in other words: a full stop instead of a comma).

 

VERY VERY VERY easy to build, many free online converters do this already.

Shame on you, Adobe!

Participant
November 21, 2023

@Francis-Crossman17221443 The link you shared doesn't mention anything about the status of support for exporting VTT files, and your post was nearly a year ago. Any update on this? Thanks.