YouTube transcripts are a fantastic feature that allows viewers to not only listen but also read the messages from a video. This is great for people with impaired hearing or anyone who is trying to comprehend a video that speaks different accents. Some may use it to enjoy the content silently without disturbing nearby folks.
On top of that, transcripts could help the viewer find a specific line of a message quickly rather than guessing the time stamp manually. With that said, here’s how you can open the transcript window of a YouTube video.
Please note that this guide is for displaying transcripts, not closed captions (CC). While these two aim for the same goal, a transcript is basically a list of captions arranged in chronological order.
So that we’re clear, follow the guide below.
Table of Contents
#1 Show transcript on YouTube web desktop
1. Open a YouTube video, any video that has captions.
2. Locate the three-dot icon above the ‘Subscribe’ button.
3. Click on it and select Show transcript.
4. The transcript box will appear next to the video. You can click the text to instantly jump to the corresponding time.
5. To change the transcript language, click on the language option at the bottom of the box.
6. Additionally, if the video was broken down into chapters, you may click Details to show each chapter.
#2 How to show transcript on YouTube mobile app
1. Launch a YouTube video that has captions.
2. Tap on the title or the down arrow next to the video title.
3. Then, tap the Show Transcript button.
4. Transcript is now displayed for the video. Tap on a caption to jump to its timestamp.
5. To change the language, tap the three-dot icon at the top.
The downside of enabling transcripts on the YouTube app is the video can’t take advantage of the maximum screen estate. The fullscreen mode is still possible but half of the space is reserved for the transcript window.
#3 How to download YouTube transcripts
There are some websites that let you download the transcript file of any YouTube video. All you need is just the YouTube video URL and then take it to one of these websites. After that, the TXT or SRT file (for each language) would be available to download.
These websites are:
As useful as it is, YouTube transcripts are not automatically shown on every video as they take quite some space on the screen. But as an alternative, captions (CC) can be shown on every video that supports it. Check out its settings on the YouTube Playback and Performance page.
And that’s it! I hope you find this guide helpful. Thank you for visiting.
