Spacebar
Browse / VLC Player Ultimate Cheatsheet
Missing something?
VLC Player Ultimate Cheatsheet
Unlock the full potential of VLC Media Player with this comprehensive cheat sheet covering keyboard shortcuts, hidden features, and power user tips for efficient media playback and management.
Playback & Basic Controls
General Playback Shortcuts
|
|
Play / Pause |
|
P |
Play / Pause (alternative) |
|
S |
Stop |
|
N |
Next item in playlist |
|
PrtSc (Print Screen) |
Previous item in playlist |
|
R |
Toggle Random playback |
|
L |
Toggle Loop playback (one item / all / off) |
|
Ctrl + Q |
Quit VLC |
|
F |
Toggle Fullscreen |
Seeking & Jumping
|
Left/Right Arrow |
Jump back/forward 10 seconds |
|
Shift + Left/Right |
Jump back/forward 1 second |
|
Ctrl + Left/Right |
Jump back/forward 1 minute |
|
Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right |
Jump back/forward 10 minutes |
|
E |
Seek to the next frame (while paused) |
|
Ctrl + T |
Go to specific time |
|
Numbers (1-9) |
Seek to 10%-90% of the media |
|
Ctrl + 1 |
Go to 10% of the media |
|
Ctrl + 9 |
Go to 90% of the media |
Volume & Audio Controls
|
Ctrl + Down/Up |
Decrease/Increase volume (10%) |
|
Mouse Wheel |
Decrease/Increase volume |
|
M |
Toggle Mute |
|
Shift + Ctrl + Down/Up |
Decrease/Increase volume (3%) |
|
A |
Cycle through Audio tracks |
|
Alt + Left/Right |
Delay/Speed up Audio synchronization (50ms) |
|
G |
Toggle Audio effects/equalizer window |
|
B |
Cycle through Audio devices |
Interface & View Shortcuts
|
Ctrl + H |
Toggle Hidden controls (show/hide status bar, etc.) |
|
T |
Show remaining time / elapsed time |
|
Z |
Toggle Zoom modes (quarter, half, original, double) |
|
C |
Toggle Crop modes |
|
I |
Show Media Information window |
|
Ctrl + P |
Open Preferences |
|
Ctrl + E |
Open Adjustments and Effects window |
|
Ctrl + L |
Open Playlist window |
|
V |
Cycle through Video tracks |
Advanced Adjustments
Video Effects & Adjustments
|
Ctrl + E |
Open Adjustments and Effects window (Video Effects tab) |
|
Shift + B |
Increase brightness (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + S |
Decrease brightness (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + C |
Increase contrast (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + X |
Decrease contrast (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + G |
Increase gamma (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + Z |
Decrease gamma (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + H |
Increase hue (Video Effects) |
|
Shift + L |
Decrease hue (Video Effects) |
Subtitle Control
|
S |
Cycle through Subtitle tracks (use ‘S’ on Windows/Linux, Cmd+S on macOS) |
|
V |
Cycle through Video tracks (sometimes used for subtitles depending on file) |
|
G |
Delay subtitles (50ms backward) |
|
H |
Speed up subtitles (50ms forward) |
|
Ctrl + J |
Open Subtitle Synchronization window |
|
Right-click -> Subtitle |
Manual subtitle selection, download, etc. |
|
Tools -> Preferences -> Subtitles |
Configure default subtitle font, size, position, etc. |
Playback Speed
|
Minus (-) |
Decrease playback speed (by 0.1x) |
|
Plus (+) or Equals (=) |
Increase playback speed (by 0.1x) |
|
Normal (*) |
Set playback speed to normal (1.0x) |
|
Shift + Minus |
Decrease playback speed (by 0.05x) |
|
Shift + Plus |
Increase playback speed (by 0.05x) |
|
Ctrl + R |
Rewind (speed varies) |
|
Ctrl + F |
Fast forward (speed varies) |
|
Right-click -> Playback -> Speed |
Select speed from menu (Faster, Slower, Normal, Fastest, Slowest) |
Aspect Ratio & Cropping
|
A |
Cycle through Aspect Ratios (e.g., 4:3, 16:9, 1.85:1) |
|
C |
Cycle through Crop Ratios (e.g., 16:10, 4:3, 1.85:1, 2.21:1) |
|
Ctrl + C |
Open Cropping options (Tools -> Effects and Filters -> Video Effects -> Crop) |
|
Ctrl + E |
Open Adjustments and Effects window (Video Effects tab) |
|
Right-click -> Video -> Aspect Ratio |
Select specific aspect ratio from a list |
|
Right-click -> Video -> Crop |
Select specific crop ratio from a list |
|
D |
Deinterlace (toggle) |
|
Right-click -> Video -> Deinterlace |
Select deinterlace mode (Off, On, Blend, Discard, Line Double, X, Bob, Yadif, Yadif (2x), Phosphor) |
Useful Features & Tips
Recording & Snapshots
|
Shift + R |
Toggle Recording |
|
Video -> Record |
Alternative menu option to start/stop recording |
|
Shift + S |
Take a Snapshot (Mac: Cmd+Alt+S; Linux: Shift+S or Ctrl+Alt+S) |
|
Video -> Take Snapshot |
Alternative menu option to take a snapshot |
|
Tools -> Preferences -> Video -> Video settings |
Configure Snapshot directory and format (PNG, JPG, TIFF) |
|
Recording Destination |
Recordings are typically saved in your user’s Videos folder or My Videos folder. |
|
Recording Format |
Recordings are saved in the original stream’s format by default. You can configure this under Input/Codecs preferences. |
Opening Media & Streams
|
Ctrl + O |
Open File(s) |
|
Ctrl + D |
Open Disc (CD, DVD, Blu-ray) |
|
Ctrl + N |
Open Network Stream (HTTP, RTMP, RTSP, MMS, etc.) |
|
Ctrl + C |
Open Capture Device (Webcam, TV card, etc.) |
|
Ctrl + F |
Open Folder |
|
Media -> Open Recent Media |
Quick access to recently played files/streams |
|
Drag & Drop |
Drag files or folders directly onto the VLC window or icon to open them. |
|
Ctrl + E |
Open Edit (advanced options for opening media) |
Playlist Management
|
Ctrl + L |
Toggle Playlist window |
|
N |
Play next item |
|
PrtSc |
Play previous item (or P on macOS) |
|
R |
Toggle Random (Shuffle) |
|
L |
Toggle Loop (Loop One, Loop All, No Loop) |
|
Ctrl + M |
Show messages window (useful for debugging) |
|
Ctrl + S |
Save Playlist to File |
|
Ctrl + Alt + S |
Save Playlist to File (extended) |
Power User Tips
|
Customizing Shortcuts: |
|
Streaming/Transcoding: |
|
Video Wallpaper: |
|
Web Interface: |
|
Message Log: |
|
Equalizer Presets: |
|
File Conversion via CLI: |