Windows Media Player 11 Keyboard shortcuts

We have published lots of articles and tutorials about Windows Media Player 11. This time we have prepared for you a list with the most useful keyboard shortcuts.

  • Show video in full screen – ALT+ENTER
  • Switch to full mode – CTRL+1
  • Switch to skin mode – CTRL+2
  • Play the previous item – CTRL+B
  • Play the next item – CTRL+F
  • Move the focus to the search box in the library – CTRL+E
  • Turn shuffle on or off – CTRL+H
  • Show or hide the Classic Menus (menu bar) in full mode – CTRL+M
  • Create a playlist – CTRL+N
  • Open a file – CTRL+O
  • Play or pause a file – CTRL+P
  • Stop playback – CTRL+S
  • Rewind video – CTRL+SHIFT+B
  • Turn captions and subtitles on or off – CTRL+SHIFT+C
  • Fast-forward through video or music – CTRL+SHIFT+F
  • Play faster than normal speed (time compression) – CTRL+SHIFT+G
  • Play at normal speed – CTRL+SHIFT+N
  • Play slower than normal speed (time expansion) – CTRL+SHIFT+S
  • Repeat the playlist – CTRL+T
  • Close or stop playing a file – CTRL+W
  • Open Help – F1
  • Show the Classic Menus (menu bar) -F10
  • Switch to full-screen mode – F11
  • Edit media information on a selected item in the library – F2
  • Add media files to the library – F3
  • Refresh information in the panes – F5
  • Increase the size of album art – F6
  • Decrease the size of album art – SHIFT+F6
  • Mute the volume – F7
  • Decrease the volume – F8
  • Increase the volume – F9

Related articles:
Windows Media Player 11

23 thoughts on “Windows Media Player 11 Keyboard shortcuts”

  1. Setting pause to spacebar
    Put the Now Playing playlist on screen in WMP during playback, give focus to
    that windows/track, and then spacebar will toggle play/pause.

    In other word select the track in the Now Playing section at the right and spacebar will work.

  2. Is there any way of using
    Is there any way of using these shortcuts while (for example) playing a game? I stream online radio stations while gaming and it’d be nice to change the volume of media player independantly and also change tracks without having to ALT+TAB out of the game, since these shortcuts only work when Media Player is the active program! Let me know, would be super useful! 🙂

    • Use Winamp instead
      They work only when Media Player is the active program. Sorry.

      If you want to do this, then try Winamp. It has the option to register global keyboard shortcuts which can be used even when Winamp is not the active program.
      I use them all the time. However, I did not try them when gaming cause at that time I always close Winamp.

  3. Changing WMP shortcut keys
    I have read many a forum comment saying you cannot change the shortcut keys in media player (& other programs), but i’ve been doing this for ages, using a simple macro program. Very handy if you (like me) use a wireless keyboard to control your pc when it’s plugged into your main tv screen…& dont fancy pressing multiple keys to change track/dvd chapter etc.

    Just go to;

    http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Tutorial.htm

    Have a read, click the download tab, run the installer, practise a bit & create an ‘.ahk’ file that you open with WMP (you could even create a macro to do that for you!). I’m no pc expert, yet it only took me 15 minutes to create something useful.

    I have a few saved strings that work on all sorts of applications…its great for lazy buggers like me, who’d like to drink beer & work the pc all at the same time ;o)

    Hope this helps.

  4. CTRL+P for pause ? no way
    I don’t understand, this is the 11th version of Windows Media Player, the guys at Microsoft can’t be seriously thinking that I’m going to use macros for making something as simple as plause/play “easy”.

    I’m upset, I go back to media player classic. see you in a couple of years…

  5. For me the lack of normal
    For me the lack of normal keyboard shorcuts has been major showstopper in the past. I really like how in VLC you can pause with SPACEBAR and move forward or backward by 5 sec at a time using SHIFT+ARROW LEFT or RIGHT and if you need bigger steps use CONTROL key instead of SHIFT. That’s basically all I need.
    In the current case I need to change standard WMP shortcuts to imitate VLC (google search took me here) which is unfortunate but neccessary as WM codec 9 advanced profile videos don’t seem to go well with latest VLC for Windows (1.0.3)..

    Yeah, the world is not perfect, I know.. WMP shortcuts are not usable though (at least with one hand). Makes me wonder why did they even put the arrow keys on the keyboard in the first place (absurd) 😛

  6. WMP’s default keybinds is
    WMP’s default keybinds is still as crappy as last time i used it. There should atleast be a option to remap the keybinds when the defaults is such nonsense that people ends up here looking for the way to change them. Editing macros for basic functionality isn’t quite the way to go.
    There isn’t even a “x sec forward/back” keybind listed in the “most useful keyboard shortcuts” page…. seriously, MS, get your act together -.-

  7. @ anon “Makes me wonder why
    @ anon “Makes me wonder why did they even put the arrow keys on the keyboard in the first place (absurd) :P” Same with the Pause/Break button. The only program I can think of that actually uses that button to pause anything is a computer’s BIOS. No convenient pause button in WMP? Sounds like a typical Micro$haft brain fart.

  8. This infomation is so
    This infomation is so helpful, but as a gamers choice I’d have to refer to winamp and the reason is because of the volume control, you can adjust winamp volume even when you have another program in focus (such as tf2) but a quick check of Windows Media Player and firefox results that wmp doesnt do that.

  9. let the last user feel free
    let the last user feel free to change the shortcuts as they want. the idea of ​​having it is to adapt better to those who use.

  10. this has gotta be the dumbest
    this has gotta be the dumbest idea MS has ever had without keeping the spacebar as pause/play. I could care less about every other shortcut, but the spacebar as pause/play in classic WMP was the best thing ever. No screwing around trying to hit ctrl+P.

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