pausing iTunes with a shortcut

[javabear90]

I would like to be able to press F1 and be able to pause iTunes, nomatter what app I am in. (besides games) I tried to do this in keyboard shortcuts. Here is what I did, However it does not work.

[latergator116]

Hmmm... I dont beleive there is a way to do this (at least with apple's software). According to machelp (which is hardly ever helpful), it says "You must type the command exactly as it appears in the application menu". And since iTunes doesn't have the play or pause button in any of the menu bars, there is no way to give it a shortcut.

Search "global keyboard shortcuts" in mac help to see what I am talking about. Seems really odd to me that they wont let you customize the play/pause button.

[HexMonkey]

That method won't work. Firstly, iTunes seems to ignore these settings (on my computer at least). It will display the new key combo in the menu, but when you type it it won't work. Secondly, these only work from within the application, which is not what you want.

Perhaps an alternative is to use AppleScript to tell iTunes to pause. I don't think you can set up key combos to open applications like in Mac OS 9, so I think you'll need a script menu application. I don't know of any but I'm sure there are a few if you look on VersionTracker or something. The code for a script to pause iTunes would be:

tell application "iTunes"
pause
end tell

Latergator116: Play/pause is in a menu, it's the first item in the Controls menu.

[latergator116]

ahhh, ok I see it now. Well as HexMonkey said, it will only work within the application so that doesn't help you much anyway. Good luck.

[HexMonkey]

I had a look on VersionTracker and found a program called FLaunch (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18254), which allows you to open applications with F1..F15. I tried it and it successfully worked, with a small delay while the script opens. Here's how to set it up:
1. Type in the code from my last message into a Script Editor window.
2. Save as application, making sure Startup Screen is not ticked. You can save it anywhere you want, with any name.
3. Open FLaunch and go to the Preferences, and make sure it's on the F1 tab.
4. Drag the script from Finder into the box and click Done.
5. All done, it will now work as long as FLaunch is open.

[FuzzyBallz]

Or you can simply buy a Logitech KB w/ the pause button...

[Diatribe]

or you could get Synergy, which is a really nice app for iTunes. It lets you specify all of the hotkeys which can be used from every app.
http://synergy.wincent.com/

[pellucidity]

or you could get Synergy, which is a really nice app for iTunes. It lets you specify all of the hotkeys which can be used from every app.
http://synergy.wincent.com/

Development on Synergy seems to have stagnated a bit, but I think it's worth the $5 you pay. I paid. I combine with Clutter, and Poison (not released yet!)