Guide
How to capture tab audio for live captions
Install the TanLens extension in Chrome or Edge, start it on the tab that is playing audio, and fix a silent capture with a few checks.
To capture tab audio, install the TanLens extension in Chrome or Edge, open the page that is playing sound, and press Start in the extension popup while that tab is active. The extension captures the active tab; Chrome requires your click as a user gesture, so a capture cannot start on its own.
01The capture sequence
Open chrome://extensions or edge://extensions, enable Developer mode, and load the TanLens extension package if it is not installed yet. Pin the extension, sign in, and open the meeting or video you want to caption. Keep that tab active and press Start; the extension captures the active tab, so switch to the right page first. Once the session begins, the caption panel appears over the page and the tab’s audio is transcribed. Stop the session when you are done so the minutes stop counting.
02When the capture is silent
Check three things in order: the target tab was active when you pressed Start, the tab itself is not muted, and the page is actually playing audio. If another tab was in front, stop and start again from the right one. A site may also use a protected audio path or DRM that blocks capture; test another site to see whether the problem is site-specific. Native apps are not tabs, so use microphone mode with a virtual loopback device for those. Safari and Firefox cannot run this extension, so tab capture there is not available at all.
How to do it
- 1Install the TanLens extension in Chrome or Edge and sign in.
- 2Open the page that is playing audio, then press Start in the extension.
- 3Keep the target tab active when you press Start.
- 4Stop the session when finished so billing stops with it.
Frequently asked questions
Related pages
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