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Manage media content

Upload, find and reuse images, video, audio and documents in your media library, and set up audio avatars and subtitles.

Written by Cody Iddings

The media library

The media library is your central hub for managing all media content in Makeshapes.

How to open the media library

From anywhere in the app:

  • Click the Media tab in the top navigation

  • Or visit directly at /media-library

When building an experience:

  • Click any "Choose [media type]" button (for example, "Choose video", "Choose audio", "Choose image")

  • Or drag and drop a file directly onto any empty media selector to upload and attach it

What's in the media library?

The media library has multiple tabs depending on the media type you're working with:

  • Media library - Browse and manage all your media with powerful filters

  • Upload - Upload new files from your computer (or drag and drop anywhere!)

  • Record - Record audio directly in your browser

  • Text-to-speech - Generate AI voiceovers from text (audio only)

  • YouTube/Vimeo - Add videos from external platforms (video only)

  • Royalty-free images / Royalty-free audio - Browse free-to-use images (from Unsplash) and background audio

Finding your media

Search

Type in the search box to find media by name. Search updates as you type.

Filter by scope

Choose what media to see:

  • Organisation library - All media uploaded by anyone in your organization

  • My uploads - Only media you've uploaded

Filter by usage (when building an experience)

See where media is being used:

  • Assets used in any experience - All media across your organization

  • Assets used in this project - Media used anywhere in the current project

  • Assets used in [Experience Name] - Media used only in this specific experience

Filter by type

Use the type icons in the toolbar to show only images, video, audio or documents. With no type selected, you see everything.

  • Images - JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP and SVG files

  • Video - Uploaded videos, YouTube and Vimeo

  • Audio - MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC and M4A files, and text-to-speech audio

  • Documents - PDFs

Sort

Organize your media by:

  • Date uploaded (Newest)

  • Date uploaded (Oldest)

  • Name (A-Z)

  • Name (Z-A)

Grid and list view

Toggle between grid and list view using the view mode button in the toolbar. Grid view shows media as thumbnails, while list view shows a compact row with thumbnail, name, and type information. Your view preference is saved across sessions.

Add videos to your experience

Videos are used as rich media content to enhance your learning experience. You can upload videos directly to our platform or add URLs for videos hosted on YouTube or Vimeo.

How to add a video

  1. Add a Video activity to your desired section

  2. Click Choose video

  3. Choose from three options:

Upload a video

  • Click the Upload tab (or drag and drop your file anywhere!)

  • Select your video file (MP4, MOV, WebM or M4V)

  • The video will upload and process automatically in the background

  • Give it a descriptive name for easy reference later

  • You can navigate away during upload - it will continue in the background

  • If you try to close the page during upload, you'll see a warning

  • Once processing completes, it will appear in the Media library tab

Add from YouTube

  • Click the YouTube/Vimeo tab

  • Copy the full YouTube URL (for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ )

  • Paste it into the URL field

  • Click Add to experience

  • Your video must be set to Public or Unlisted (not Private) in YouTube Studio

Add from Vimeo

  • Click the YouTube/Vimeo tab

  • Copy the Vimeo URL with just the video ID (for example, https://vimeo.com/140655611 )

  • Paste it into the URL field

  • Click Add to experience

  • For paid Vimeo accounts: Set privacy to Public or Hide from Vimeo

  • For free accounts: Set to Public

Subtitles and captions

Add subtitles to your videos for accessibility:

  • Uploaded videos: Click the video in your Media library to open details, then upload subtitle files (VTT format only, max 5MB) in the Subtitles section. You can add a track for each language. See Subtitles.

  • YouTube videos: Subtitles are not available for YouTube videos in Makeshapes. To add subtitles, upload your video directly.

  • Vimeo videos: Manage subtitles in your Vimeo account. Note that Vimeo subtitles may display with different styling. For the best subtitle experience, upload your video directly to Makeshapes.

