VideoLAN’s VLC Media Player is an essential application that almost every computer owner should install. The free multi-platform software, first introduced in 2001, can play nearly all audio and video formats, from MP3s to DVDs to FLAC.
While many have installed and used the software, few take the time to master its controls. VLC’s interface has improved over time, but little-known keyboard shortcuts are often the best way to navigate your media files. Here are some of our most-used VLC keyboard shortcuts.
| Action | Shortcut (Windows) | Shortcut (OS X) |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Pause & Play | Spacebar | Spacebar |
| Change Volume | CTRL+Up / CTRL+Down | Command+Up / Command+Down |
| Toggle Audio Mute | M | Command+ALT+Down |
| Open File | CTRL+O | Command+O |
| Toggle Fullscreen Mode | F | Command+F |
| Toggle Subtitles | V | S |
| Toggle Audio Track | B | L |
| Increase Playback Speed | + | Command+= |
| Decrease Playback Speed | - | Command+- |
| Cycle Aspect Ratio | A | A |
| Cycle Crop Ratio | C | C |
| Cycle Zoom | Z | Z |
| Show Playback Time | T | T |
| Advance Frame-by-Frame | E | E |
| Load Next File in Playlist | N | Command+Right |
| Restart Current File from Beginning | P | Command+Left |
| Quit | ALT+F4 or CTRL+Q | Command+Q |
Now head over to VideoLan.org, grab a copy of VLC for Windows, OS X, or Linux, and start controlling and navigating your media files like a pro.
