Play/Pause for INactive window?

[whiteblazer01]

I do a lot of transcribing, and play MP3s with VLC while typing in MS Word. I continually have to switch back and forth between windows to play/pause the audio so I can type what is said. I have a play/pause button on my keyboard that only works when VLC is the active window, but will not work when VLC is not the active window. If I play audio in another media player (e.g. Windows Media Player), the play/pause button works all the time regardless of the active state of the WMP window.

How can I adjust set VLC to play/pause at any time with this button when not the active window?

Thanks!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Use the global hotkeys.

[whiteblazer01]

Use the global hotkeys.

In what way should I "use the global hotkeys" to allow a dedicated play/pause button on my keyboard to play/pause media in VLC when VLC is not the active window? I don't understand your suggestion.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

In the VLC preferences, you can modify the play/pause hotkey to set it as a global hotkey, so you can control it without VLC in the front.

[whiteblazer01]

Thanks for the clarification, I got it to work. I attached a screenshot in case someone is looking to do the same later on. Of course, you have to close VLC for the change to take place.

[whiteblazer01]

Okay, so I came to this thread from a Google search on how to play/pause an inactive window, and found the solution to be exactly what worked. Then I noticed that I'm OP. Good thing this 7-year-old thread exists