Roger Talks Tech

Making the tech in your life work for you

Assign the Spotify or Rdio Play/Pause Action to a Keyboard Shortcut using Automator

by

Awhile ago, I posted about how you can assign the Spotify Play/Pause Action to a Keyboard Shortcut using Keyboard Maestro if you are using a keyboard with no pause/play buttons. I received an email asking me of there’s any way to accomplish this without spending the money for Keyboard Maestro. The answer: Yes, there is. You can accomplish the same thing using Apple’s built in Automator app, although it requires a few more steps, as outlined below. I’m guessing that the same process would work with the Rdio app as well.

Quick Guide: Assign Spotify Play/Pause Action to a Keyboard Shortcut using Automator

  1. Launch the Automator Application.
  2. Select File ➪ New from the menu.
  3. Click Service from the menu and then click Choose. Automator service menu option
  4. Click in the Search box in the center column and type: Run Applescript. Automator search run applescript
  5. Drag the Run Applescript item in the main window area. Automator drag run applescript item to main window
  6. Click the Service receives drop-down list and choose no input. Automator select no input option
  7. In the Run Applescript window, replace the line which reads (* Your script goes here *) with: tell application “Spotify” to playpause Automator run applescript screenshot 
  8. Select File ➪ Save from the menu and type in a name for your new service.
  9. Now select  > System Preferences from the Finder menu.
  10. Click the Keyboard icon.
  11. Click the Shortcuts tab on top of the screen.
  12. Click Services in the left pane. Services option in the Keyboard Preference pane
  13. In the scroll all the way down to the General area and find the Spotify service that you created. Find your Spotify service screenshot
  14. Click the Add Shortcut button to the right of the Service name and press the shortcut you want to use (Try something like: ⌃⌥P).
  15. You can test your shortcut by choosing System Preferences ➪ Services ➪ and then click the name of your Service.
  16. That’s it! Now whenever you tap the shortcut key you specified, Spotify will pause or play.

To create an action to skip to the next song (rather than pause), the process is the same as above except in the Run AppleScript window, type the following:

tell application “Spotify” to next track

Assign Spotify Play/Pause Action to a Keyboard Shortcut using Keyboard Maestro

by

Macro to pause and play Spotifiy image As of recently, Spotify has become my music streaming service of choice and I have it going pretty much constantly during my workday. The only downside of using Spotify (at least the only one I’ve come across thus far) is that there are no pause/play/next keyboard shortcuts – and no ability to create them. This isn’t so much an issue if you are using a keyboard with these features built in. I am however, using a ergonomic non-Apple keyboard with no audio buttons. So when my phone rings, I’m scrambling to bring the app to the front of my screen and then reaching for my trackpad to hit the pause button within the applicaiton. But no longer. Using the application Keyboard Maestro, I’ve created a macro to assign these actions to keyboard shortcuts. Below is a quick guide for setting this up yourself.

Quick Guide: Assign Spotify Play/Pause Action to a Keyboard Shortcut using Keyboard Maestro

  1. Launch the Keyboard Maestro application.
  2. Select File > New Macro from the menu.
  3. Type a name for your macro in the Name box. I used Spotify Play/Pause.
  4. Click the + (plus symbol) to the left of New Trigger and choose Hot Key Trigger from the list. Keyboard maestro hot key trigger image
  5. Click in the hot key box and type in the shortcut you want to use. I used ⌃⌥P.
  6. Click the New Action button. Keyboard maestro action button
  7. Under the Categories pane, click Execute. Execute AppleScript in Keyboard maestro image
  8. Under the Actions pane, double-click Execute an AppleScript.
  9. In the AppleScript window, type: tell application “Spotify” to playpause Applescript to tell Spotify to play and pause 
  10. And that’s it! Now whenever you tap the shortcut key you specified, Spotify will pause or play.

I also created another Spotify Keyboard Maestro macro to skip to the next song. The actions are the same as above except in the AppleScript window, type the following: tell application “Spotify” to next track

Spotify – A Solid Alternative to iTunes

by

 

To continue our discussion about iTunes alternatives, another one you might want to take a look at is Spotify. While it is true that Spotifiy is a music-streaming service, it can also access your iTunes library and be used as a stand-alone music player. The player is free to download although if you want an ad-free streaming experience, you’ll need to pony up $9.99 a month. There is no charge however, to use Spotify as a music player in order to access your iTunes library or other local music files.

Getting Started

To get started with the Spotify player, you’ll need to make a couple of adjustments in Preferences. From the Local Files area of the Preferences pane (Spotify ➪ Preferences), you’ll need to tell Spotify the location of your music. There are three options listed by default: Music, Downloads and iTunes. I keep all three of these boxes checked as I don’t always wish to bring all my downloaded music into iTunes and prefer instead to listen to it in Spotify.

Spotify local files

If you store your music in a folder other than those three listed, click the Add Source button and then navigate to the folder that contains the music you want to add to Spotify.

Importing Your Playlists

Once you’ve ensured that that iTunes checkbox is checked, you’ll then want to import your iTunes playlists into Spotify. To do so, choose File ➪ Import Playlists ➪ iTunes from the menu.

Spotify import playlists

A new folder entitled iTunes will then appear in the left pane, containing all of your songs and playlists from iTunes. Note however, that it will NOT bring in Smart Playlists.

Spotify itunes playlist

Each time you launch Spotify, the application syncs with iTunes so any new music that you’ve added to iTunes is brought into Spotify for you.

The Local Files Area

The Local Files area lists all of the local files on your computer. This can come in handy if you want to sync any of your local files with an iOS device. I created a folder called Offline into which I place any songs, including several from my Local Files folder, that will sync to my iPhone.

Spotify local files grayed out

You can add intermingle your local files and Spotify files in the same playlist although if your local files are not availble in Spotify’s service, you will not be able to play them when you are offline, unless you have synced them ahead of time.

The Player

The player controls are located on the lower-left corner of the Spotify window. Controls include pause, previous song, next song and album cover art. On the lower right-hand corner of the screen you will find the shuffle and repeat controls.

Spotify player controls

Verdict

The player is solid and I love the ability to create and modify playlists. This app is even more powerful if you use it in conjunction with Spotify’s streaming service. When I’m working on my desktop, I often have Spotify going in the background. This is another nice alternative to iTunes.

You can download Spotify from Spotify’s website at https://www.spotify.com/. There is also an iOS app available.

Recent Comments