Playback Controls area

The playback controls are displayed at the bottom of Windows Media Player. Use these controls to adjust the volume level and to control basic playback tasks such as playing, pausing, stopping, rewinding, and fast-forwarding audio and video files. Other controls shuffle the order of items in a playlist, change the color of the Player, and switch the Player to skin mode.

The following table explains the function of each control.

Click	To
Play button	Play a selected item. When an item is playing, the Play button becomes the Pause button except if you are playing a live event that is being streamed.
Pause button	Pause a selected item. To resume play, click Play. When an item is not playing (that is, it is either paused or stopped), the Pause button becomes the Play button.
Stop button	Stop playing a selected item.
Seek slider	Play an item at a specific point. The Seek slider indicates the playback progress of a selected item. When the Seek slider is available, you can move the slider to the place in a selected item you want to start playback.
Mute button	Turn the sound on or off.
Volume slider	Control the volume level.
Previous button	Play the previous item, if applicable.
Rewind button	Rewind an item, if applicable.
Fast Forward button	Fast-forward an item, if applicable.
Next button	Play the next item, if applicable.
Shuffle button	Turn shuffle on or off. When shuffle is turned on, items in a playlist or tracks on a CD are played in a random order.
Change Player color button	Change the color of the Player.
Switch to skin mode button	Switch the Player to skin mode.

Note

• The Change Player color button is only available on select versions of Windows. For more information, see Special features.

Related topics

• Player areas and buttons