When creating an SOP from a video, you can now specify an existing SOP file (PDF / Excel / Word / image) as a "Reference work procedure". You can leverage the structure and terminology of your already-established Excel manual to advance your video manual creation.
This feature is currently provided as beta. Split accuracy and text import methods are still being improved. We would greatly appreciate any feedback on successful examples, cases where alignment was off, and feature requests—please send them to Dive Customer Success <customer-success@episotech.com>. We will use your feedback for ongoing improvements.
When to use this
- You have already established work procedures in Excel and want to carry that structure forward to your video manual
- You want to create a video manual using company terminology, equipment names, and process names that match your existing procedure documentation
- You have video footage, but the AI's automatic split does not create the step divisions you intended → you want to split according to the reference material's divisions
Most customers using Dive manage procedures in Excel. This feature is designed to let you start by referencing your Excel as-is to create video manuals.
Supported file formats
- Excel (.xlsx / .xlsm / .xls)
- Word (.docx / .doc)
- Images (.jpg / .png, etc.)
You can select one file as reference. Office files are converted to PDF by the system when uploaded and then provided as reference material.
Setup steps
- When uploading a video (or when running [Re-run AI] on a material), open the [Reference work procedure (optional)] section (marked as beta) at the bottom of the AI processing options
- Click [Choose a procedure file] and select the procedure file you want to reference from [Materials]
- Once the filename is displayed, check or uncheck [Split according to the document's steps] as needed (default is ON. See the next section for details)
- Click [Run] and video analysis will begin based on the reference file
Two modes (checkbox ON / OFF)
[Split according to the document's steps] checkbox ON — split the video according to the reference material's divisions (default)
- Steps are split to match the step count and order of the reference file
- The title and body adopt the reference material's text as-is, with information extracted from the video added to the body
- The [Target step count] setting and split granularity (process / step / action) are not used (the reference material's divisions and step count take priority)
- Steps written in the reference material but not appearing in the video are retained in the procedure and not dropped
- Even if the reference material and video are processed in different languages, the reference material's steps are translated to the video's [Recognition Language] before use. Work tips, quality warnings, and important safety information are also written in the video's language, so languages do not mix within a single step. When translating, terminology from the Terminology Glossary is used as reference
- When converting to an SOP, you can attach reference material pages to each step or arrange them alternately with video steps in the [Step conversion settings] [Reference] section (see Step conversion settings)
- This mode is suitable when you want to "cut out video segments corresponding to each step of an Excel procedure"
[Split according to the document's steps] checkbox OFF — use as supporting context
- The reference file is used only as supporting material for terminology and context
- Step division is automatically determined from the video (follows the video's AI analysis results)
- This mode is suitable when you want to "align only terminology and company-specific phrasing"
Typical workflow using Excel as reference
- First, import your existing Excel procedure into Dive using Create SOP from file (this step alone makes it usable as a procedure)
- Then upload the video of the actual work corresponding to that procedure, and specify the Excel you just imported (or the original Excel) in the AI processing options' [Reference work procedure (optional)]
- [Split according to the document's steps] (ON by default) will split the video steps to match the Excel's divisions
- Compare the Excel procedures and video procedures side-by-side and review and consolidate the content
This workflow enables you to eliminate double management by leveraging your Excel assets while transitioning to video manuals.
We'd appreciate your feedback
Since this is a beta offering, split accuracy and text import methods are still being improved. Please share any observations or requests—successful examples, cases where splitting did not match your intent, additional file formats you would like supported, and more—to customer-success@episotech.com (Dive Customer Success). We will use your feedback for future improvements.
Frequently asked questions
Q. The split the AI determined on the video side and the split in the reference file do not align no matter what.
A. First, try turning [Split according to the document's steps] OFF and re-analyzing. Terminology and phrasing will align with the reference file, while step splitting will respect the video's analysis results. If they still do not align, the most reliable approach is to manually edit the steps in the editor on the video side. Note that the issue of step count not matching the reference in long videos has been resolved (the entire video is now aligned to the reference's step count and order). You do not need to split the video into shorter segments before uploading.
Q. When will the beta label be removed?
A. We are continuously improving split accuracy and text import accuracy. Once the system reliably produces splits as intended, we will transition to full production status. We would like to assure you that we do not use your data internally for retraining or data review.
Q. Will information in the reference material that does not appear in the video be reflected?
A. When [Split according to the document's steps] is ON, the reference material's title and body are adopted as-is, with information extracted from the video added to the body. Steps that appear in the reference material but are not shown in the video are retained as steps according to the reference (the video for that step will be very short since there is no corresponding footage; you can replace it with newly recorded footage if needed in the editor). When OFF, terminology and context from the reference file are imported, but the AI does not automatically add steps that do not appear in the video (steps are structured based on what is visible in the video).
Q. What happens when the reference material and video are in different languages?
A. When [Split according to the document's steps] is ON, the reference material's steps are translated to the video's [Recognition Language] before use (for example: when using a Japanese work standard as reference and analyzing a video with Vietnamese narration by setting [Recognition Language] to Vietnamese, all steps will be in Vietnamese). The reference material's language is determined by the language it was processed in when you selected it as the reference work procedure. If you re-run AI on a material where you selected a reference work procedure before October 9, 2026, you must select the reference procedure again. If you do not, the reference material's steps will be used without translation. When OFF, the reference material is used only as a reference for terminology and context.
Q. How many reference files can I specify?
A. One. Multiple file specification is a future consideration.
Q. Can I specify PowerPoint?
A. Currently, PDF / Excel / Word / images are supported. If you want to reference PowerPoint, either convert it to an SOP first using Create SOP from file, then use that SOP file as reference material, or export it as PDF and specify that.