Documentation:VLC for dummies

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VLC for dummies

Introduction

Thank you for visiting this page to find out what VLC is all about. Please Note: this page is Under Construction and might change in the near future.

VLC media player (or VLC for short) is a FREE and Open Source Software Media Player. Features that make VLC the preferred media player for a lot of people is its excellent support for various Audio and Video CODECs, the fact that it's cross platform and the open way of development.

This page will describe the steps to perform the basic steps of using VLC. For more Advanced Users see the VLC Play HowTo for a complete user guide, or VLC Streaming HowTo for the advanced streaming features that VLC is capable of.

Understanding the VLC interface (1.0.2)

Taskbar Icon

When you start the VLC media player, the application appears on the screen and a small icon File:Vlc-win-taskbar.png appears in your taskbar [Found next to your system clock on Windows]. Clicking once on the icon in the taskbar will hide the VLC media player, and clicking on it again will show it again. Hiding the icon does not close the application which continues to run in the background.

Note: These screenshots are taken from the MS Windows XP version. On other systems, they might appear slightly different.

The main interface of VLC media player looks as shown in the following figure.

Windows 1.0.2 GUI

If you close the main interface by using the close button in the window, you will be able to open the VLC media player again by using the icon in the taskbar.

By simply right clicking on this icon brings up a list of things to do:

Features like stopping or pausing playback or change track.

Starting VLC media player

To start VLC media player:

1. Select Programs from the Start menu.
2. Select VideoLAN and select VLC media player.

Stopping VLC media player

To quit the application, right click on the icon in the tray and select Quit.

Or

Click the Close button in the main interface of the application.

The main interface contains a couple of sections:

Menu bar

The menu bar at the top contains all the options.

Track slider

The track slider is below the menu bar. It shows the progress of playing of the media file. You can drag the track slider left to rewind or right to forward the track being played. When a video file is played, the video appears between the menu bar and track slider.

Note: When a media file is streamed, the track slider will not move because you are streaming at real time. Unlike a track which will end in a predetermined time.

Control buttons

The buttons below the slider help in controlling the play. Firstly, the Play Button, followed by Previous Media in the Playlist, stop playback, Next Media in the playlist.

The next 3 buttons are: Toggle the Video in fullscreen, show playlist and Show Extended Settings.

Volume control

To the right of the control buttons is the volume control. The small speaker icon is a button to quickly mute or un-mute all sound. The slider to the right of it allows you to modify the volume to louder or softer. The percentage gives the amount of amplification.

Data field

In the bottom of the window, some additional information, like track name and length of the track will be displayed for convenience.

Playing a media file (to be written)

The basic steps to play media are very simple.

First, open VLC media player by double clicking the program on the desktop or from the start menu. Next, click on the menu button on the top left of the program and choose one of the first four options, all of the options allow you to play media files.

The first option is the simple one.

The second is the advanced one.

The third is just like the first, but with fewer options.

The fourth allows you to play media files directly from CD or DVD.

See also

• QtHotkeys (Qt is the default graphical interface)
• HotKeys
• How to set global hotkeys