How To Enable & Use ‘Picture In Picture’ Mode On Your Mac.
Picture-in-picture mode has long been available for a number of devices other than the Apple Mac. If you don’t already know what it is, this is a mode that allows you to play videos (or any other content, for that matter) in a window that floats over the windows of your existing applications. You can watch your favorite videos while working with other applications on your computer.
When Apple announced macOS Sierra, everything changed. This version of macOS introduces picture-in-picture mode. So if you are using at least macOS Sierra, you can use PiP mode and watch your favorite cartoons, TED talks, or any other video while you work.
Unlike many other features, you cannot enable this mode in System Preferences or any other panel on your Mac. Instead, you will need to follow a specific procedure to use the favorite service mode on your computer. Fortunately, it’s pretty straightforward.
Also, if you prefer to watch videos rather than read text, check out our YouTube video for how to get picture-in-picture in Chrome and Safari:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on18Dt_qmrE?feature=oembed]
Use Picture-in-Picture for YouTube Videos
Use picture in picture mode for YouTube videos
If there is anything I would like to include in the first place, it’s YouTube. There are millions of videos available on the platform, so it has just about any video you want to watch in the floating browser on your Mac. It takes a few clicks to enable PiP mode on this platform.
To get started, head over to YouTube and play the video you want to use PiP mode with. When the video page opens and the video starts playing, right-click the video, but do not select anything from the pop-up menu on the screen.
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Right click on any empty area of ??the video again and you will see a new menu on the screen. From this menu, select Picture-in-Picture. The video will detach from the screen and appear as a floating window.
You can drag the video and place it anywhere on the screen to fit in with the other apps you are working on. You can even resize the window by hovering over the corners of the window and dragging the corners outward.
To turn off the mode, simply click the icon that appears in the lower right corner of the video window. You will be returned to the YouTube site.
Use Picture-in-Picture for Vimeo Videos
Use picture-in-picture mode for Vimeo videos
Unlike YouTube, Vimeo doesn’t offer the option to enable PiP mode by right-clicking the video. However, this option is available if you are using the Safari browser to access the site.
If you want to change your browser from Chrome or any other browser to Safari, you have the option to use PiP mode for Vimeo videos. Shown below is how this works in Safari on Mac.
Launch Safari on your Mac and go to the Vimeo site. Find and play the video.
Once the video starts playing, you will find the PiP mode icon in the lower right corner of the video. Click on it and the video will turn into a floating window.
When you’re done watching the video, click the icon in the video window and the floating browser will close and you will be returned to the Vimeo site.
Watch Netflix Picture-in-Picture on Mac
Watch Netflix in Picture-in-Picture mode on your Mac
If you were unable to finish your favorite Netflix series due to work overload, you can now watch the series in a floating window or continue working.
First you need to install the Safari extension from the App Store. Netflix is ??unfortunately not among the sites that natively support PiP mode for macOS, so you’ll need a third-party extension.
Go to the Mac App Store, download and install the PiPifier extension on your Mac. Run the app after it’s installed, although you don’t actually need to configure anything in the app. Continue to the next step to learn how to use the app with Safari.
Launch Safari on your Mac, click the Safari menu at the top, choose Preferences and go to the Extensions tab.
Check the box next to the PiPifier button.
Go to Netflix and sign in to your account if you haven’t already. Play the video of your choice, pause playback and then play it again. You must interact with the video at least once for the PiPifier extension to work.
Then click on the extension icon located at the top and your video will exit the current Safari window.
Watch iTunes videos in floating window
Watch iTunes videos in a floating window
iTunes is created by Apple, so it is obvious that it will natively support picture in macOS in picture mode. One click of the mouse is enough to enable the mode in the application, and here’s how to do it.
Launch iTunes, select and play any of your videos. When the video starts playing, you will see a small arrow icon in the lower right corner of the video.
Click on it and your video will play over the application windows.
Play local videos and videos from other sites in PiP mode
Play local videos and videos from other sites in PiP mode
If you have videos stored locally on your Mac and haven’t been added to iTunes yet, you can still play them in a floating window on your computer.
To accomplish this task, you can use an application called Helium that allows you to play local files as well as websites in floating windows on your Mac.
Install the app from the Mac App Store on your computer. Launch the application, click Location at the top, and choose one of the two available options:
- Open Web URL – This will allow you to open the website in a floating window.
- Open File – This will allow you to open a local file stored on your Mac.
Depending on which option you choose, the app will display your content in a window that moves around the screen. And just like any other window, you can drag it wherever you want, and you can even resize it if you want it to be larger or smaller than its original size.
Conclusion
If you multitask and don’t want to miss out on fun while you work, you can turn on picture-in-picture mode, which will continue to feed you your favorite content while overlapping your work windows.
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