Flickr Slideshow Shortcuts

I love Flickr slideshows. I search for interesting topics in Flickr and let the slideshow run on "fast" speed while I'm treadmilling.

(As a side note, there often can be a low "signal to noise" ratio on Flickr, depending on the group of images or your search criteria. I have a low tolerance, if I start seeing too much noise I try another group or new search right away.)

Using a mouse while on a treadmill is tedious at best. I kept thinking while watching slideshows that there must be some keyboard shortcuts but I was too lazy (while exercising mind you!) to look them up. So I just tried some, and they worked. Here's what I found.

You do have to have the Flash slideshow clicked ("on focus" in the browser is the technical term) for these keyboard shortcuts to work, so they get passed to the Flash application.

Here are the ones I've found:

spacebar = pause / resume the slide show

f = "fave" this image

rightarrow = next

leftarrow = previous

i = show or hide the "info" panel (captions, etc.) (up and down arrows also do this)

p = pause the slideshow and go to the image's photo page on Flickr (new window or tab)

m = pause the slideshow and go to the owner's photostream on Flickr (new window or tab)

F11 = this is a browser command, it makes the browser run in "fullscreen" mode, hiding some toolbars etc. so more real estate is available for the content - good for slideshows. (F11 again to toggle on/off)

Happy Flickring.