# Video Player Source: https://metadock.app/docs/video-player # Video player Beta A media panel that docks into your layout like any browser or app. Keep a lecture, a screen recording, a market feed, or a camera stream tiled next to the work it relates to, instead of juggling a separate media player window. Beta The video player works and is safe to use, but it is one of the newer parts of MetaDock and is still being fleshed out. It plays local media files and network streams; it is not a camera recording or surveillance system. [What “Beta” means](https://metadock.app/docs#beta). ## How do I open a video panel? Each player is its own dock, and you can open as many as your layout has room for. Actions and the keyboard shortcuts bound to them Action Shortcut Open a new video player Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V A new player opens empty, with a prompt to load a file or a stream address. Inside a player, **Ctrl+O** opens a local file and **Ctrl+Shift+O** opens a stream. The player keeps a short list of recently opened files so you can pick one back up quickly. ## Can I open a file straight from Windows? You do not have to start in MetaDock. Pass a media file on the command line and it opens in a new video dock: ``` metadock.exe "C:\Recordings\standup.mp4" ``` If MetaDock is already running, the file opens in the window you already have; it does not start a second copy of the app. The installer also registers MetaDock in the Windows **Open with** menu for media files, so you can right-click a video in Explorer and send it straight into your layout. Note The installer never steals your existing default media player. MetaDock is added as an option in Open with and Default Apps; making it the default is your choice. ## Which playback controls are available? Every player has its own toolbar, and the same actions are on the keyboard when the player has focus. Single letters are reserved for the video player, so they do not collide with anything else in the app. Actions and the keyboard shortcuts bound to them Action Shortcut Play / pause Space Play P Pause K Stop S Seek back / forward Left/Right Short seek back / forward Shift+Left/Shift+Right Long seek back / forward Ctrl+Left/Ctrl+Right Step one frame back / forward ,/. Jump to a position G Rewind / fast forward \[/\] Volume up / down Up/Down Mute M ## How do I change zoom, aspect ratio, or audio track? Zoom scales the picture inside the panel. The panel itself does not grow, so zooming in on a detail never shoves the rest of your layout around; the view scrolls within the panel instead. Actions and the keyboard shortcuts bound to them Action Shortcut Zoom in / out \=/\- Fit to panel F Original size O Set a specific zoom level Z Cycle aspect ratio A Maximize the panel X Choose audio, video, or subtitle track T Switch audio output device D Per-player audio device routing is the useful one when you have several players open: send a call recording to your headset and a background stream to your speakers. ## How do I loop a section or grab a frame? Press **L** to loop the whole file, or mark an A-B range with **Shift+\[** and **Shift+\]** to repeat just that section. Shift+L clears it. Frame snapshots save the current frame straight to disk. Action and Shortcut Action Shortcut Toggle looping L Set the start of an A-B loop Shift+\[ Set the end of an A-B loop Shift+\] Clear the loop Shift+L Save a frame to a file N Copy a frame to the clipboard Shift+N An A-B loop repeats just the section between the two points you marked, which is what you want when you are studying one part of a recording rather than watching it through. ## Can I hide the picture and keep the audio? **F8** blanks the player and pauses it. If you have set a privacy password in [Settings](https://metadock.app/docs/settings), bringing the picture back asks for it. This pairs with MetaDock's other stealth controls for when someone walks up to your desk. ## Do video panels come back with my workspace? A video player is a dock, so it is saved and restored with the workspace like everything else. What comes back with it: - •The file or stream it was playing: and roughly where you were in it - •Volume and mute state: including which audio device it was routed to - •Zoom, aspect ratio, and loop settings: so a study setup reopens exactly as you left it - •Its custom title and lock state: the same panel controls every other dock has Layout-wide actions reach video docks too: muting or pausing everything, and clearing a layout, include any players in it. ## What else should I know about the video player? It opens local files and network streams, and audio-only files use the same dock and controls. Which formats play depends on the media support installed on your PC, because playback comes from Windows. The player is deliberately not exposed to automation. - •Local files and network streams: point it at a file on disk or a stream address - •Audio works too: audio-only files open in the same dock, with the same controls - •Playback support comes from Windows: which formats play depends on the media support installed on your PC - •Not exposed to automation: there is deliberately no API tool that creates a player or drives playback; layout-level actions can still close video docks along with the rest - •Rebindable: every shortcut above can be remapped from the shortcuts settings The media panel docks into the same layout as everything else. [See the full feature tour](https://metadock.app/features). Trying this yourself? The 14\-day trial grants MetaDock Pro with no credit card. [Start free trial](https://metadock.app/download)