Pause Playback when Inactive?

[GuccizBud]

VLC Preferences contains a useful checkbox setting called Pause playback if minimized. What I'm looking for would ideally be a similar checkbox setting that might read Pause playback if window inactive, to use Windows terminology, just meaning to pause whatever's playing if another window is opened in front of VLC (which would then no longer have the focus of the OS). No matter how I arrange the words in my Google search phrase, I only get results for people wanting to know how to make it so that VLC still recognizes keyboard hotkey instructions when the VLC window isn't active. Haven't found anything yet for having VLC pause playback when its window loses focus. Yet I have trouble believing I'm the only person to have ever thought this feature might be useful. I often have the VLC window open and occupying say 20% of the screen area while I do other stuff, so if I want to open a document or spreadsheet or wtv, I have to make it a point to pause whatever's playing myself before the new window opens and covers the VLC window. Then when I close that work window I resume playback of course. It would be nice if VLC could do this on its own. Does anyone know of a setting or maybe an extension someone wrote that does this?
 Note: Using VLC v2.1.5 Rincewind.

[daaceking]

i don't understand, is VLC blocking something from happening while playback is active? if that is the case, it could possibly be the cpu is a little slow. if you want to quickly pause/play, space bar works pretty well. otherwise i'm not too sure what you mean

[GuccizBud]

 
Appears not to exist, but there's at least :

     ☑ Pause playback when minimized

… which appears under Settings   >  Simple   >  Interface. This setting can accomplish the original goal of pausing playback when the VLC window is completely obscured by another window, but only indirectly. Since it automatically pauses playback when the VLC window is minimized and resumes it when the window is restored, it's possible to use it like this : if the VLC window is obscured by other open windows in front of it, clicking VLC in the Windows Taskbar will bring its window to the forefront, and then minimizing it will pause playback ( if this setting is checked in Preferences ).

Incidentally, this setting joins a small handful of useful ones I've found to only be present under Settings   >  Simple, so it would appear Settings   >  Simple is not just a subset of Settings   >  All, but rather contains some useful settings of its own that are only accessible there. Another one is Always reset audio start level to:, for example, which only appears under Settings   >  Simple   >  Audio.