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Amara and PCF have a new look - tell us what you think!
Hi David,
I may be misunderstanding the issue, but would using the full screen button in the bottom right of the Amara embedder serve the purpose of amplification? We added this in January 2018.
If this doesn't solve the issue, I'd love to hear some more details to understand the scenario in which you're unable to view the video full screen.
Thanks,
Kenzie
Hi,
In the old Amara, I can print out subtitles draft for checking. But the new Amara, in PDF printout, the top (about 1 inch) is blocking part of the subtitles......
Is this my own computer issue, or others have similar problems?
Please see attached screen-shot.
Thanks,
David
However, I had never tried this method before you mentioned it. When I want to check a subtitle set offline, I usually download it as .sbv (because .sbv has the least amount of code). See the .sbv attachment, downloaded from https://amara.org/en/videos/Z8nmlCGBQ5Qe/en/1224233/ .
As .sbv files are plain text files with just a different extension, you can then open them in a browser where you can zoom them as much as you need, or copy-paste them in a word processor (LibreOffice Writer, MS Word...) where you can change the paragraph style to the size you want. Advantage of downloading the subtitles as .sbv: you only get the subtitles, not the extraneous things in header, footer and left column.
great topic
Hi, I logged in my Amara account today and found out that somehow I was "kicked-out" of my team (TED) and I couldn't continue to subtitle the video that I'm working on it.
Please help me to fix this, I don't want to "join team" again and go through verification process. And more importantly, I don't want to lost my works that I've done before, linked to my account.
Thanks,
Lan Dao
Rieann Brown
Hi Lan,
I just wanted to let you know I've received your post in the Support desk. You don't need to reapply.
I will fix the access to the TED team and I will update you soon via the ticket and email.
Thank you for letting us know about this problem!
Best,
Rieann
Amara Support Team.
One less fortunate thing is the stationary upper band with the name of the service and a basic menu. It is unfortunate, because the videos can not be viewed in full screen format, but has to be enlarged by using the zoom function of the browser. Because the band is stationary it overlaps the enlarged video screen and does not allow a near full screen enlargement of the video screen. It allows a 150 percent enlargement whereas previously 200 percent was possible. This ought to be remedied. Perhaps the stationary band should be more flexible?
Great job!
If I first linearize the page (1), then the band no longer overlaps and I can zoom the page up to 200% again.
(1) linearizing a page is a feature of the Web Developer addon that exists for Firefox, Chrome and Opera - but there are probably other ways to do that.
Rieann Brown
Hi Soeren,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with the new Amara pages. By sharing it here it will help us see how many other members find this an important feature to help us determine and prioritize our next improvements. I can't say when, but we are looking at improvements for full-screen viewing when possible. You can follow this post and I will post updates here for any upcoming changes in this feature.
Thank you for all your contributions to Amara!
Best,
Rieann
Amara Support Team
Hi Claude and Rieann,
Thank you, Claude, for that helpful tip. And thank you both for quick answers. Still, I think the stationary band is an unfortunate feature of the design for many people. It certainly is for those interested in my six hours of texted videos here. They are mostly beyond middle-aged people who are not accustomed to install programs on their computers. For them this tip is of no use, and they will have to settle for this lower enlargement of the viewer which is the result of this design, and I think people find it annoying. I am a newcomer to this video culture, and I cannot say anything for certain about it. But given that the major video providers on the net, such as YouTube, provide full screen viewing, I suspect most people expect this feature on Amara too. Now, before the new site design it was possible to come close to full screen viewing by using the zoom function in the browser. Now it is not possible any more because of a detail in the new design. I think it is a pity for this otherwise perfectly functioning and beautiful site. In practical terms it must be easy to avoid the stationary band and insert it on top of the pages instead. In that way it would disappear when enlarging the video screen, and this would allow for a better viewing. This is of cause debatable, and this is just my ten cents.
Best,
Soeren
Other temporary workaround, using Subtitle Horse, because it has a full-screen mode that keeps the subtitles
- copy the URL of the original video you used to create the Amara page
- download your Amara subtitles
- go to http://subtitle-horse.com/ and paste the URL in the URL box to create a Subtitle Horse subtitling page.
- in the Subtitle Horse page you created, File > Open Subtitle File to import your downloaded subtitles
- then File > Save And Exit
You'll land on a page where you can generate two URLs: one for editing the subtitles, the other for just viewing the video with subtitles. You could share the "viewing" URL with your audience. One thing, though, in full-screen mode, the cursor must be on the time bar for the subtitles to show.
In a way, I can understand the reason for the "stationary" menu bar: some pages are very long. Nevertheless, couldn't the same purpose be effected with a few "Back to Top" links, Rieann?
And then, could the search and upload links be re-added in that menu bar?
Best,
Claude
The band is stationary it covers the broadened video screen and does not permit a close full-screen amplification of the video screen. It permits a 150 percent extension though beforehand 200 percent was conceivable. This should be helped. Maybe the stationary band ought to be more adaptable.
Rieann Brown
Hi Soeren and Claude,
Thank you for sharing those great details and suggestions! Understanding the details of how people want and need Amara to work helps us to constantly improve. I'm sharing them with our team as I write this because that is why we started this Forum, we want to know what works for you.
We'll be sharing any updates as soon as we can.
Best,
Rieann
Rieann Brown
We’re very excited to announce the newly redesigned homepage of amara.org! We hope the redesign better reflects who we are, and what we have to offer.
All Amara’s offerings at a glance
Now it’s much easier to browse through all of Amara’s tools and offerings -- free tools and professional services, right from the header of the amara.org homepage. We used to have this separated into a site called pro.amara.org, but on the new homepage it’s all at your fingertips in case you want to upgrade your subtitling tools and capabilities.
Or, you can jump right into the free editor with a big green button:
Learn and get involved
Finding new teams to volunteer for remains as easy as before. We’ve renamed the page “Volunteer” to make it even more obvious (this used to say Community). We couldn’t be more thrilled about our new About page, which clearly shares the reasons we’re all here, and showcases our core team.
I already have an Amara account - do I have to do anything differently now?
Nope - logging onto the platform is as simple as ever. Go to the Login button on the top-right corner to enter your username and password; and click on your username to access your profile, messages and teams!
Instead of the old "Subtitle Video" header item, logged in users should use that same user menu in the upper right of the page to select "Subtitle Video." Non-logged-in users will see the big "Start Subtitling for Free" button.
You’ll also see the new header style on most amara.org pages. The remaining pages will get the updated header style in the next couple of months.
Thanks for checking out the new site - we hope you enjoy the new look and organization of the homepage. Let us know what you think!
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