Frontend Interactive Features
Easy TubeCasting is not just a static embed. It provides player controls and playlist tools for visitors. Playlist tools appear when the block has more than one video and Videos Per Batch is greater than 1, whether those videos come from comma-separated URLs or an API-powered collection.
1. Real-time Search
At the top of the video list, users will find a search bar.
- How it works: As the user types, the list filters instantly to show matching titles or author names.
- Clear Search: A "Clear" button appears when searching, allowing users to quickly return to the full list.
2. Dynamic Sorting
Users can reorder the video list based on several criteria:
- Default: The order provided by YouTube (usually reverse chronological).
- Newest/Oldest: Sort by publication date.
- Most Viewed: Show the most popular content first.
- Longest: Sort by video duration.
- A-Z: Alphabetical sorting of titles.
3. "Load More" Pagination
- Behavior: After the initial batch of playlist items is displayed, a "Load More" button appears at the bottom.
- Configuration: You can change how many videos are shown each time with Videos Per Batch in the block editor settings.
- Search Exception: When a visitor searches, all matching results are shown instead of hiding matches behind Load More.
4. Responsive Player
- Interactive Thumbnails: Hovering over a thumbnail shows the video duration and a play icon.
- Instant Play: Clicking any video in the list starts playback immediately in the main player area without refreshing the page.
- Custom Controls: Visitors can play/pause, seek, go back 15 seconds, skip ahead 15 seconds, adjust volume, and use fullscreen.
- Captions: A captions button appears when the YouTube player reports caption tracks are available.
- Single Active Player: Starting playback in one Easy TubeCasting block pauses other initialized Easy TubeCasting players on the page.
