To insert a text track into the QuickTime movie:

This must be done with QuickTime Player Pro on a Mac or PC. QuickTime Pro can be found on any lab Mac or PC. You must know the version of QuickTime on your computer before you can continue.

To determine the version of QuickTime on your computer, launch QuickTime Player.

  • PC: From the Help menu, choose About QuickTime Player.
  • Mac: From the Apple menu, choose About QuickTime Player.

In the About QuickTime Player window that appears, look for the version number just below the QuickTime logo (the big blue "Q") on the left. If it says "Version 5.0.1," or higher you are running QuickTime 5 or higher. If, on the other hand, there is no version number to be found, you are running QuickTime 4.

Adding the Text Track

  1. Place the text to be added in a word editor, such as Microsoft Word. If there are different texts to be added in different locations of the audio, place the text for each location on separate lines.
  2. Leave the word editor open.
  3. Open the QuickTime movie to which you would like to add the text track.
  4. Arrange your windows so that you can see both the word editor and the QT Player at the same time.
  5. On the track of the QuickTime audio, play the audio or drag the black playhead until it is at the beginning of where you want to place your text.



  6. While holding down the SHIFT key, drag the black playhead to where you would like the line of text to end. (You can also do this by holding down the SHIFT key and using the spacebar to start and stop the playback.)
  7. In the word editor, highlight the text to be added and select Copy from the Edit menu.
  8. Go back to the QuickTime movie:
    • if you are running QuickTime 5 or higher, go to the Edit menu and choose Add Scaled.
    • if you are running QuickTime 4 on a PC, hold down the SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT keys and go to the Edit menu and select Add Scaled.
    • if you are running QuickTime 4 on a Mac, hold down the OPTION, SHIFT, and COMMAND keys and go to the Edit menu and select Add Scaled.
  9. From the Edit menu, choose Select None.
  10. If you move the playhead to area of the timeline where you added the text, you will see the text appear in a window above the timeline.
  11. Repeat steps 5 - 9 for additional text to be added in different locations.
  12. Save the file by going to the File menu and selecting Save.
  13. You do not need to save the document in the word editor.
  • Heather Woods
  • Information Services
  • Date Created: February 1, 2001
  • Last Modified: June 19, 2003
  • Expires: August 31, 2003