When Did Browsers Start Supporting These Keys? However, in general, on modern systems-Windows 10, macOS, Chrome OS, and even Linux-media keys will just work.
For example, if you’re running iTunes on your system and have an iTunes window open, the keys may control playback in iTunes rather than your web browser. It may not work on some websites. In some cases, your keyboard shortcuts may be controlled by a desktop media player that you have open. This won’t work absolutely everywhere on the web. It’s time to forget that and press these keys again. Web users have been trained to ignore the media keys.
Sure, this advice may seem simple-but these keys have existed for decades, and they didn’t work on websites until very recently. If you’re listening to a playlist on a music-streaming website like Spotify, the Next and Previous keys will likely skip back and forward in the playlist, just as they would in a desktop music application like iTunes. For example, if you’re playing a YouTube video and it’s hidden in a background tab somewhere, you can press the Play/Pause key on your keyboard to pause it and press the key again to resume it.
Using your media keys should be simple: Just press them.
