Slideshow Player Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts
The slideshow player supports keyboard shortcuts for controlling playback and a floating control panel for mouse-based control. This article covers all available controls.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The following keyboard shortcuts work while the player is running:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Escape | Exit the player. On the primary monitor, a confirmation dialog appears. On secondary monitors, the player exits immediately. |
| Space | Pause or resume playback. When paused, the current slide remains on screen and the duration timer stops. |
| Right Arrow or N | Skip to the next slide immediately. |
| F5 | Reload the playlist from the database. Use this after making changes in the Slideshow Manager to force an immediate refresh without waiting for the next poll. |
| Ctrl+C | Toggle the floating control panel overlay. |
Control Panel Overlay
Pressing Ctrl+C opens a semi-transparent floating control panel over the player. The control panel provides buttons for the most common playback actions:
- Pause / Resume — Toggles pause state. When paused, a pause indicator is visible.
- Skip — Advances to the next slide.
- Refresh — Reloads the playlist from the database.
- Exit — Closes the player (with confirmation on the primary monitor).
The control panel uses a dark theme to minimize visual disruption on the signage screen. Press Ctrl+C again to hide the panel.
Pause Behavior
When the player is paused:
- The current slide remains on screen.
- The slide duration timer stops counting.
- Database polling continues — if the playlist changes while paused, the changes are picked up when playback resumes.
- Emergency override checks continue — an emergency override will still display even while paused.
Resume playback by pressing Space again or clicking Resume in the control panel.
Exit Behavior
Pressing Escape on the primary monitor shows a confirmation dialog to prevent accidental closure. On secondary monitors (which are typically signage displays without user interaction), Escape exits immediately without confirmation.
Exiting the player logs the action to the activity log and disposes of all resources cleanly.
What to Read Next
- How the Player Renders Content for details on the rendering engine.
- Activating an Emergency Override for overriding the player with urgent messages.