For some time now we can play videos in a floating window from the Google browser. This function allows us to be watching a YouTube video, for example, while we work in other applications or continue browsing the Internet without losing sight of it and without it interfering with us.
Even the YouTube video platform itself has its own mini-player where it allows us to play a video in a floating window while we browse the rest of the videos they offer us.
Videos in the floating window of Google Chrome
Videos within Chrome
The function that Chrome offers us is really interesting since we can play videos in a floating window on the entire desktop, being able to move it to the area that least hinders us or make it larger or smaller.
If for example, we want to see a YouTube video in this window, we must follow some very simple and easy steps that we are going to indicate.
- We enter YouTube from Google Chrome and begin to play the video that interests us.
- Now we click with the right mouse button on the player. The first time we right-click, a YouTube menu will be displayed, but if we click the right mouse button again, the contextual menu for Google Chrome will appear. On other sites, we may not need to click twice.
- Once there we must find where it says Image in Image. As soon as we click on it, we will see that the video will pause in the main Chrome window and a floating window will automatically open where the video begins to play.
We can drag and move this window wherever we want, change its size and it will always be visible above any open application on our desktop. We have shown you this function with a YouTube video, but it is compatible with other websites where we can perform exactly the same task.
Local Videos
Chrome also allows us to play the videos we have on our computer in a floating window, something that can also be very comfortable. To achieve this we only have to follow the steps that we are going to indicate right now.
- The first thing will be to open the Google browser.
- Then we drag the video that we want to be placed in the floating window to the browser so that it begins to be seen within Chrome.
- Once we have the video already playing in the browser, we do the same steps that we have done in the previous case.
- We click with the right mouse button on the video to show us the Chrome context menu.
- Now click on the Image option in Image.
- At this time we will have the video that we had saved on our hard drive, seen in a floating superimposed window, to which we can change the size and place it where we need it.
Using extensions
There are those who do not use the native way of Google Chrome and install extensions that perform the same function of opening a floating window in which to continue watching a video while we perform some other task in this browser.
The most used is Picture-in-Picture, a free extension developed by Francois Beaufort and which is extremely easy to use.
- Once we are in the link of the extension, we just have to click on Add to Chrome.
- When we have installed the extension, the extension icon will appear in the upper right part of Chrome, where we have the rest of the extensions.
- To get a video to be seen in the floating window, we just have to put the video in Google Chrome, either YouTube or local. There each one chooses which one they want.
- Then click on that same icon that we have shown you lines above.
- A tab will automatically open at the bottom right where we will see the video we have selected.
We can also use the Floating Player- Picture-in-Picture Mode extension, developed by Kinishugo, which works in the same way as the one we just showed you, being compatible with YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitch, Dailymotion, Vevo, Netflix, Hulu, Twitter or Ustream among other platforms.
As you have seen, the way to put a floating window in Google Chrome is really simple. In this way, we choose the way we choose to do it, we will be able to see the video that interests us while we continue working in our browser.