The Project Page

A project is Wistia's method for grouping related media. You might create a project with all the training videos for your organization, or all the sales materials related to a specific product. You can think of Projects like the folders on your local computer: they are for storing your stuff in a logical manner. There are lots of uses and functions within projects, which we will cover below.

The project title is what shows up in the Projects List page. You can change it anytime by clicking the title with your mouse and then editing the title text. When you are finished editing, hit the 'return' key or click elsewhere on the page and your new project name will be saved. You can also type the title into the search box to find this Project anytime.

The Project Actions drop-down menu contains all the options for Project-level actions:

1. Upload Media: To upload a piece of media from your computer to your Wistia account, select this option.
2. Copy Media: If you'd like to duplicate a piece of media in this Project, or select media from another Project to copy into this one, choose “Copy Media”.
3. Share Project: The share project screen allows you to share the project privately by email, share the link publicly, and manage who has access.
4. Manage Permissions: The manage permissions dialogue shows you who has access to the Project, and what permissions they have been granted.
5. Embed Playlist: The playlist embed screen is where you can create a Playlist embed and set the dimensions and theme of that Playlist (more on Playlist embedding here).
6. Get Upload Widget: Upload widgets are for consumer generated content (ie. your viewers upload content they created directly to a Wistia project). Upload Widget access is detailed here.
7. Send Message: Messaging functionality is available to send all the viewers on the Project a note. Let them know new media has been uploaded, or that they have only a week left to view a video.
8. Add Sidebar Element: Descriptive Sidebar elements are free HTML that you can use to add a description to the Project, add some contact info so your viewers can follow-up with you, or add a new logo if the Project is for a specific business segment.
9. Project Settings: With Project Settings, the admin on the Project can determine if comments should be on or off, and what types of files are available for all viewers to download.
10. Export All Media: The Export All Media button downloads the originals of the media in the Project in a single .zip file.
11. Delete Project: For removing the entire Project and all media contained therein.

The purpose of the Sharing sidebar element is to make two pieces of information readily available.

First, whether the Project is public or private. All this really means is whether someone can access the Project via a link only (Public) or whether they need credentials (Private). The second piece of information is which viewers have access to this Project and it's media.

The Sharing sidebar element can be removed anytime by hovering your mouse over the title, and then clicking the tiny trash can to the right of the title.

These links, which appear for Project admin only, allow you to easily “add” a new viewer, or see the entire list of viewers with their permissions (“manage”). If you elect to remove the Sharing sidebar element, these links will also disappear. You can still access this functionality in the “Share Project” menu under the “Project Actions” drop-down menu.

Once you are inside the project, if you hover your mouse over the title of the project, you will see an “edit” indicator pop-up next to the title on the right. Simple click anywhere on the project name and you will be in edit mode where you can make changes to the name. When finished, simply hit return or click elsewhere on the page and your new project name will be saved.

To delete a project, go into the project and put your mouse over the Project Actions menu. Select the “Delete Project”. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete the project, select “OK”.

To turn off comments (preventing users from seeing or making comments), go into the project and select “Project Settings” from the Project Actions menu. A “Project Settings” dialog will appear. Select the “Off” option for the Comments setting and click the “Save Settings” button. Comments are now disabled for the project.

Project sections allow you to organize media within a project. Media can be put into project sections and the sections can then expanded or collapsed to provide a cleaner experience for projects with many media.

Once a section has been created you can drag-and-drop media from other parts of the project into that section. Simply put your mouse over the media you want to move, click and hold your mouse, and then drag the media to the section you wish to place it in. The image below shows a media being dragged and dropped into a section.

When uploading new media into a project with many sections and other media items, it can be very useful to upload directly to one of your sections. To do this, simply click the target icon on the right-hand side of the section header and it will turn from gray to red. While this target icon is red, all media uploaded or copied into the project will automatically be placed in this section.

While permissions are initially set when a contact is invited to a project, often managers will want to change those permissions after the initial invite. To do this, first select “Manage Permissions” from the Project Actions menu.

This will bring up a dialog box that shows a matrix of contacts shared on that project and the permissions that those contacts have. Simply check the boxes appropriately to provide the contacts with the permissions you desire. When finished, click the “Update Permissions” button at the bottom of the dialog and your changes will be saved.

To add a description to your project, first go to the project page. Now, choose “Add Sidebar Element” from the Projcet Actions menu. This will bring up a dialog box. Press the “Add” button for the Description sidebar element.

A new description element will now show up below the Media Actions menu. Clicking the “Edit” button below the Description element will bring up the rich-text editor. Within the rich-text editor, you can edit the description visually or directly edit the source HTML for the description. When finished editing, click the “Save” button below the Description element and your changes will be saved.