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What are the best VLC Media Player keyboard shortcuts
4 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
VLC Media Player is the most popular third-party video player on Windows computers. The player is fast and easy to use, especially thanks to the variousshortcuts(orHotkeys).
While enjoying a movie onVLC, the bestVLCkeyboardshortcutswill save you two or three clicks to perform simple operations.
Best of all is that you can also tweak theseVLCkeyboardshortcutsto what suits you the best, thus making it easier than ever to control your movie watching sessions.
The media player has tons of defaultshortcuts, and you can also add yours as well.
In this guide, we’ll look at the bestVLCkeyboardshortcutsthat will improve your viewing experience using this awesome media player.
VLC keyboard shortcuts on Mac?
The VLC keyboardshortcutsin Mac are identical to their Windows equivalents. For most of the commands in this guide, you can perform the same functions in Mac systems using the exacthotkeys.
However, Mac and Windows keyboards are different, and so it also reflects on a couple of VLC keyboardshortcuts.
Besides, I’ll indicate the Mac equivalents for theshortcutsin the section that follows.
What are the best VLC Media Player keyboard shortcuts?
1. Pause/resume/stop a video
To pause a video, hit theSPACEBARon your keyboard. When you’re ready to resume the video, press the same button.
To stop the video completely, press theSkey on your keyboard. This time around, playing the video doesn’t resume it but starts from the beginning.
2. Enter and exit Fullscreen mode
TheFkey on your keyboard maximizes the video, putting it in fullscreen mode. The sameFkey reverts the video from fullscreen to the normal size.
You can also exit fullscreen mode using theESCkey.
3. VLC subtitles keyboard shortcut
To enable subtitles on yourVLCMedia Player interface, press theVkey on your keyboard. Note that thisVLCkeyboard shortcut only works with videos that have a subtitle track.
If the video has multiple audio tracks, you can switch between them by pressing theBkey.
Note:If you pressVwhile playing a video with no subtitle track, you’ll get the following error:Subtitle Track: N/A. If the subtitle speed doesn’t match the video output, fix it withthis guide.
4. VLC playback speed keyboard shortcut
The plus (+) button is theVLCspeed upkeyboard shortcut.
To reduce the speed, press the minus (–) button.
To return the playback to its default speed, press the equals (=) key.
5. Shortcut to take a screenshot
While watching a video, you can take a screenshot by pressingSHIFT + S.
It’s advisable that you pause the video before you take the screenshot for better focus.
On pressing the shortcut, a screenshot of the current frame will save in the pictures folder of your computer.
6. VLC keyboard shortcut for next chapter
To navigate to the next chapter when playing videos onVLCMedia Player, press theNkey on your keyboard.
Alternatively, to go back to the previous chapter, strike thePkey.
7. VLC keyboard shortcuts next frame
Thekeyboard shortcutsinVLCfor navigating to the next/previous frames are tricky.
Differenthotkeysmove you back and forward to different times:
5 seconds
10 seconds
1 minute
5 minutes
How can I remap VLC keyboard shortcuts?
If the newhotkeyis already assigned to another process, a dialog box pops up sayingWarning: this key or combination is already assigned …
You can, as well, opt to simply remove the shortcut. After double-clicking on thehotkey, click onUnsetfrom theHotkeychange dialog box.
If you try thesehotkeys, but they don’t work for you, get your shortcuts working on VLC withthis fix.
The default VLC keyboard shortcuts are strategically positioned in ways that are comfortable for most users, so you probably wouldn’t need to change much unless you’re coming from a different media player with different shortcuts.
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Vlad Turiceanu
Windows Editor
Passionate about technology,Windows, and everything that has a power button, he spent most of his time developing new skills and learning more about the tech world.
Coming from a solid background in PC building and software development, with a complete expertise in touch-based devices, he is constantly keeping an eye out for the latest and greatest!
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Vlad Turiceanu
Windows Editor
Coming from a solid background in PC building and software development, he’s a Windows 11 Privacy & Security expert.
