How do I bookmark in VLC for Android?

VLC media player is a popular free and open source cross-platform multimedia player developed by the VideoLAN project. It plays most multimedia files as well as discs, devices, and network streaming protocols. VLC has been ported to numerous operating systems and is available on mobile platforms like Android and iOS.

The Android version of VLC allows users to play both local and network media files in multiple formats. One useful feature it offers is bookmarking, which allows you to set bookmarks or markers at specific points within a media file. You can then easily jump back to those bookmarked spots later.

Bookmarking can be helpful for things like marking important parts of a video to refer back to later, keeping track of where you left off in a partially watched video, or setting chapter points within an audio book. Overall, it enables easier navigation and access to key moments in large media files.

Enable Bookmark Setting

The first step to using bookmarks in VLC for Android is to enable the bookmark setting in the app. Here’s how to do it:

Open the VLC app and tap on the menu icon (three dots in the top right corner). Select Settings from the menu.

In Settings, scroll down to find the Playback section. Locate the “Enable bookmarks” option and tap on it to toggle it on.

That’s it! With this setting enabled, you can now add, view and manage bookmarks within VLC.

According to the VLC 3.4 release notes on Ghacks.net, the update introduced enhanced bookmark support on Android ^[1]. So make sure you’re running the latest VLC version to use bookmarks.

Add a Bookmark

To add a bookmark while playing a video in VLC:

1. Launch the VLC app and begin playing a video.
2. At the time position you want to bookmark, tap the bookmark icon in the toolbar at the bottom. It looks like a ribbon or bookmark. This will open the bookmarks menu.
3. Tap the “+” icon in the top right corner to add a new bookmark.
4. A bookmark will be created at the current playback position. You can edit the bookmark name by tapping on it.

Bookmarks allow you to easily jump to certain parts of a video for quick reference or to pick up where you left off (source). This can be useful for long videos, tutorials, lectures, or audiobooks.

View Bookmarks

To view bookmarks in a video in VLC for Android:

1. Open the video file in VLC that contains bookmarks.
2. Tap the bookmark icon in the bottom right corner to see a list of all bookmarks for that video.

The bookmark list will display thumbnail previews and timestamps for each bookmark. You can tap on a bookmark to immediately jump to that position in the video.

Bookmarks are saved directly within the video file itself. So they will be viewable across any device or platform when watching that video in VLC. The bookmark list shows all bookmarks contained for that particular video.

Source: https://www.ghacks.net/2021/09/21/vlc-media-player-3-4-for-android-is-now-available/

Remove a Bookmark

To remove an existing bookmark from a video in VLC for Android:

1. Open the video with the bookmark you want to remove in VLC.

2. Tap the bookmark icon in the bottom right corner.

3. Swipe left on the bookmark you want to delete. This will prompt a “Delete” option.

4. Tap “Delete” to remove the bookmark.

The bookmark will be permanently removed from the video in VLC. You can repeat these steps to delete any other bookmarks as needed.

Source: How to Delete Bookmarks on Android Easily

Jump to a Bookmark

Here is how you can open a bookmarked video and jump to a specific bookmark in VLC for Android:

Open the bookmarked video in VLC. You can find your bookmarked videos in VLC’s Playlists section.

Once the video starts playing, tap the bookmark icon in the bottom right corner. This will open up a list of bookmarks you have set for that video.

Scroll through the list and select the bookmark you want to jump to. Tapping on a bookmark will immediately skip the video playback to that bookmarked position.

This makes it easy to quickly go back to your favorite scenes or moments in a long video without having to manually scrub through and find them again.

Rename a Bookmark

You can rename existing bookmarks in VLC for Android if you want to change the name or description. To rename a bookmark:

1. Open the video you have bookmarked in VLC and tap the bookmark icon in the lower right corner.

2. In the bookmark list, long press on the bookmark you want to rename.

3. This will open an edit screen where you can change the name and description for that bookmark. Make your changes.

4. Tap “OK” to save the renamed bookmark.

Renaming bookmarks can help you better organize and identify important moments in longer videos. Just long press the bookmark in the list to bring up the edit screen. Note that there is currently a bug in some versions of VLC where renaming the first bookmark may not work, but renaming other bookmarks is typically fine.

Export Bookmarks

Bookmarks saved in VLC for Android can be exported as files which allows you to backup or transfer bookmarks between devices. To enable bookmark exporting in VLC for Android:

Open the VLC app and tap the menu icon in the top left corner. Select Settings and scroll down to find the ‘Bookmarks’ section. Enable the setting labeled ‘Export bookmarks’ by tapping the toggle switch so it turns blue. This will allow VLC to export bookmarks.

With bookmark export enabled, long press on any bookmark from the bookmarks list in VLC and select ‘Export’. This will save a bookmarks.vlc file containing the bookmarks which can then be transferred and imported into VLC on another device using the ‘Import bookmarks’ option.

Enabling bookmark export in VLC’s settings is required to use the export and import features. Once enabled, bookmarks can easily be backed up, transferred between devices, and shared by exporting and importing the single bookmarks file.

Limitations

VLC for Android does have some limitations when it comes to using bookmarks:

Bookmarks only work for locally stored video files. They do not work for streamed videos from online sources like YouTube or Netflix. This is because VLC does not actually download the full video file when streaming, so there is no local file to save bookmarks to.

If the local video file that contains bookmarks is moved, renamed, or changed in any way, the bookmarks will be reset. The bookmarks are saved within the video file itself, so modifying the file causes them to be lost. For example, if you add bookmarks to a video, then compress that video file to save space, the original bookmarks would disappear.

Overall the bookmark feature is really only useful for unchanged local video files. According to the VLC wiki, there may also be limits on the number of bookmarks allowed based on the formatting of the playlist file, but specifics are not provided.¹

Conclusion

In summary, VLC for Android offers several useful bookmark features that allow you to easily mark and navigate to important parts of long videos. By enabling bookmarks in the app settings, you can add bookmarks at any point while watching a video. These bookmarks are then conveniently displayed in a list, allowing you to quickly jump between them. Bookmarks are a great way to mark key moments you want to return to later, without having to manually skip around a lengthy video.

Bookmarks can save you a tremendous amount of time when watching long videos or recordings. Rather than scrubbing back and forth to find important scenes, you can simply create bookmarks as you watch, and then quickly jump between them afterward. This makes it easy to revisit key portions or review relevant sections of the video. Whether watching a movie, lecture, meeting recording, or other long video, bookmarks are an invaluable feature in VLC for Android.