Video

Phials can preview video so you can see clips in the preview sidebar, recognize them from thumbnails in the file browser, and open a larger view in a preview tab with standard playback controls.

This page covers common extensions such as MP4, WebM, MOV, MKV, AVI, OGG, MPEG, and M4V, depending on what your system can decode in the app.

Prerequisites

For how previews appear while you browse, see File previews.
Video thumbnails (film-style frames in the browser) use generated images on disk. Turn on thumbnail caching under Settings → Media → Thumbnails and see Caches and thumbnails. Phials includes the media tooling it needs for video thumbnails and playback.
Optional captions: place a WebVTT file next to the video with the same base name and a .vtt extension (for example clip.mp4 and clip.vtt in the same folder). Phials attaches it as an English captions track when the player supports it.

Open a folder in the file browser and select a video file.
In the preview area, expand Preview if that section is collapsed.
The video is shown fitted inside the pane (letterboxed if the aspect ratio differs).

Inline playback

If Autoplay is on, the clip starts automatically muted in the sidebar so autoplay policies are respected.
If Loop is on, the same clip repeats while it stays selected.
The inline preview is meant for a quick look, so it does not show the full set of transport controls. For scrubbing, volume, and fullscreen from the player, open the larger view below.

Autoplay and loop apply only to this inline preview in the sidebar. The preview tab player uses its own controls and may behave differently.

Playback settings (autoplay and loop)

Open Settings → Files → Media and scroll to Video Playback (below Thumbnails).

Option	Default	What it does in the preview sidebar
Autoplay	On	On: playback starts as soon as you select the video (muted). Off: you see the first frame; playback waits until you interact with the player.
Loop	On	On: the clip repeats while it stays selected. Off: playback stops at the end unless you start it again.

To change these defaults or per-type opening behavior, see Default behaviors.

How to see video thumbnails in the browser

When thumbnail caching is enabled, Phials generates a still frame for each video and shows it in list, grid, column, and similar layouts (not duplicated again inside the Preview section while Gallery view is active, since gallery already shows the preview).

While a thumbnail is loading, you may see a short loading indicator, then the frame. If thumbnails are off or generation fails, you see a video icon instead. A small play badge on the tile indicates the file is a video.

How to open the larger preview (preview tab)

The fullscreen view for video is a center tab that hosts the player with native video controls (play/pause, seek, volume, captions toggle where supported). The tab header area shows the file name.

Double-click the video in the file browser. This is the default for video, and you can change the behavior per extension (see Default behaviors).
Or, in layouts such as Gallery, double-click the item (or select it and press Enter) to run the same open action.

If a preview tab for that file is already open, Phials switches to it instead of opening a second copy.

Close the tab when you are done.

Tips

Opening from the Vials list: for files that support this preview, choosing a video there may open a preview tab immediately rather than only selecting it in a folder view.
No picture in the sidebar but the file is selected: the format may not be decodable in the embedded player, or the file may be incomplete. Try the preview tab or an external app through your chosen double-click action.
Thumbnails never appear: confirm thumbnail caching under Caches and thumbnails.
Captions do not show: make sure the .vtt file name matches the video base name and lives in the same folder, then use the subtitle or captions control in the preview tab player if your platform exposes it.