![](https://help.apple.com/assets/5B92B8B9094622BB27C5E21E/5B92B8BA094622BB27C5E226/en_AU/74d78343193a1343ce5890d59dab0f69.png)
Open and play a file in QuickTime Player on Mac
QuickTime Player has onscreen playback controls that let you play, pause, fast forward, or rewind your video or audio file.
You can also use playback controls to share a file or play a file on an AirPlay-enabled device.
Open a file
To open a video or audio file in the QuickTime Player app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Double-click the file in the Finder.
If your videos or audio files are in iCloud Drive, click iCloud Drive in the Finder sidebar, then double-click your file. See Use iCloud Drive to store documents on your Mac and iOS devices.
Choose File > Open File, then select a file and click Open.
If a file is an older or third-party media format, QuickTime Player may convert it before playing.
Tip: You can also open a file you’ve worked with recently by choosing File > Open Recent.
Play a file
In the QuickTime Player app
on your Mac, open a video or audio file.
Move the pointer anywhere over the movie to show the playback controls. Controls for audio files are always visible.
Use the playback controls to play a video or audio file.
To move the playback controls, drag them.
If you want the file you’re playing to appear in front of all other windows on your screen, choose View > Float on Top so a tick appears next to it. Choose it again to turn it off.
You can also use the Touch Bar to play a file.
![The playback controls in the Touch Bar. The Play/Pause button is on the left and next to that is the playhead, which you can drag to go to a specific point in the file. To the left of the playhead is the time elapsed and to the right is the time remaining.](https://help.apple.com/assets/5B92B8B9094622BB27C5E21E/5B92B8BA094622BB27C5E226/en_AU/9bb7b58af6545743d604bfcba5b675a6.png)
Play a file in a continuous loop
You can set a video or audio file to play continuously, so that it plays to the end and then starts again from the beginning.
Select the file you want to loop, then choose View > Loop so a tick appears next to it. Choose it again to turn off continuous play.
You can also use keyboard shortcuts or gestures to open, play, or pause a file and more.