Remote video

Owned by Charlotte Armstrong
Last updated: Mar 25, 2024 by Ashley Walls

In WCMS 3, a Remote video Block will add a video player to a page. The Remote video Block supports content from both YouTube and Vimeo. 

If you need to create a web page first, review the instructions on How to create a web page.

Add a Remote video Block

  1. From the administration bar, select Workbench, and then select My Dashboard. 

  2. Navigate to the Content list panel and select the content you would like to edit.

  3. Select the Layout tab.

  4. Select +Add section if applicable. 

  5. Select +Add block. 

  6. Under External Embeds, select Remote video. 

    Screenshot of Remote video block

  7. Enter a Title. Select whether you want it to display by checking/unchecking the Display title box. The Title will appear as a block heading if Display title is selected.

  8. Select Add Media. 

  9. Paste (CTRL + V) the YouTube or Vimeo URL into the Add Remote video via URL field.

Note:  The format of the pasted URL can affect the appearance of the embedded video player. Refer to the section, URL formats, for further information.

  1. Select Add.

    Screenshot of add Remote video via URL

  2. Enter a video Name. Select Save.

  3. Select Insert selected. 

  4. Select Add block (Or Update if it’s a pre-existing Remote video Block).

  5. Select state from the Change to: drop-down menu.

  6. Select Save layout.

Note: If desired, refer to YouTube help for further information on adding subtitles and captions in YouTube videos.

URL Formats

The format of the video URL can effect how the Remote video block appears. YouTube videos can be added in different formats:

Playlist Icon

To add a YouTube video from a playlist and display a playlist icon, add the URL with the playlist ID in Step 9. A video that's been selected from the playlist will have a URL of the format "https://youtu.be/[video ID]&list=[playlist ID]" The playlist ID is the characters found at the end of the this URL. Pasting this URL in Step 9, will cause a playlist icon like below to appear in the Remote video:

To remove this playlist icon, remove "&list=[playlist ID]" from the URL.

Timestamp

To add a remote video that auto-plays from a certain time, add the URL with the timestamp in Step 9. The timestamp appears at the end of the URL in the format "https://youtu.be/[video ID]?t=129" (for a video to start at 129 seconds or 2 minutes and 9 seconds).