In short
Some Marks hold more than one item: several videos, audio, photos or web pages. When the owner has switched on the playlist, the Linxy App opens the first item full screen and shows a small button in the lower right with the number of items. Tap it to see everything on the Mark and choose what plays next.
When the playlist is off, each scan opens one item. The owner’s rotation setting decides which one, so scanning again may show something different.
On this page
What you see after the scan
The owner chooses one of two ways for the Mark to open in the App:
| Full screen | Playlist page | |
|---|---|---|
| What opens | The first item fills the screen. The only extra is the items button in the lower right, showing how many items the Mark holds | A player with the list beside or below it, headed Choose what to play |
| To see the other items | Tap the items button. The list slides up with the Mark’s name and every item | The list is already showing. Tap any item to play it |
| To scan again | Open the list and tap the red Scan again button at the top | Use the bar at the bottom of the screen |
Tap the video itself to show its play and pause controls. In full screen, tap outside the list, or turn the phone to landscape and use Close list, to go back to what was playing.
One at a time, Play all and Shuffle
If the owner lets viewers change the mode, the list shows three buttons. The owner picks the one the Mark starts with.
| Mode | What happens when an item ends |
|---|---|
| One at a time | Nothing plays on its own. The list opens so you can choose the next item |
| Play all | The next item in the owner’s order starts after a short pause. An Up next card counts down the seconds; tap it to start now, or tap Cancel to stay where you are |
| Shuffle | The same, in a random order, without repeating an item until every one has played |
The owner sets the length of the pause, from instant (no card at all) to 15 seconds, and how long a photo stays on screen in Play all and Shuffle (8 seconds unless the owner changes it). When the last item ends, the list opens, unless Repeat is on.
Repeat sits just below the three buttons:
| With Repeat on | What happens |
|---|---|
| Play all | After the last item, the list starts over from the first |
| Shuffle | After every item has played, a new random order starts. The same item never plays twice in a row |
| One at a time | The button reads Repeat this item and replays the video or audio that is playing. Choose another item and that one repeats instead |
The owner chooses whether Repeat starts on. If the owner lets viewers change the mode, you can turn it on or off yourself. While the list plays by itself, your screen stays on.
Videos, audio, photos and pages
- Videos play full screen, in the orientation the owner chose for the Mark.
- Audio shows its artwork with play, previous and next controls. If the owner allows it, audio keeps playing when your screen locks or you leave the App, and you can control it from your lock screen and your watch (below).
- Photos show full screen.
- Web pages open inside the App, full screen. The App shows no address bar, so the page’s address is never displayed. Play all and Shuffle play the videos, audio and photos; a page opens when you tap it. If the owner lets pages take a turn, each page stays up for the time the owner chose, then the next item plays.
Controlling audio from the lock screen and your watch
While a Mark’s audio plays in the Linxy App, your phone shows it like any music app: the title, its picture, and Previous, Play/Pause and Next.
| Where | What you see |
|---|---|
| Lock screen | The player, with its controls. It follows the list: Next and Previous move through the Mark’s items in the current mode |
| Android notification panel | Pull down from the top of the screen to find the same player |
| Apple Watch | The Now Playing screen shows what the Linxy App is playing, with the same controls |
| Wear OS watch | The watch’s media controls show what the Linxy App is playing |
Only audio keeps playing once the phone locks. A video pauses, and the player shows it paused.
Calls, messages and notifications
| What comes in | What happens to playback |
|---|---|
| A text message or notification | The banner and its sound appear over the video, and playback carries on. Tapping the banner takes you out of the App; the video pauses and picks up again when you come back |
| A phone call | The video or audio pauses while the phone rings and during the call. When the call ends, it starts again where it stopped |
| You leave the App | Videos pause, and photo and page timers stop, so nothing moves on unseen. Everything picks up again when you return. Audio keeps playing only if the owner allows background audio |
If you paused the video yourself before the call, it stays paused afterwards.
Scanning without the App
In an ordinary browser, such as a phone camera scan or a tapped link, the Mark opens one item per scan by the owner’s rotation setting, unless the owner has chosen to show the playlist on browser scans. In that case the browser shows the items as a list you can choose from, with the same three modes, and a Better in the Linxy App banner. Repeat and the photo time follow the owner’s settings there too, but pages do not take turns in a browser; they open when tapped. A web page opens in your browser like any other page, so the browser shows its address.
The browser page has Previous and Next buttons under the player, and your keyboard’s media keys work too. In Shuffle, Previous goes back through the items you actually heard. If the item has been playing for more than a few seconds, Previous starts it again first.
When the owner has switched on URL Shielding, the browser moves from the short link to a temporary viewer address, so the address bar shows neither the short link nor where the files are stored. The player has no download option, and the page works only in the browser that opened the link, for up to six hours. To come back later, or on another device, scan the Mark or open the link again. See How protected content opens.
Some Marks are set to Linxy App only. A browser then shows Open in the Linxy App instead of the content. Get the free App, then scan the Mark again.
Symptoms, causes and fixes
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No items button, and a different video on each scan | The owner has not switched on the playlist, so the rotation setting picks one item per scan | Nothing to fix on your side. Scan again to see another item |
| The next video does not start on its own | The Mark is in One at a time, or you tapped Cancel on the Up next card | Choose the next item from the list, or switch to Play all if the buttons are shown |
| Play all and Shuffle are not offered | The owner turned off mode changes, or the Mark has fewer than two items that can play | Use the list to choose each item |
| In a phone browser, the next video waits for a tap | Browsers limit videos that start on their own with sound | Tap play, or scan with the Linxy App |
| A browser says Open in the Linxy App | The Mark is set to Linxy App only | Install the App and scan again |
| The list keeps going round and the screen stays on | Repeat is on | Turn Repeat off below the mode buttons, if the owner allows it, or close the Mark |
| The lock screen shows only the song’s title, with no picture or controls | Your phone is set to hide notification content on the lock screen | Change that in your phone’s lock screen notification settings (on Samsung: Settings > Lock screen > Notifications, turn off Hide content). The controls are also in the notification panel |
| No player on the lock screen at all | The owner has not allowed background audio, or the item is a video | Keep the App open while it plays |
| A browser says This view has ended | The Mark is shielded and the address was opened in another browser or device, or more than six hours later | Scan the Mark or open the link again |
| A video stayed paused after a phone call | It was paused before the call, or your App is older than this feature | Tap play; update the App |
Things people commonly get wrong
Related reading: Setting up a playlist on a Mark, Web pages in a playlist, Linxy App only, and What is a Linxy Mark, and what happens when you scan one?