Video duration

The duration is automatically calculated and displayed. For uploaded videos, this happens after processing completes.

Add images to your experience

Images are often used as content on the group display when there isn't an interactive activity. You can also use images and audio together with the Slideshow activity.

How to add images

When you see a Choose image button:

Upload an image

  1. Click Choose image

  2. Click the Upload tab (or drag and drop!)

  3. Select a JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP or SVG file under 5MB. If your image is larger than 5MB, we recommend scaling it down with a free tool like Squoosh

  4. Give your image a descriptive name for easy reference later

  5. Find all your images in the Media library tab

Choose a royalty-free image

  1. Click Choose image

  2. Click the Royalty-free images tab

  3. Search for the image you want (powered by Unsplash's library of free images)

  4. Click an image to select it

  5. Click Add to experience

Image avatars

You can use images as avatars that appear alongside audio introductions and expert tips. Set your avatar in:

  • Experience settings - Applies to all audio across the experience (recommended for consistency)

  • Individual audio files - Override the experience-level setting for specific clips

Avatar positions: Bottom-center aligned, Bottom-right aligned, Bottom-left aligned or Top-center aligned. On an individual clip you can also choose Hide avatar.

Set a position without choosing an image and a floating orb appears instead.

Add PDFs to your experience

You can upload PDFs to the Media Library and use individual PDF pages in your activities. This is handy when you want to reuse content from existing slide decks, reports, or handouts without re-exporting them as images.

How to add a PDF

  1. From an activity that accepts an image, click Choose image.

  2. Click the Upload tab (or drag and drop your PDF anywhere).

  3. Once it processes, the page picker opens so you can choose which page to use.

  4. In Slideshow, you can select multiple pages and each one will be added as a separate slide.

  5. Give the file a descriptive name so you can find it later.

Note: Only .pdf files are accepted. Other document formats like DOCX and PPTX aren't supported.

Where you can use PDF pages

PDF pages can be selected in most places where you would normally upload an image — wherever the Choose image picker appears. In the Slideshow activity you can pick multiple pages at once and add them as separate slides; in other image surfaces you pick one page at a time.

Picking pages

When you select a PDF, a page picker opens with a grid of thumbnails. You can:

  • Click any page to select it

  • Shift-click for a contiguous range (when multi-page selection is supported)

  • Use the + and − buttons to change the thumbnail size — your zoom preference is remembered next time

The confirm button label changes to match what you're doing — for example, Use page 3 for a single selection or Add 5 pages for a multi-select in Slideshow. Page numbers in the UI match the document (page 1 is the first page).

How PDF pages appear in the editor

Once added, image and PDF slots show a hover label of the source file. Images show the filename, and PDF pages show Page N • filename so you can see at a glance which page is in use. Clicking View larger on any image or PDF slot opens a full-screen preview with the same label across the top.

Using PDFs as email attachments

You can attach a PDF from the Media Library to a follow-up email. When you choose a file in the email attachment picker, its size appears next to the filename (for example, PDF • 3.2 MB ). Email attachments are capped at 5MB regardless of the file's size in the Media Library — if you select a file over 5MB, a toast lets you know: "This file is 7.5MB. Email attachments must be 5MB or smaller."

Add audio to your experience

Audio is a key element in making Makeshapes experiences engaging. We recommend putting as much effort into your audio as you would into your video content.

Makeshapes audio features

  • Audio introduction - Plays automatically at the beginning of an activity. The activity timer starts when audio begins. Great for transitions!

