The VideoLAN Forums

Hello,

So its been driving me nuts that there are no controls on the window where my video is playing, not full screen.

Is there some way to add controls to that window?

Some times the playlist window gets covered by either the video window or other things and I have to access it in order to pause or stop the video, which is super retarded. I love VLC, but I wonder who is doing the gui layout, i think they need some help to make it more user friendly. I think it used to be more friendly, then it got worse.

If anyone can help that would be great, cuz i cant find anything in the settings to change things.

I would even appreciate if there was a way to make it change from the playlist to the video window, with controls, when you select play, and switch back to the playlist when you stop it. Basically a 1 window format as 2 windows is silly and completely unnecessary.

Thanks

What is your problem, exactly?

The video window has controls for backward, pause, forward, and you can also stop the video by closing the window.
If you want more controls, you can show the video directly inside the main window. This is more or less exactly what you described in your last sentences.

Please make sure that you actually use the latest version VLC 2.1.

I have this same problem.
When I play a video, VLC opens a second window that does not contain the controls for play and pause, etc. I have to tab to the original window to pause the playback.
There are so many options, I can't find one that will let me just have the one playback window that includes the control options. Can you tell me how to configure the playback window that will include the play. stop, and pause options? Thanks
I am using VLC 2.1.0

These controls sill help when in playback mode. I found them on CNET

Basic playback:
spacebar - Play/Pause
S - Stop
N - Next file in playlist
P - Previous file in playlist
Time shifting:
Shift+Right arrow - Very short skip forward (3-second default)
Shift+Left arrow - Very short skip backward
Alt+Right arrow - Short skip forward (10-second default)
Alt+Left arrow - Short skip backward
Ctrl+Right arrow - Medium skip forward (1-minute default)
Ctrl+Left arrow - Medium skip backward
Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow - Long skip forward (5-minute default)
Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow - Long skip backward
- (minus sign) - Slow playback by half (up to .125x)
+ - Double playback speed (up to 8x)
Display settings:
A - Toggle aspect ratio (16:10; 16:9, 1:1, 221:100, 4:3, 5:4, default)
C - Toggle crop (same ratios)
T - Show time played/time left
I - Bring VLC interface to front
Ctrl+H - Increase subtitle delay by 50ms (for infinity)
Ctrl+J - Decrease subtitle delay by 50ms
K - Switch subtitle track
Audio:
M - Mute on/off
Ctrl+Up arrow - Turn volume up (1/32)
Ctrl+Down arrow - Turn volume down
Ctrl+K - Increase audio delay by 50ms (for infinity)
Ctrl+L - Decrease audio delay by 50ms
L - Switch audio track
Miscellany:
Ctrl+Alt+S - Takes screenshot of current frame
Ctrl+Q - Quits program completely

If you have Preferences -> Video -> Window decorations unchecked, the video window will have no frame or controls, so check it to get them. If it's already checked, you may need to trash your preferences or click Reset All in the prefs.