Echo360 Administrators can generate a URL directly to a video, then post that link to allow users to view the video. These links can be Public, meaning the user does not have to be an Echo360 user to view it, or they can be Private, so that a user has to log in or be authenticated to see the video. You can also generate "embed code" to surround the public link, for embedding directly into a portal, embedding in an LMS content page (using the HTML view of the editor), or onto a social media site.
Whenever an item is embedded into an LMS window using the Echo embed button or tool for that LMS, it generates a new Public link. Meaning some captures or videos may have several links listed if they have been embedded multiple times.
IMPORTANT: Setting a video access link to Private means a user must log in to Echo360 to view it. For LMS users (who likely do not have a direct Echo360 login), those users will need to have already accessed Echo360 in some way (for example, to view a section) to be authenticated. As long as they are already authenticated in Echo360 when they click the link, the link will work.
This option is only available for video/capture media. Furthermore, Admins can only see the Access Links option when selecting an item from the Captures page; Admins cannot change role to Instructor or impersonate an instructor in a section and generate access links for content they do not own. Instructors can generate and share public links to content they own, unless disabled by an administrator.
To generate a public link to a video from the content details page
- Click on a capture row in the Captures page to open the Media Details page.
- Scroll down to Links section of the Share Settings area below the preview pane.
- Click Add Link, as identified in the below figure.
- The link is immediately generated and the section expands to provide additional options.
Each generated link has configurable options as follows:- Share link slider: When enabled (default), the link is active and anyone clicking the link plays the linked content. If deactivated (turn Share link slider off), the link itself remains valid but users clicking the link cannot view the content. This works to temporarily disable the link.
- Description: Is blank by default but can be used to identify the purpose of the link or the location to which it is to be posted. The description is for your purposes only and does not appear outside of Echo360.
- Start At: Allows you to set a 'starting location' for the video. Users can view the entirety of the video, but by default the video begins playing at the location you set.
- Public access slider: When enabled (default), any person with the URL can view the video. Disabling this slider will require a user log into Echo360 to view the video (making access Private instead of Public). See IMPORTANT note above regarding LMS users and authentication.
- Copy: Use the Copy button to copy the link URL to your clipboard for pasting into your desired location.
- Embed: Use the Embed button to generate embed code to surround the link. This is described further in the next step.
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Delete: Permanently deletes the URL and its relationship with the content. If the URL remains posted publicly, clicking it will return a content not found error, as there is no longer any association between the URL and the content.
- If appropriate, click EMBED to generate embed code around the link for embedding into an accommodating program or location (such as an LMS content window).
- In the Embed link dialog box, you can select Size options for the embedded frame, as well as Autoplay and Automute options. Autoplay and Automute are OFF by default.
NOTE: If you enable Autoplay, Automute is also enabled; this is to accommodate browsers that do not allow for sound with autoplay content. You can enable Automute separately from Autoplay however.
- Once the embed options are configured, click Copy to copy the full embed code to your clipboard for pasting to the desired location.
- Click Done to close the Embed link dialog box and return to the Links list.
The link you create appears in the Links list of the Share Settings area and is available for all users who have access to a content's sharing information (content owners and admins).
When you no longer need a public link to the video, click the Delete button for that link. Deleting a link is permanent. Remember that you can deactivate a link by disabling the Share link slider, in case deletion is not appropriate. Deactivation retains the relationship between the link and the video, but makes the video inaccessible via the link.
YOU CAN CREATE MULTIPLE VIDEO LINKS: Notice that after you create a link, the ADD LINKS button remains. This allows you to create additional public links with different properties as needed.
The Add Link, Delete, and Share link (enable/disable link) options are all identified in the below figure.
