Brightcove Player Sample: Floating Player

In this topic, you will learn how to configure the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the page to allow the player to be dragged to a new position and then fix it there (until dragged again). The player position will then remain fixed even when the user scrolls up and down the page.

Player example

Using the plus sign (+) to the top-left of the player, drag the player to a location and drop it. Then scroll the page text up and down and you will see the player stays fixed in location.

See the Pen 18195-floating-player by Brightcove Learning Services (@rcrooks1969) on CodePen.

Source code

View the complete solution on GitHub.

Using the CodePen

Here are some tips to effectively use the above CodePen:

  • Toggle the actual display of the player by clicking the Result button.
  • Click the HTML/CSS/JS buttons to display ONE of the code types.
  • Later in this document the logic, flow and styling used in the application will be discussed in the Player/HTML configuration, Application flow and Application styling sections. The best way to follow along with the information in those sections is to:
    1. Click the EDIT ON CODEPEN button in the CodePen and have the code available in one browser/browser tab.
    2. In CodePen, adjust what code you want displayed. You can change the width of different code sections within CodePen.
    3. View the Player/HTML configuration, Application flow and/or Application styling sections in another browser/browser tab. You will now be able to follow the code explanations and at the same time view the code.

Development sequence

Here is the recommended development sequence:

  1. Use the In-Page embed player implementation to test the functionality of your player, plugin and CSS (if CSS is needed)
  2. Put the plugin's JavaScript and CSS into separate files for local testing
  3. Deploy the plugin code and CSS to your server once you have worked out any errors
  4. Use Studio to add the plugin and CSS to your player
  5. Replace the In-Page embed player implementation if you determine that the iframe implementation is a better fit (detailed in next section)

For details about these steps, review the Step-by-Step: Plugin Development guide.

iframe or In-Page embed

When developing enhancements for the Brightcove Player you will need to decide if the code is a best fit for the iframe or In-Page embed implementation. The best practice recommendation is to build a plugin for use with an iframe implementation. The advantages of using the iframe player are:

  • No collisions with existing JavaScript and/or CSS
  • Automatically responsive
  • The iframe eases use in social media apps (or whenever the video will need to "travel" into other apps)

Although integrating the In-Page embed player can be more complex, there are times when you will plan your code around that implementation. To generalize, this approach is best when the containing page needs to communicate to the player. Specifically, here are some examples:

  • Code in the containing page needs to listen for and act on player events
  • The player uses styles from the containing page
  • The iframe will cause app logic to fail, like a redirect from the containing page

Even if your final implementation does not use the iframe code, you can still use the In-Page embed code with a plugin for your JavaScript and a separate file for your CSS. This encapsulates your logic so that you can easily use it in multiple players.

API/Plugin resources used

No Brightcove Player API resources are used in this sample. It is all CSS and JavaScript.

Player/HTML configuration

This section details any special configuration needed during player creation. In addition, other HTML elements that must be added to the page, beyond the in-page embed player implementation code, are described.

Player configuration

No special configuration is required for the Brightcove Player you create for this sample.

Other HTML

An HTML <div> tag wraps the player code.

Application flow

The basic logic behind this application is:

  • Create an event handler for the onmousedown event (begin dragging)
  • Create an event handler for the onmouseup event (dropping)
  • Create an event handler for the onmousemove event (dragging)

Act on mouse down

Find the code which is labeled:

// ### Act on mouse down ###

Prepares for dragging of the player and sets the event handler for onmousemove.

Act on mouse move

Find the code which is labeled:

// ### Act on mouse move ###

Tracks the mouse position on the screen.

Act on mouse up

Find the code which is labeled:

// ### Act on mouse up ###

Sets the player position and clears multiple event handlers, for instance onmousemove.

Application styling

The CSS for #playerWrapper:before defines the circle with the plug sign in it that is located at the top-left of the player. The CSS for #playerWrapper defines the border around the player.

Plugin code

In this sample there is no actual Brightcove Player plugin since no Brightcove Player API code is used. The JavaScript and CSS can be moved to separate files and linked to in the code. This is what is shown in the plugin folder in GitHub.