How can I control Play/Pause Video option in WebView using React Native?

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1

As I work on a React Native application, I encounter a situation where I must successfully manage playback control, in particular how to handle operations like pause and play. My software includes numerous video components that demand responsive user interactions in order to provide context. Can a React Native expert provide a thorough, step-by-step tutorial on how to control play and pause actions inside a React Native application? I would be very grateful if you could help with this particular problem with your experience.

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2

To control the Play/Pause functionality of a video within a WebView component in React Native, you have to make a link between WebView’s JavaScript code and the React Native code.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Start React Native Project

If you haven’t already, begin by establishing a React Native project. The following commands can be used to create the project and install crucial dependencies:

npx react-native init VideoApp
cd VideoApp
npm install react-native-webview

2. Construct the WebView Component.

Create a WebView component for loading the video URL in the App.js file and then, create a JavaScript method in the WebView to control video playback:

import React from 'react';
import { View, Button } from 'react-native';
import { WebView } from 'react-native-webview';

const App = () => {
  let webViewRef = null;

  const playPauseVideo = (play) => {
    const jsCode = `document.querySelector('video').${play ? 'play' : 'pause'}();`;
    webViewRef.injectJavaScript(jsCode);
  };

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <WebView
        ref={(ref) => (webViewRef = ref)}
        source={{ uri: 'YOUR_VIDEO_URL' }}
      />
      <View style={{ flexDirection: 'row', justifyContent: 'center' }}>
        <Button title="Play" onPress={() => playPauseVideo(true)} />
        <Button title="Pause" onPress={() => playPauseVideo(false)} />
      </View>
    </View>
  );
};

export default App;

Replace YOUR_VIDEO_URL with the actual URL of the video you intend to display within the WebView.

3. Make JavaScript accessible to React Native

JavaScript code inside a WebView typically runs separately from the larger React Native app by default. Include the ‘injectedjavascript’ attribute in the WebView component to make the playPauseVideo function available to the WebView:

<WebView
  ref={(ref) => (webViewRef = ref)}
  source={{ uri: 'YOUR_VIDEO_URL' }}
  injectedJavaScript={`
    window.playPauseVideo = ${playPauseVideo};
  `}
/>

4. React Native from JavaScript Execution

The injectJavaScript method of the WebView reference is used to run JavaScript code inside the WebView within the playPauseVideo function. Depending on the play parameter, this code either calls the play() or pause() method of the video element on the page.

Do let me know, if find any difficulty in the above answer.

Thankyou