  • Expert tips - Optional audio that learners can play if they need help with an activity or discussion

  • Background Music - Quiet audio that plays during activities or in the waiting room during registration

How to add audio

When you see a Choose audio button, you have four options:

Upload audio

  1. Click Choose audio

  2. Click the Upload tab (or drag and drop!)

  3. Select an MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC or M4A file under 20MB. If your file is larger, use Audacity to trim or compress it

  4. Give it a descriptive name

  5. Find it later in the Media library tab

Record audio

  1. Click Choose audio

  2. Click the Record tab

  3. Grant browser permission to use your microphone (one-time)

  4. Press the red button to start recording

  5. Press again to stop, or press the black button to pause

  6. Wait a few seconds for processing

  7. The audio will automatically save to your Media library

  8. Click Add to experience to use it

Generate audio with text-to-speech

  1. Click Choose audio

  2. Click the Text-to-speech tab

  3. Write the script, choose a voice and generate the audio

See Generating audio with text-to-speech for the details.

Choose royalty-free audio

  1. Click Choose audio

  2. Click the Royalty-free audio tab

  3. Browse audio files specifically designed for background use

  4. File names say what they suit: waiting rooms, activities or reflection periods

  5. Click to select and add to your experience

Editing audio

Click any audio file in the Media library tab (or visit /media-library ) to:

  • Trim start/end time - Drag the waveform handles or enter precise timestamps in seconds

  • Rename - Give it a more descriptive name in your library

  • Audio avatar overrides - Change the avatar image, visibility or position for this clip

  • View usage - See which experiences use this audio

  • Delete - Remove from your library (only available if not currently in use)

Audio avatars

Create a more personal feel (similar to Loom videos) by adding an avatar that appears during audio playback:

Set at experience level (recommended for consistency)

  1. Open the experience's Settings tab

  2. Scroll to Audio avatar

  3. Choose an avatar image

  4. Choose a position, like Bottom-center aligned

  5. This applies to all audio in the experience

Set for individual audio

  1. Click the audio in the Media library

  2. In Audio avatar overrides, choose an image and position, or Hide avatar

  3. This overrides the experience-level setting for this specific audio

Floating orb style

  • Set the position without uploading an image

  • A dynamic, animated orb will appear during playback

Deleting media

Understanding media usage

Before you can delete a media file, you need to understand where it's being used. Every media item in your library tracks its usage across:

  • Experience content - Activities and sections using this media

  • Email attachments - Email sequences that include it

  • Email body - Images embedded in email content

  • Avatars - Audio clips using this image as an avatar

How to delete media

  1. Click the Media tab in the top navigation or visit /media-library

  2. Click the media item you want to delete

  3. Click the Delete button

Delete multiple items at once

On the standalone Media Library page ( /media-library ):

  1. Click the Delete items button in the toolbar to enter manage mode

  2. Click items to select or deselect them

  3. Click Delete in the bottom bar to remove all selected items

Items that are currently in use by an experience cannot be deleted.

Cannot delete media in use

If the media is currently being used, the Delete button will show you exactly where it's in use. You cannot delete media that's actively used in your experiences.

To delete media that's in use:

  1. Note where the media is being used (shown in the Usage section)

  2. Go to each experience listed

  3. Remove the media from all activities, sections, emails, or avatar settings

  4. Publish the experience to save your changes

  5. Return to the Media library

  6. Try deleting again - the Delete button should now work

Important: You may need to publish experiences after removing media. Removing media from an unpublished draft won't always allow deletion - the published version still references it.

File size limits and formats

  • Images: 5MB maximum (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG)

  • Documents/PDF: 20MB maximum (PDF only)

  • Email attachments: 5MB maximum (regardless of the file's size in the Media Library)

  • Audio: 20MB maximum (MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC, M4A)

  • Video: 2GB maximum (MP4, MOV, WebM, M4V)

  • Subtitles: 5MB maximum (VTT format only)

Tips for best results

  • Use descriptive names - Makes finding media easier later, especially in large libraries

  • Set avatars at experience level - Ensures visual consistency across all audio

  • Use short videos - Break long content into bite-sized pieces with engaging activities between

  • Add subtitles - Improves accessibility and helps non-native speakers

  • Use background music - Enhances engagement during interactive activities

  • Filter by usage - Find media used in specific experiences when building

Other languages, and audio you don't have

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