ELAN is a professional framework for multimodal research, developed by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. It is a linguistic annotation tool designed for the creation of text annotations for audio and video files of language use. ELAN allows for the creation of annotations with a maximum precision of 1 ms, which is essential for accurate time-based analysis in multimodal research. The tool supports multiple video streams and allows for the synchronization of media files, even when they are out of sync. ELAN also offers search options that enable users to define complex structured queries based on temporal and structural constraints between tiers. The tool supports various annotation formats, including Shoebox and CHAT, and allows for the import and export of annotations in different formats. ELAN has been enhanced to improve its performance, accuracy, and stability, particularly in terms of time accuracy. The new version of ELAN (2.4.2) was developed in close collaboration with scientists and tested by an independent organization, SPEX, to ensure its accuracy. The tool uses Java as the programming language, which allows for platform independence but has limitations in media handling performance. To overcome these limitations, a lightweight software layer was developed to enable the integrated use of standard Windows DirectX libraries in ELAN. ELAN also supports multiple video streams and allows for the association of multiple videos with an ELAN transcription. The number of videos that can be associated with an ELAN transcription has been increased from 1 to 4, providing greater flexibility for researchers. The tool also offers a special mode for synchronizing media files and allows for the realignment of annotations after changing the offset of media files. ELAN is a powerful tool for multimodal research, offering a range of features that support the accurate and efficient annotation of multimodal data. Its source code is open source, and the latest version can be downloaded from the MPI website. ELAN will continue to be enhanced, but it will remain a tool designed to work locally on personal computers.ELAN is a professional framework for multimodal research, developed by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. It is a linguistic annotation tool designed for the creation of text annotations for audio and video files of language use. ELAN allows for the creation of annotations with a maximum precision of 1 ms, which is essential for accurate time-based analysis in multimodal research. The tool supports multiple video streams and allows for the synchronization of media files, even when they are out of sync. ELAN also offers search options that enable users to define complex structured queries based on temporal and structural constraints between tiers. The tool supports various annotation formats, including Shoebox and CHAT, and allows for the import and export of annotations in different formats. ELAN has been enhanced to improve its performance, accuracy, and stability, particularly in terms of time accuracy. The new version of ELAN (2.4.2) was developed in close collaboration with scientists and tested by an independent organization, SPEX, to ensure its accuracy. The tool uses Java as the programming language, which allows for platform independence but has limitations in media handling performance. To overcome these limitations, a lightweight software layer was developed to enable the integrated use of standard Windows DirectX libraries in ELAN. ELAN also supports multiple video streams and allows for the association of multiple videos with an ELAN transcription. The number of videos that can be associated with an ELAN transcription has been increased from 1 to 4, providing greater flexibility for researchers. The tool also offers a special mode for synchronizing media files and allows for the realignment of annotations after changing the offset of media files. ELAN is a powerful tool for multimodal research, offering a range of features that support the accurate and efficient annotation of multimodal data. Its source code is open source, and the latest version can be downloaded from the MPI website. ELAN will continue to be enhanced, but it will remain a tool designed to work locally on personal computers.