Panopto is the video streaming service behind the “Course Media Gallery” in Glow, and can also be used to embed videos in WordPress pages or shared directly from the Panopto site.
Starting January 20, 2025, inactive videos unviewed for 4 consecutive years will be deleted.
What is the difference between Active and Inactive Content?
How do I know if my content is inactive?
How do I reactivate my content?
How do I make sure my content continues to stay active through the semester?
How do I make sure my content stays active through my entire time at Williams?
What is the difference between Active and Inactive Content?
When new media are added to Panopto, they’re placed in active storage and available for immediate playback by viewers in Glow courses or on the web. When items haven’t been viewed for 24 months though, they automatically become inactive and are moved to archival storage. Currently no content is deleted and all media will continue to show up in searches on Panopto and in the Course Media Gallery regardless of whether it’s active or inactive. The only difference between the two is that media in archival storage has to be re-activated before it can be viewed. The process of re-activating a video can insert a delay of up to 48-hours.
Starting January 20, 2025, under a new Panopto policy, inactive videos not viewed for another 2 years (4 consecutive years total) will be permanently deleted.
How do I know if my content is inactive?
The easiest way to tell if your media is active is to click on it. When you click on an archived video in Glow or Panopto, the following message will appear: “This video is archived and must be restored from the archive before it can be viewed. Restoration may take up to 48 hours.” Panopto videos that have been embedded in WordPress or on another site will appear greyed out, and will display the same message as above.
Not only will clicking on a video tell you if it’s active, it’ll also reset the activity clock for that piece, so that it won’t be archived for a further 24 months.
How do I reactivate my content?
Whenever someone attempts to view archived content, they’ll be presented with a message indicating that it’s been archived as well as with a link saying “restore from archive”. Clicking this link will initiate the restore, which can take up to 48 hours to complete. (details on reactivating)
In addition, in the Course Media Gallery or on the Panopto site, you can search for archived videos and re-activate them directly from the search results by including archived videos in your search by selecting the “Include Archived videos” icon. Archived content will appear with the thumbnail image greyed out and the Archive icon over it. When hovered over, you can select the “Restore from Archive” button that appears underneath its title. (details on reactivating from search)
By default, when an archived video is restored, its creator will receive an email notification. The email will include a link to the restored video and information on who restored the video. Additionally, by default, when an archived video is restored, its restoration requestor will receive an email notification, letting them know the video has been restored.
How do I make sure my content continues to stay active through the semester?
Media is only moved to archive when it hasn’t been played for more than 24 months. Playing it for even a second is sufficient to reset the timer and ensure that it won’t be archived for another two years. Videos that have been played in the past two years will not be made inactive.
Owners of content in Panopto don’t have to do anything to move their inactive media to archive; it happens automatically when left unviewed. However, content can be moved to archive manually also.
How do I make sure my content stays active through my entire time at Williams?
Navigate to the specific Panopto video you wish to permanently protect from archiving and deletion. Click on the video so that it opens in the https://williams.hosted.panopto.com/ interface. In the upper-right hand corner, click on the gear icon to access the Settings. In the pop-up, navigate to Manage in the left-side menu. Under Retention Policy, select Retain Content Indefinitely from the drop down menu. Now, this specific video will never move to inactive (archived) status and will never be considered for deletion.