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Browser Source

How to Interact with Browser Sources in Streamlabs Desktop

Use Interact to control content loaded in a Streamlabs Desktop browser source. Learn how it differs from Properties, how to use an annotation overlay, and what to try when a widget has visual problems.

By DocumentaryTube Team 3 min read
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To operate content inside a browser source in Streamlabs Desktop, select the source’s Interact command. It opens a separate pop-out window where you can use the loaded page’s controls. Use Properties to change source settings instead.

Open and use a browser source’s Interact window

  1. Add or select the source. In the Sources panel, add a Browser Source or select one already in your scene. For a Streamlabs widget, get its widget URL from the Streamlabs dashboard, paste it into the Browser Source, and set the source width and height to fit your scene. These URL and sizing steps apply to widget setup; other pages may have different requirements. Streamlabs’ widget setup guide describes this workflow.
  2. Choose Interact. Open the browser source’s controls in the Mixer or source menu and select Interact. The command opens a pop-out window. In Streamlabs’ video example, the window lets you stop, play, seek through, or fullscreen the loaded video. Streamlabs’ guide to recording videos distinguishes this from Properties.
  3. Use the pop-out to operate the page. Click or otherwise use the controls in that window. What works depends on the page loaded in the source; Streamlabs’ examples document video playback and a drawing overlay, not universal compatibility with every website or control.

Interact vs. Properties

Command Use it for
Interact Operating controls on the page loaded in the browser source, in a separate pop-out window.
Properties Changing the browser source’s configuration. Streamlabs’ video example uses Properties for source audio monitoring.

If your goal is to click a page control, start with Interact. If you need to adjust the source itself, open Properties.

Use Interact with an annotation overlay

Streamlabs’ Annotate and Draw! overlay is another use of an interactive browser source. The overlay lets you draw over scene content, but the drawing tools should be used in the Interact pop-out: drawing in the main editing window can move sources instead. Put the annotation source above the content it should mark in the Sources list, or the annotations may not appear over that content. Streamlabs documents these behaviors in its guide to drawing on screen while live.

Troubleshoot a browser source or widget

If a browser-based widget looks wrong or fails to behave as expected, try these checks. They are troubleshooting options from Streamlabs, not guaranteed fixes for every problem.

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  • Test browser hardware acceleration. Try turning browser hardware acceleration on or off, then check whether the visual problem changes.
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These options appear in Streamlabs’ widget troubleshooting guidance.

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