Adding a Loom Video to Freehand V7

This feature is not yet available to all V7 Enterprise customers. Stay tuned for future releases announced here: Release Notes: Freehand

Give your team context about your freehand by adding an existing video or recording a video using the Loom add-on. Viewers can interact with your video by adding an emoji or a comment so you can keep the conversation going even after the video is recorded.

Click the pin icon next to the Loom add-on to pin it to the sidebar.

Signing up for a Loom account

You can record a video using the Loom add-on with or without having a Loom account. If you sign up for a free Loom account right in Freehand or log in with an existing account, you will be able to access all of your videos in your Loom dashboard and can rename, crop, and delete videos.

To sign up for a Loom account in Freehand:

1. On the bottom toolbar, click the More tools menu icon (•••) and select Loom.
2. Click Record.

   If it is your first time using the Loom add-on, you will be prompted to authorize the add-on to use your microphone and camera.

3. In the upper-right corner of the modal, click Sign up for free.
4. Complete the required fields or log into an existing account.

Adding a Loom video to Freehand

To add an existing Loom video to Freehand:

1. Open Loom and copy the share link to the video you want to add to Freehand.
2. Open the freehand where you want to add the Loom video.
3. On the bottom toolbar, click the More tools menu icon (•••) and select Loom.
4. Click Add an existing recording.
5. Paste the link to the Loom video and click Embed video.

   You can adjust the size of the Loom window in Freehand by dragging the handles of the video.

You can also add a Loom video to your freehand using the Embed tool. To access the Embed tool, click the More tools menu (•••) in the toolbar.

Recording a video in Freehand

You can record a video with or without a Loom account. Without a Loom account, you will be limited to recording five videos per team.

To record a video:

1. Open the freehand where you want to record a video.
2. On the bottom toolbar, click the More tools menu icon (•••) and select Loom.
3. Click Record.

   If it is your first time using the Loom add-on, you will be prompted to authorize the plugin to use your microphone and camera.

4. In the modal that opens, use the dropdown menus to select your preferred video settings, then click Start recording.
   
   • Screen and Camera will record your screen and camera at the same time.
   • Screen Only will record only your screen (your camera will not be recorded).
   • Camera Only will record only your camera (your screen will not be recorded).
5. In the modal that opens, select what you want to record, then click Share.
   
   • Entire screen will allow everything on your screen to be recorded.
   • Window will allow everything in a specific window to be recorded.

     If you switch tabs or views in a window, the current view will be recorded.

   • Chrome tab will allow only the selected tab to be recorded.
6. To finish recording, press the Finish recording icon in the recording toolbar.
7. In the preview window that opens, click Insert recording to add the recording to the freehand.
   

   You can adjust the size of the Loom window in Freehand by dragging the handles of the video.

8. Double-click on the Loom video to activate the video controls.

Interacting with a Loom video

Viewers can interact with a Loom video by adding an emoji or a comment.

To add an emoji or a comment to a video:

1. Hover over the Loom video and click Watch video to enable the video controls.
2. At the bottom of the video, select an emoji or click the comment icon to leave a comment at that point in the video.

Everyone will be able to see the emoji and comment. Clicking on the emoji or comment will take you to that timestamp in the video.

Sharing a Loom video

You can share your Loom video with others to provide context on projects or share updates.

To share a Loom video:

1. With the pointer tool selected (or by typing V or 1 on your keyboard), hover over the Loom video and click Watch video to enable the video controls.
2. Hover over the upper-right corner, click the Share icon, then select one of the share options.

Removing a video from Freehand

If you don’t have a Loom account, you can still remove a video from your freehand. You will need to reach out to Loom support to delete the video from their platform, if desired. If you have a Loom account, you can remove a video from the your freehand or delete a video from your Loom dashboard.

Without a Loom account:

1. Select the video in your freehand and press Delete on your keyboard to remove the video from the freehand.
2. To delete a video recorded as a guest, contact Loom support to have your video removed from their platform.

With a Loom account:

1. Hover over the Loom video and click Watch video to enable the video controls.
2. In the upper-right corner of the video, click the Watch on Loom icon .
3. In the tab that opens, click the More actions icon and select Delete.
4. In your freehand, select the video and press Delete on your keyboard to delete the video frame.
   

   If a video is deleted from your dashboard but not in Freehand, everywhere the video was linked in Freehand will be replaced with a 404 message.

Accessing your Loom video library

If you have an account with Loom, you can access your video library right from Freehand. You can organize your videos into folders for easy access, download videos, or delete videos.

To access your Loom video library:

1. Open the Loom add-on and click Record.
2. In the upper-right corner of the modal, click the Open workspace icon to open your video library in Loom.
3. In the window that opens, you can click the checkbox above a video and select an icon at the bottom of the window to perform an action.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make my Loom recording bubble bigger?

If you’re recording your camera, you can drag your Loom bubble to move the video anywhere on the screen. To make your bubble bigger, hover the bubble and click the larger bubble icon.

How do I activate the video controls?

Hover over the Loom video and click Watch video to enable the video controls.

Can I change the playback speed of a video?

You can change the playback speed of a video by double-clicking the video and clicking the 1x at the bottom of the video, or typing S on your keyboard.

Can I see how many times my video has been watched?

Video views are shown in the upper-left corner of the video in your freehand.

Who gets notified of comments on videos?

Anyone with access to the freehand will be able to see comments left on a video by hovering over the scrub bar at the bottom of the video or clicking the title of the video to open the video and comments in a new tab. At this time, video comments are not integrated into the freehand commenting sidebar.

How do I watch a video in full screen?

Double-click the video to activate the video controls, then click the Enter full screen icon in the bottom-right corner of the video or press F on your keyboard. Press ESC on your keyboard to exit full screen mode.

Can I watch a video outside of Freehand?

You can click the Watch on Loom icon in the upper-right corner of the video to open the video in Loom in a new tab. You can also type P on your keyboard to open the video in picture-in-picture mode. To exit picture-in-picture mode, hover over the video and press “x” in the upper-right corner of the video.

How do I create a Loom account?

You can create an account on Loom right from Freehand. See how here: Signing up for a Loom account

How do I change the title of a video?

By default, the title of the video is the date the video was recorded. To change the title of the video, you need to create a Loom account. Once you have an account, click the title of the video in your freehand to open the video in Loom. Scroll down the page to the title and double-click the title to enter a new title. You may need to refresh your freehand to see the updated title.

Can I trim a video?

If you have a Loom account, you can trim a video you recorded. In your freehand, hover over the Loom video and click Watch video to enable the video controls.. Click the Watch on Loom icon in the upper-right corner of the video to open the video in Loom. In the menu that is overlaid on the video, click Trim video.