Caption.Ed

Follow live captions and review transcripts from lectures, meetings and videos.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: Caption.Ed Desktop App (Windows & macOS) & Caption.Ed Web App (Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge)

These instructions were checked against official CareScribe / Caption.Ed documentation on the review date. Features such as note-taking, AI summaries and speaker labelling depend on your Caption.Ed licence, app version and audio setup.

Captions live, and a transcript afterwards

Caption.Ed produces live captions during a lecture, online call or recorded video, and saves a searchable transcript in your library when the session ends. Both halves matter, and people often underestimate the second one.

Live captions help you follow what is being said in the moment. The saved transcript lets you go back afterwards, search for a specific section and turn an hour of discussion into structured notes.

Getting Started

  • Captioning browser audio in the Caption.Ed Web App (Chrome or Edge): Open the Caption.Ed Web App in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, select Record → Select a Tab, choose the browser tab playing your video or call, make sure tab audio sharing is enabled in the browser prompt, select Share, and then select Start recording. If you also need to capture your own voice, turn on the microphone toggle separately before starting.
  • Captioning desktop calls or in-person rooms in the Caption.Ed Desktop App (Windows or Mac): Open the Caption.Ed desktop app when captioning desktop apps (such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom) or in-person rooms, and select the audio source you need—system/computer audio for online calls and media, microphone for an in-person room, or both when you and remote participants are speaking.
  • Choose a subject topic if available: Selecting the closest subject vocabulary (such as Law, Health & Life Sciences, or General) helps Caption.Ed recognise specialist terms.
  • Flag or add notes during the session: Add short notes or flags against the transcript timeline (where included in your plan) so you can find key decisions quickly afterwards.
  • Adjust font size and theme: Customise text size and colour contrast in the caption window to make live reading comfortable.

Getting captions worth reading

  • Check the audio source before the meeting starts. Captioning an online call through your room microphone instead of computer/tab audio is the most common reason captions look inaccurate or fail to appear when you are wearing headphones.
  • Use a close microphone for in-person rooms. In a lecture theatre or meeting room, microphone distance and background noise determine how accurately speech is recognised.
  • Check speaker separation and permissions. Always follow your workplace or university recording policy before recording a meeting, and check speaker labels afterwards as automatic speaker detection depends on the audio source and licence tier.

If you are not reading the captions visually

  • The saved transcript is the accessible record. Live scrolling captions are primarily visual. For a screen-reader or braille-display user, reviewing or exporting the completed transcript after the session is far more practical.
  • Export into a document editor you know. Exporting the transcript to Word or plain text lets you navigate and search with your usual reading commands.
  • Use timestamps to verify unclear words. When a technical term or name looks mis-transcribed, the timestamp lets you replay that exact moment of the audio recording.

Short practice exercise

  1. Open a short news or educational video in a tab in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  2. In the Caption.Ed Web App, select Record → Select a Tab, pick the browser tab with the video, enable tab audio sharing, select Share, and click Start recording for 60 seconds (or use the Caption.Ed Desktop App with computer audio selected).
  3. Add one short note in the notes pane while the video plays, then stop the session.
  4. Open the saved session in your Caption.Ed library, replay the timestamp by your note, and check how to export the transcript.

Official Caption.Ed help links

Need more detailed guidance?

This quick guide covers the basics. Get practical, one-to-one training for Caption.Ed and other note-taking and literacy tools.

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Using this as part of a dyslexia or ADHD toolkit? See our dyslexia & ADHD training.

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