Source: https://mindstamp.com/help/navigations
Generated from the Help Center records: 2026-10-05

# What is a navigation and how do I use it?

Topic: [Interactions and logic](https://mindstamp.com/help/interactions) · Updated: 2026-09-25

## Short answer

A navigation is an automatic action. It runs when playback reaches its **Action Time**, with no click from the viewer. To add one, click **More** in the interaction bar and choose a navigation such as **Pause**, **Change Time**, **Switch Video** or **Redirect Link**.

## Steps

1. Select **Interactions** and move the playhead to the moment the action should run.
2. Click **More** in the interaction bar.
3. Choose a navigation from **Playback & Navigation** or **Logic & AI**.
4. Check the **Action Time**. A navigation cannot run before 0:01.
5. Fill in the navigation’s value, such as the time, video, link or variable.
6. Save, then test from the share link in a private browser window.

![More menu in the Mindstamp editor with the Media group (Video Clip, Audio Clip, Drawing) and the Playback & Navigation group (Change Time, Pause, Switch Video, Switch to Previous Video, Redirect Link) highlighted](https://cdn.mindstamp.com/website2026/help/more-menu-groups.webp)

_The More menu groups interactions by type. Navigations are in Playback & navigation._

![Change Time navigation editor in Mindstamp with Action Time set to 0:20 and Time to switch to set to 0:10](https://cdn.mindstamp.com/website2026/help/change-time-navigation.webp)

_A Change Time navigation: at the Action Time (0:20) the video jumps to the Time to switch to (0:10)._

## Playback and navigation

- **Change Time**: jumps to the **Time to switch to** and keeps playing. Use it to skip a section or to loop one.
- **Pause**: stops the video until the viewer presses play, or for 5 to 60 seconds.
- **Switch Video**: branches to another video.
- **Switch to Previous Video**: returns to the video the viewer came from.
- **Redirect Link**: leaves the video and opens a web page.

## Logic and AI

- **Set Variable**: stores a value about the viewer (Core and higher plans).
- **Ask ChatGPT**: asks ChatGPT a question and stores the answer in a variable for other interactions to use.
- **Open Magic Menu**: opens the video’s Magic Menu.
- **Reset Interactions**: clears the viewer’s clicks and answers and resets their scores. The viewer and their other variables stay.
- **Reset Viewer State**: clears all viewer data, including name, email, clicks, responses and variables.

## Run a navigation for some viewers only

Add conditional logic to a navigation to run it only when a variable matches (Pro and higher plans). For example, a **Change Time** navigation can skip a review section for viewers who answered a question correctly.

## Test as a viewer

When you play the video as its owner, Mindstamp skips **Redirect Link**, **Switch to Previous Video** and the reset navigations, and asks before a **Switch Video** leaves the editor. Open the share link in a private browser window to see what viewers see.

## Navigation or click action

Use a navigation when the action should happen to everyone at a set time. Use a [click action](https://mindstamp.com/help/click-actions) when the viewer should choose.

## Go further

- [Navigation](https://mindstamp.com/features/navigation)
- [Branching tutorial](https://mindstamp.com/tutorials/branching)

## Related answers

- [What does Change Time do?](https://mindstamp.com/help/understanding-the-change-time-feature-in-mindstamp)
- [How do I make part of a video loop?](https://mindstamp.com/help/create-a-looping-video)
- [How do I pause a video automatically?](https://mindstamp.com/help/how-to-incorporate-video-pause-functionality)
- [What click actions are available in Mindstamp?](https://mindstamp.com/help/click-actions)

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