PLAY
Open a content projector/player to display various media types including videos, images, documents, and presentations.
Syntax
' Basic playback
PLAY file_or_url
' With options
PLAY file_or_url WITH OPTIONS options_string
Parameters
| Parameter |
Type |
Required |
Description |
file_or_url |
String |
Yes |
Path to file or URL to display |
options_string |
String |
No |
Comma-separated playback options |
Supported Options
| Option |
Description |
autoplay |
Start playback automatically |
loop |
Loop content continuously |
fullscreen |
Open in fullscreen mode |
muted |
Start with audio muted |
controls |
Show playback controls |
nocontrols |
Hide playback controls |
Supported Content Types
Video
| Extension |
Format |
.mp4 |
MPEG-4 Video |
.webm |
WebM Video |
.ogg |
Ogg Video |
.mov |
QuickTime |
.avi |
AVI Video |
.mkv |
Matroska |
.m4v |
M4V Video |
Audio
| Extension |
Format |
.mp3 |
MP3 Audio |
.wav |
WAV Audio |
.flac |
FLAC Audio |
.aac |
AAC Audio |
.m4a |
M4A Audio |
.ogg |
Ogg Audio |
Images
| Extension |
Format |
.jpg .jpeg |
JPEG Image |
.png |
PNG Image |
.gif |
GIF (animated) |
.webp |
WebP Image |
.svg |
SVG Vector |
.bmp |
Bitmap |
Documents
| Extension |
Format |
.pdf |
PDF Document |
.docx .doc |
Word Document |
.pptx .ppt |
PowerPoint |
.xlsx .xls |
Excel Spreadsheet |
.odt |
OpenDocument Text |
.odp |
OpenDocument Presentation |
Code
| Extension |
Language |
.rs |
Rust |
.py |
Python |
.js .ts |
JavaScript/TypeScript |
.java |
Java |
.go |
Go |
.rb |
Ruby |
.md |
Markdown |
.html |
HTML |
Examples
Play a Video
' Play a video file
PLAY "training-video.mp4"
' Play with autoplay and loop
PLAY "background.mp4" WITH OPTIONS "autoplay,loop,muted"
' Play from URL
PLAY "https://example.com/videos/demo.mp4"
Display an Image
' Show an image
PLAY "product-photo.jpg"
' Show image fullscreen
PLAY "banner.png" WITH OPTIONS "fullscreen"
Show a Presentation
' Display PowerPoint presentation
PLAY "quarterly-report.pptx"
' Fullscreen presentation mode
PLAY "sales-deck.pptx" WITH OPTIONS "fullscreen"
Display a Document
' Show PDF document
PLAY "contract.pdf"
' Show Word document
PLAY "proposal.docx"
Interactive Training Module
TALK "Welcome to the training module!"
TALK "Let's start with an introduction video."
PLAY "intro-video.mp4" WITH OPTIONS "controls"
HEAR ready AS TEXT "Type 'continue' when you're ready to proceed:"
IF LOWER(ready) = "continue" THEN
TALK "Great! Now let's review the key concepts."
PLAY "concepts-slides.pptx"
HEAR understood AS TEXT "Did you understand the concepts? (yes/no)"
IF LOWER(understood) = "yes" THEN
TALK "Excellent! Here's your certificate."
PLAY "certificate.pdf"
ELSE
TALK "Let's review the material again."
PLAY "concepts-detailed.mp4"
END IF
END IF
Product Showcase
' Show product images in sequence
products = FIND "products", "featured=true"
FOR EACH product IN products
TALK "Now showing: " + product.name
PLAY product.image_path
WAIT 3000 ' Wait 3 seconds between images
NEXT
Code Review
' Display code for review
TALK "Let's review the implementation:"
PLAY "src/main.rs"
HEAR feedback AS TEXT "Any comments on this code?"
INSERT "code_reviews", file_path, feedback, NOW()
Audio Playback
' Play audio message
TALK "Here's a voice message from your team:"
PLAY "team-message.mp3" WITH OPTIONS "controls"
' Play background music
PLAY "ambient.mp3" WITH OPTIONS "autoplay,loop,muted"
Dynamic Content Display
' Display content based on file type
HEAR file_name AS TEXT "Enter the file name to display:"
file_ext = LOWER(RIGHT(file_name, 4))
IF file_ext = ".mp4" OR file_ext = "webm" THEN
PLAY file_name WITH OPTIONS "controls,autoplay"
ELSE IF file_ext = ".pdf" THEN
PLAY file_name
ELSE IF file_ext = ".jpg" OR file_ext = ".png" THEN
PLAY file_name WITH OPTIONS "fullscreen"
ELSE
TALK "Unsupported file type"
END IF
Embedded Video from URL
' Play YouTube video (via embed URL)
PLAY "https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ"
' Play Vimeo video
PLAY "https://player.vimeo.com/video/123456789"
Onboarding Flow
' Multi-step onboarding with media
TALK "Welcome to our platform! Let's get you started."
' Step 1: Welcome video
TALK "First, watch this quick introduction:"
PLAY "onboarding/welcome.mp4" WITH OPTIONS "controls"
HEAR step1_done AS TEXT "Press Enter when done..."
' Step 2: Feature overview
TALK "Here's an overview of our key features:"
PLAY "onboarding/features.pptx"
HEAR step2_done AS TEXT "Press Enter when done..."
' Step 3: Quick start guide
TALK "Finally, here's your quick start guide:"
PLAY "onboarding/quickstart.pdf"
TALK "You're all set! 🎉"
Error Handling
' Check if file exists before playing
file_path = "presentation.pptx"
IF FILE_EXISTS(file_path) THEN
PLAY file_path
ELSE
TALK "Sorry, the file could not be found."
TALK "Please check the file path and try again."
END IF
Player Behavior
Web Interface
When used in the web interface, PLAY opens a modal overlay with:
- Appropriate player for the content type
- Close button to dismiss
- Optional playback controls
- Fullscreen toggle
WhatsApp/Messaging Channels
On messaging channels, PLAY sends the file directly:
- Videos/images: Sent as media messages
- Documents: Sent as file attachments
- URLs: Sent as links with preview
Desktop Application
In the desktop app, PLAY uses the native media player or viewer appropriate for the content type.
File Locations
Files can be referenced from:
| Location |
Example |
| Bot's .gbdrive |
documents/report.pdf |
| User's folder |
users/john@email.com/uploads/photo.jpg |
| Absolute URL |
https://cdn.example.com/video.mp4 |
| Relative path |
./assets/logo.png |
Limitations
- Maximum file size depends on channel (WhatsApp: 16MB for media, 100MB for documents)
- Some formats may require conversion for web playback
- Streaming large files requires adequate bandwidth
- Protected/DRM content is not supported
See Also
- SEND FILE - Send files as attachments
- TALK - Display text messages
- UPLOAD - Upload files to storage
- DOWNLOAD - Download files from URLs
Implementation
The PLAY keyword is implemented in src/basic/keywords/play.rs with content type detection and appropriate player selection for each media format.
