Quick links
- What is a Video Step
- How to create a Video Step (Basic details)
- Video step advanced settings
- Information around uploading your video
- Closed captioning
A video step simply displays a video to the learner.
Video steps are fundamental for most Sims within SimTutor. Their most common uses are...
- An efficient way of presenting information to a learner
- Video between learner prompted tasks in a scenario
- Showing the learner the result of their decision
- Transitions
We recommend using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro/Final Cut Pro, or as a free alternative, Openshot Video Editor, to edit your videos externally.
Here is a quick guide to creating a Video Step. Be sure to check out the support pages about Video Quality/Uploading Video.
1. Click the "+ Add Step" Button.

2. Click on "Video."

3. Give your Video Step a name so that you can can distinguish the step in editor mode. This step name is not displayed to the learner - only for your reference. You must have a step name before you can add the step.

4. Select your video quality (We suggest changing the Video Quality to high quality), then, upload a video by dragging and dropping one from your computer, dragging and dropping from the library, or clicking "Browse for files" and selecting the desired file. This accepts .MOV and .MP4 Video Formats.
We recommend uploading your video into the library tab, as this will upload in the background.

5. Click Add.

Compared to other steps, the Video Step is pretty straightforward, so the amount of advanced settings available is fairly limited.
Static Image
Please check out our Static Image Support Page for more details on how this works for the Video Step. This feature is consistent across all supported step types.

Separate Audio
You can upload a .mp3 file to the Video Step that will begin playing once the step loads. This audio can be paused, fast forwarded, or re-winded by the learner. This means that the audio and the video can get out of sync, so we suggest mixing the audio into the video file wherever possible.

Uploading into the Library
SimTutor automatically compressed any video uploaded, up to a maximum of 500mb. Much like a video site like YouTube, SimTutor displays the most appropriate video quality based off the end users connection.
Around 10mbps is roughly the highest quality video we will present to the end user. Any quality higher than that will be compressed.
We suggest uploading video to the library rather than directly onto the step, as this allows you to continue working in SimTutor while the video uploads in the background. Once complete, you can instantly drag and drop it into the video step. This also allows you to upload many videos at once. Check out the Library support page for more detail on this.
After uploading a video, it will appear in the library. Hover over the video you wish to add the caption file to, then click edit properties button (shown to the left). This will open an area that you can upload your .vtt file.
A .vtt file is a subtitle format we use, and it can be created using online apps, or even a simple text editor.
Below is an example .vtt compatible file.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:02.000
The Web is always changing
00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:04.300
and the way we access it always changing
The timestamp in the upper line of the subtitle defines the start and end point of that subtitle, and the lower text is the text that displays. e.g. from 0.5 sec to 2 sec, the text "The Web is always changing" will display.
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