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Prime Direction

Video Preview

With the internal tag #video-preview, the large cards of a post play the post's video, muted and on a loop, in place of the feature image.

How to Enable It#

  1. Open the post you want to use
  2. Put a Video card or an embed, such as YouTube or Vimeo, at the very beginning of the post body
  3. Open Post settings → Tags and add the internal tag #video-preview
  4. Click Publish or Update

Use an internal tag that starts with # so it stays hidden from your public site.

The preview takes the first video in the opening lines of the post. A video further down the body is not found.

Where the Preview Plays#

Only the large cards play the preview:

  • the featured post at the top of the front page
  • the weekend feature and The picture
  • the lead story of Today
  • the newest post of a desk in the Lead or the Grid look. See Desks
  • the cards on the Projects page

Smaller cards keep the feature image. That includes the Watch section, the archives, the video page, the mega menus and the related posts. See Front Page Overview for the sections.

How It Plays#

  • The preview is always muted and loops.
  • It starts when the card comes into view and pauses when it leaves. Nothing is downloaded until the card is close to the screen.
  • Uploaded video files work, as do YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and Rutube embeds. YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion previews play without their controls.
  • Readers who have turned on Reduce motion in their system never see a preview play. Keep a feature image on the post so their cards still have a picture.

Notes#

  • #video-preview and #video are independent. #video changes the post page, #video-preview changes the cards. Use both to get both. See Video Post.
  • For a members-only or paid post, the preview is taken from the part of the post that visitors can see.