VLC remains one of the more prominent and arguably easiest-to-use media players, especially for those looking for offline playback of their content. The app allows general playback and offers quite a few nifty tools, including the ability to screenshot a frame, record a part of the video, edit it, and much more.

If you need to go frame by frame to get to the exact point where you wish to take a screenshot or maybe cut the scene but can’t figure out how we’ve got you covered in this guide.

Here we’ve discussed two methods in VLC to go frame by frame — via the shortcut key and advanced controls in the media player.

Also read: How to rotate, flip and transpose a video in VLC media player?

How to go frame by frame in VLC using the Shortcut key?

One of the simplest ways to use VLC’s frame by frame tool is its shortcut key — ‘e’.

Pause the video and then press ‘e’ to go frame by frame.

If the shortcut key doesn’t seem to work for you, the default frame by frame hotkey — e — may have been pre-assigned in your OS to some other task. In such a case, either the shortcut key would be different from the one mentioned above, or none would be assigned for the frame by frame tool in VLC.

How to change VLC frame by frame shortcut key?

If the default VLC frame by frame shortcut key isn’t working for you, here is how you can check the currently assigned hotkey for the tool and also change it according to your requirements.

Step 1: Click on the Tools option from the toolbar at the top. Then from the dropdown menu, select Preferences.

Step 2: On the Simple Preferences pop-up box, select Hotkeys and then scroll down a bit until you see the Next frame option. You’ll find the assigned shortcut key on the right.

If you want to change the VLC frame by frame shortcut key, double-click on either Next frame or its hotkey and then press the desired hotkey for the action.

Also read: How to cut a video and change language in VLC?

How to go frame by frame in VLC using the Advanced controls?

While using the shortcut key is the easiest way to go frame by frame in VLC, if that doesn’t work for you or you don’t want to include the keyboard in your workflow at all, you can alternatively also enable Advanced Controls in VLC, which will add the frame by frame tool to the playback options at the bottom.

Step 1: Click on the View option from the toolbar at the top. Then from the dropdown menu, select Advanced Controls.

Step 2: You’ll now see additional tools in the playback toolbar at the bottom, including recorder, screenshot tool, looping tool and VLC’s frame by frame tool (refer to the screenshot below).

Clicking on this button below the seek bar will make the video go frame by frame in VLC.

Alternative method to add Advanced Controls

If you don’t find the Advanced Controls using the method above, you can also use the Customise Interface option to add the frame by frame feature to your playback toolbar.

Step 1: Click on the Tools option from the toolbar at the top. Then from the dropdown menu, select Customize Interface.

Step 2: Here you can select the tools you want to add to the playback toolbar and the click the Close button.

Also read: How to add and sync subtitles in VLC?