Hi Jane,
>I've got several play lists created--I think--but how do I make them
>play? I mean, I see them, but I don't see how to get them to play.
If you've navigated to a playlist in the Source Outline, for example,
by typing the first few letters of the name of the playlist, then you only
need to hit space bar to start the playlist playing.
Playing from a playlist is like playing a single track in this way.
The entries are played in the order they appear in the playlist,
and iTunes will continue to play the entries one after another.
1. Jump to Playlist (AppleScript)
Although you can either arrow down the source list or type the
first few letters of the name to navigate to a playlist, I use an
AppleScript from Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes site called,
"Jump to Playlist". Open the Script Editor and paste in the
following lines of code:
tell application "iTunes"
repeat
set search_for_this to text returned of ¬
(display dialog "Enter the name or first few letters of
the playlist you want to view:" default answer "")
if search_for_this is not "" then exit repeat
end repeat
try
set view of front browser window to playlist ¬
(name of (get (first playlist whose name starts with
search_for_this)))
on error
display dialog "None of your playlists seem to begin with \"" &
¬
search_for_this & "\"" buttons {"Cancel"} default
button 1
end try
end tell
2. Compiling and running the AppleScript in the Script Editor
Compile the code in the Script Editor, then run it to try it out. You'll
be prompted with a message to enter the first few letters of the
playlist you want to view. Type in some letters and hit return.
You'll be taken to the playlist in the Source List. Hit space bar
and start listening.
3. Running the AppleScript under the iTunes menu
If you want to access the AppleScript from iTunes, save the
compiled script to your Library/iTunes/Scripts directory. I think
you already have some AppleScripts there, and the saved file
might be named (with a full path) like:
/Users/jane/Library/iTunes/Scripts/Jump to Playlist
but a new user would first need to create a Scripts subdirectory
under the Library/iTunes directory for their account.
Now you have a new option in the iTunes Menu bar for
AppleScripts located between the "Window" menu and
the "Help" menu. (The default VO voice doesn't seem to
say anything for this menu; the InfoVox iVox voices say
something that sounds like "quodes" -- a cross between
"quotes" and "codes"). You can access the AppleScripts
by using the drop-down menu options just like any other
of the options in the menu bar.
4. Assigning the AppleScript to a shortcut key
This is also from Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes pages.
Step 1: Set Up Your System Preferences
Note: This will only work with scripts that have been installed in your
[username]/Library/iTunes/Scripts
or
startupdisk]/Library/iTunes/Scripts
folder.
Quit iTunes. You can't attach a keyboard shortcut to an
application if it is running. Open System Preferences
and navigate to the Keyboard & Mouse Menu. Use
VO-right arrow to select the Keyboard Shortcuts pane.
Tab over to the "+" (plus button) and use VO+space bar
to press. For the application, use VO keys+right arrow
to navigate to the dropdown menu for applications.
Use VO keys+space bar and down-arrow to select
iTunes as the application. Use VO keys+right arrow to
get prompted for the Menu Title. Enter the name of
the menu command, for example: "Jump to Playlist"
(without the quotes). (This must match exactly in
case and spelling; you might want to do this with
cut and paste.) Use VO keys+ right arrow to again
to get prompted for the keyboard shortcut to enter.
I use:
command-option-j
Either cancel or carriage return to add the shortcut.
Step 2.
Now, when you open iTunes and navigate to the
AppleScripts drop-down menu in the menu bar,
the entry for "Jump to Playlist" will have the keyboard
shortcut displayed beside it. Even better, you can
just type "command-option-j" and script will prompt
you for the Playlist you want. If you type "Music"
it will go to your Music Library, "Podcasts" takes
you to your Podcasts Library, "Audiobooks" takes
you to your "Audiobooks" Library, "Purchased" takes
you to your iTunes purchases. This doesn't work
for navigating to Radio Streams or the iTunes Store,
but a playlist of radio streams will work.
HTH.
Cheers,
Esther
