Keyboard Shortcuts

Quick Reference

Menu Navigation

When any menu is open (captions, speed, quality, chapters, or caption style), you can navigate using:

Detailed Controls

Playback Controls

• Play/Pause (Space, P, K)
  Toggles between play and pause states. Visual feedback shows the current state in the control bar.

• Seek Backward (←)
  Skips backward 10 seconds in the video timeline.

• Seek Forward (→)
  Skips forward 10 seconds in the video timeline.

Audio Controls

• Mute/Unmute (M)
  Toggles audio mute. The volume button icon changes to reflect the muted state.

• Volume Up (↑)
  Increases volume by 10%. Maximum volume is 100%.

• Volume Down (↓)
  Decreases volume by 10%. Minimum volume is 0%.

Speed Controls

• Speed Up (>)
  Increases playback speed by 0.25x (e.g., 1.0x → 1.25x → 1.5x). Maximum speed is typically 2x.

• Speed Down (<)
  Decreases playback speed by 0.25x (e.g., 1.5x → 1.25x → 1.0x). Minimum speed is typically 0.25x.

• Speed Menu (S)
  Opens the speed selection menu with preset speed options. The currently active speed is auto-focused.

Caption Controls

• Captions Menu (C)
  Opens the captions/subtitles menu to select or disable caption tracks. The active track is auto-focused.

• Caption Style Menu (A)
  Opens the caption styling options (font size, color, background, etc.). The first style option is auto-focused.

View Controls

• Fullscreen (F)
  Toggles fullscreen mode. Press F or Esc to exit fullscreen.

• Quality Menu (Q)
  Opens the quality selection menu for videos with multiple quality levels. The active quality is auto-focused.

• Chapters Menu (J)
  Opens the chapters menu if the video has chapter markers. The active chapter is auto-focused.

• Transcript Toggle (T)
  Shows or hides the interactive transcript panel (if available).

• Drag Mode (D)
  Toggles keyboard drag mode for transcript or sign language windows. When enabled, use arrow keys to move the window around the screen.

• Resize Mode (R)
  Toggles keyboard resize mode for transcript or sign language windows. When enabled, use arrow keys to adjust window size.

• Reset Position (Home)
  Resets transcript or sign language window to its default center position.

Accessibility Features

Auto-Focus

When opening any menu via keyboard shortcut, the currently active item (or first item) is automatically focused, allowing immediate navigation with arrow keys.

Visual Feedback

All keyboard actions provide visual feedback:

• Volume and mute state update the volume icon
• Playback speed changes update the speed display
• Caption selection updates the captions button state
• All menu selections are immediately reflected in the UI

Screen Reader Support

• All buttons have proper ARIA labels
• Volume sliders have aria-valuenow attributes
• Menu items are keyboard-navigable with proper focus management
• State changes are announced through visual updates

Customization

Keyboard shortcuts can be customized when initializing the player:

const player = new VidPly('#player', {
  keyboardShortcuts: {
    'play-pause': [' ', 'p'],  // Remove 'k' if desired
    'mute': ['m'],
    'fullscreen': ['f'],
    // ... customize other shortcuts
  }
});

To disable keyboard shortcuts entirely:

const player = new VidPly('#player', {
  keyboardShortcuts: false
});

Browser Compatibility

Keyboard shortcuts work in all modern browsers:

• Chrome/Edge 90+
• Firefox 88+
• Safari 14+
• Opera 76+

Tips

1. Focus Management: Click on the player or press Tab to focus the player before using keyboard shortcuts.

2. Menu Navigation: All menus support full keyboard navigation. Use arrow keys to browse and Enter to select.

3. Quick Access: Press S, Q, J, or A to quickly access common menus without clicking.

4. Transcript Integration: Use T to toggle the transcript for an enhanced viewing experience with synchronized text.

5. Multiple Keys: Some actions (like play/pause) support multiple keys for convenience based on different video player conventions.

Related Documentation

• Getting Started Guide
• Usage Guide
• Transcript Features
• Playlist Features