Is there a way to control VLC from the Sound Menu?

Solution 1:

Support for this exists in VLC 2.0 and newer. If you have an older VLC you can get the new version by following these instructions:

First run VLC, then in the menu go to Tools -> Preferences (or just hit Ctrl-P.

Then change the preferences to show you all:

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and then go to Interface, Control interfaces, and DBus and check the DBUS service id checkbox.

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Then you'll need to quit VLC and run it again for the setting to take effect.