Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 02:31 am
We have all been accustomed to watching YouTube videos by using the mouse. Very few of us know that we can experience additional video features through a computer keyboard.
There are keyboard shortcuts that can do more than what your versatile mouse can.
These Youtube keyboard shortcuts are valuable to any dedicated user. They’ll come in handy when you don’t have a mouse at hand, or when it has stopped working,
Also, in some instances, it’s much faster using a keyboard shortcut than a mouse. Just like using Ctrl + C and Ctrl +V when it comes to copying and pasting files or text.
With that in mind, let’s learn some important YouTube keyboard shortcuts, to help you perform tasks you may never have performed before and get a richer YouTube viewing experience.
And now what we’re gonna do is go through all of these keyboard shortcuts to discover many hidden features you’ve been missing out on.
Start and Stop Video Playback
Can’t quickly reach for the mouse to start playing or stopping a YouTube video?
Just hit K. Get used to using this key. You won’t have to reach for the mouse again, especially when it comes to stopping a YouTube video.
If you’re slow looking for the K key on your keyboard, just hit the Spacebar. It performs the same function as the K key.
Fastforward or Rewind 10 Seconds
You don’t have to drag the seek bar back and forth if you want to fast-forward your video.
Just press L to move the video 10 seconds forward.
To rewind the video 10 seconds back, hit the J key.
Watch the Next Video
When you watch a YouTube video you get a list of videos at the right hand side waiting to play,.
You can skip from the current video to the next in the list by hitting the Shift + N keys.
You can use these keys too if you want to move to the next video in a playlist.
Watch the Previous Video in a Playlist
The Shift + P keys, surprisingly doesn’t bring you to a previous video in a random list. It works only for playlists.
So, if you’re watching a video and want to go to a previous video in a playlist hit the Shift + P keys to jump back to the video before the one you’re watching.
Move to the Next Frame
You can move forward or backward to a specific frame in a video. Just hit the period. button to move forward a frame.
Hit the comma , button to move a frame backward.
For a detailed look at this function, check out How to Play a YouTube Video Frame by Frame.
Increase or Decrease Video Playback Speed
If you want to watch a video with increased speed hit the Shift + . (period) keys. You can go up to 2x normal speed with this key combination.
To get back to normal speed or decrease the speed of the video hit the Shift + , (comma) keys.
You can slow down video speed up to 0.25x the normal speed.
You can achieve the same effect when you press the Shift + < and Shift + > keys.
Shift + < slow down the video by .25 x. The minumum level is .25x
Shift + > speeds the video up by .25 x up to a maximum of 2 x.
Move Forward in a Video with Number Keys
Want to quickly move forward in a video? Use the number key. Each number represents an increase of 10% forward in a video.
You can use keys 1 to 9 for this purpose. 9 moves you 90% into the video. 5 moves you 50%.
10 doesn’t do anything for your video. It doesn’t move it to the end.
0 works though. It takes you to the start of the video.
You can execute these commands while the video is playing or when the video has stopped.
Turning Off/On Subtitles and Captions
Hit the C key to bring on or turn off subtitles and captions. You can do this when the video is playing or when it is paused.
Toggle Brightness of Captions or Subtitles
Are captions too bright for you? Hit the O key to dim it. Hit the O key again to brighten it.
Adjust Transparency Level of Caption Background
Hit the W key to adjust the transparency level of the caption background.
The transparency level is reduced.
Increase Decrease Caption Font Size
If for some reason you want to reduce the caption font size, hit the – (minus) key
If you want to increase the font size, hit the + (plus) key.
Mute the Audio
Say you’re watching a video and suddenly you want to mute the audio because someone suddenly pops up, you don’t have to scramble for the mouse and head to the speaker icon.
Simply tap the M key. This is really a lifesaver.
Adjust Video Screen Size
You can use keyboad shortcuts for 3 screen sizes.
Hit the F key if you want to play a video in full screen mode. You then have to press the Esc key to return to default view mode.
Hit the T key to play it in theater mode.
Hit the I key to play it in mini-screen mode.
This takes the player out of the original position to the bottom right-hand corner. If you press the Esc key here, you exit the video altogether and will have to relaunch it.
Increase/Decrease Audio Volume Level
Use the Arrow Up Key to increase the volume level by 5%.
Hit the Arrow Down key to reduce the audio volume level by 5%.
Each time you hit the Up or Down key to increase the level to 100% or reduce it to 0%.
Move Video Forward/Backward
Hit the Right Arrow key to move the video forward by 5 seconds.
Press the Left Arrow key to move the video backward by 5 seconds.
Move to Beginning and End of Video
While watching a video, you suddenly want to go to the end, hit the End key. When you hit the End key, the next video in the random list will start in 5 seconds.-
If you want to start from the beginning, hit the Home key.
Go to Search Box
If while watching a video, you feel like you want to searching for another video?
Just hit the / key. The cursor will be placed into the search box. All you have to do is enter your search term.
Show a Quick YouTube Keyboard Shortcut Guide
Need a quick guide on useful YouTube Keyboard Shortcut keys?
Press the Shift + ? keys.
You’ll be presented with a table of YouTube keyboard shortcuts as explained in the above sections.
Now that you’ve learnt the important YouTube keyboard shortcuts, start impressing others with your new-found knowldedge.
