The Most Useful One-Key YouTube Shortcuts You Have to Know About
You could use the mouse to interact with YouTube’s video player and perform tasks like pausing the playback, skipping ahead, or adjusting the volume. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the simple truth of the matter is that using the keyboard is more efficient. Instead of reaching for the mouse, you could get things done faster by simply pressing a key on your keyboard.
Take a look below to see the most useful keyboard shortcuts any YouTube fan should know about.
Pause the video with Space or K
Most media players let you pause the playback by pressing the Space bar. YouTube does the same…not always though. If you selected the video, pressing Space will pause it. If you did not select the video, pressing Space will not pause the video, it will take you to the bottom of the page. Pressing K on the other hand works all of the time.
Pressing K always pauses the video.
Skip ahead and go back with the arrow keys or with J and L
By using the right arrow key you can skip ahead 5 seconds; and by using the left arrow key, you can go backward 5 seconds. Just like pressing Space to pause the playback, this works only if you selected the video first. If you want a sure way to skip ahead or go back, it would be better to use the J and the L keys.
L skips head 10 seconds. J goes back 10 seconds. And nestled between these two is K, they key that pauses the video. Handy, right?
Seek with the number keys
Press the 5 key for example and you will jump to the middle point in the video. That’s because 5 takes you to 50% in the video. Each key corresponds to a percentage. 1 is 10%, 2 is 20%, 3 is 30%, and so on. The 0 key takes you to 0%, the start of the video.
Pressing Home takes you back to the start of the video as well. And pressing End takes you to the end of the video.
Speaking about the number keys, did you know that you can use them to launch applications that you pinned to the taskbar?
As you can see in the image above, the 1st pinned application on my taskbar is Google’s Chrome web browser. To launch it, I need only press Win + 1 (Win is short for the Windows key on the keyboard). And if I want to launch another Chrome instance, I need only press Win + Shift + 1.
Mute the volume with M, adjust it with the Up and Down arrow keys
Pressing M mutes the volume. Pressing the up arrow key increases the volume. And pressing the down arrow key lowers the volume. Mind you, the video has to be selected for all this to work.
Enter, exit full screen with F
Just like most media players, YouTube’s video player lets you enter full screen mode by pressing the F key. To exit full screen mode press F again. Alternatively, exit full screen mode by pressing Escape.
Enable, disable closed captioning (CC) with C
Since I am a bit hard of hearing, I love subtitles and closed captioning on YouTube. To enable and disable closed captioning, you need only press the C key.
Go to the next video with Shift + N
I know, I know, this isn’t a one-key shortcut. I bring it up because pressing Shift + N is an efficient means of moving to the next video in 'Up Next' or in your playlist.
In related news...
How much do you know about the website that offers free access to an endless collection of videos?
Here are some amazing facts you probably don't know about YouTube.
Take a look below to see the most useful keyboard shortcuts any YouTube fan should know about.
Pause the video with Space or K
Most media players let you pause the playback by pressing the Space bar. YouTube does the same…not always though. If you selected the video, pressing Space will pause it. If you did not select the video, pressing Space will not pause the video, it will take you to the bottom of the page. Pressing K on the other hand works all of the time.
Pressing K always pauses the video.
Skip ahead and go back with the arrow keys or with J and L
By using the right arrow key you can skip ahead 5 seconds; and by using the left arrow key, you can go backward 5 seconds. Just like pressing Space to pause the playback, this works only if you selected the video first. If you want a sure way to skip ahead or go back, it would be better to use the J and the L keys.
L skips head 10 seconds. J goes back 10 seconds. And nestled between these two is K, they key that pauses the video. Handy, right?
Seek with the number keys
Press the 5 key for example and you will jump to the middle point in the video. That’s because 5 takes you to 50% in the video. Each key corresponds to a percentage. 1 is 10%, 2 is 20%, 3 is 30%, and so on. The 0 key takes you to 0%, the start of the video.
Pressing Home takes you back to the start of the video as well. And pressing End takes you to the end of the video.
Speaking about the number keys, did you know that you can use them to launch applications that you pinned to the taskbar?
As you can see in the image above, the 1st pinned application on my taskbar is Google’s Chrome web browser. To launch it, I need only press Win + 1 (Win is short for the Windows key on the keyboard). And if I want to launch another Chrome instance, I need only press Win + Shift + 1.
Mute the volume with M, adjust it with the Up and Down arrow keys
Pressing M mutes the volume. Pressing the up arrow key increases the volume. And pressing the down arrow key lowers the volume. Mind you, the video has to be selected for all this to work.
Enter, exit full screen with F
Just like most media players, YouTube’s video player lets you enter full screen mode by pressing the F key. To exit full screen mode press F again. Alternatively, exit full screen mode by pressing Escape.
Enable, disable closed captioning (CC) with C
Since I am a bit hard of hearing, I love subtitles and closed captioning on YouTube. To enable and disable closed captioning, you need only press the C key.
Go to the next video with Shift + N
I know, I know, this isn’t a one-key shortcut. I bring it up because pressing Shift + N is an efficient means of moving to the next video in 'Up Next' or in your playlist.
In related news...
How much do you know about the website that offers free access to an endless collection of videos?
Here are some amazing facts you probably don't know about YouTube.
