Hi Esther, Thanks so much for explaining all this. I hadn't really been following the Apple Scripts tread, figuring that was for users more advanced than I. :)
What about Anna's suggestion that this info can be found in the LCD area? I tried looking there, but only saw three items, Audiovisual, and a couple of others. But no play info. One of the buttons was something like Show Current Song. I did press this, but nothing seemed to happen. Best, Donna > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Esther > Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 5:58 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: finding playback position in ituens, was creating > ringtones > > > Hi Donna, > > This is Esther, not Simon. When you edit an iTunes track by using > "Get Info" (Command-I), then navigate to the Options pane and enter > values for the start and stop times, iTunes will start playing and > stop playing the track at those times. The whole track is still > there, so if you delete the entries in the start and stop time text > boxes, or type "0", when you save your changes the values will revert > to the defaults -- that is, the starting time will be 0, and the > ending time will be the playing time for your track. These values > only take effect if you start the track playing from the beginning and > do not have "Remember playback position" checked. If, for example, > you paused a track 15 seconds into it's play, then edited the start > time to be 00:20 (two zeros, followed by a colon, followed by 20 -- > for twenty seconds), when you start playing the track it will resume > play from the current position (15 seconds). > > When you create a new track, or burn to CD, iTunes uses the start and > stop time settings of your selected track to determine which parts of > a track you want to encode or burn. > > You do not have to have "Remember playback position" checked -- that > will start up playback where you last stopped, in the case that you're > in the middle of a track, and will ignore your start position. > > An easier way to make these adjustments is to get a copy of the > "RestartAt" AppleScript from Tim Kilburn's VoiceOver Downloads page at: > > http://homepage.mac.com/kilburns/voiceover/downloads.html > > This script brings up a dialog window and lets you start playing any > track in your iTunes library (including movies, Audible books, TV > shows, etc.) at the time you specify. AppleScripts work just like > regular menu commands, except that they show up in a special > AppleScript menu on the menu bar of your application. If this is the > first time you are using an AppleScript for iTunes you will have to > create the Scripts folder. > > 1. In Finder, use the "Go to Folder" shortcut Command-Shift-G and > either type or paste in: > ~/Library/iTunes > into the text field of the dialog window and then press return. > 2. Create a Scripts folder in this location. (I find this most > reliable from icon view, so optionally, press Command-1 to shift > Finder to icon view, then press Command-Shift-N, to create a new > Folder, and type in the name "Scripts" (without quotation marks and > with a capital "S")). > 3. In Safari navigate to Tim Kilburns' VoiceOver Downloads page: > http://homepage.mac.com/kilburns/voiceover/downloads.html > 4. Interact with the HTML page and use item chooser (VO-I) to find > "RestartAt", then VO-Right arrow to the download script link. > 5. Download the "restartatscript.zip" file. If you are unused to using > the Downloads directory and the Dock, you can use the context menu (VO- > Shift-M) and choose "Download linked file as ." then use Command-Shift- > D to make this go to your Desktop. (Another way to download is to > simply press Option-Return, which always forces a download of the > linked file to the default Downloads directory. You can bring up the > "Downloads" window in Safari with Command-Option-L. Interact with the > window and arrow down to your download. You can monitor progress of > the download if you interact with the group. Since this is a small > file, just VO-Right arrow to the "Show in Finder" button after > interacting with this download group and press it (VO-Space). This > will open a Finder window with the downloaded file highlighted. > 6. Double-click on the file with VO-Shift-Space to unzip it. (Hold > down Control, Option, and Shift keys and tap the space bar twice). > 7. Copy (Command-C) the RestartAt script file, navigate to the ~/ > Library/iTunes/Scripts/ folder, and paste the script in (Command-V). > > Scripts like your downloaded "RestartAt" AppleScript that are in this > ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts folder, will show up as an items in an > additional AppleScripts menu on your iTunes menu bar. The tilde at > the beginning of the folder path name indicates that this is a folder > under your account, so if you navigate to your home directory in > Finder with Command-Shift-H, you should be able to locate a folder > named "Library" which contains a folder named "iTunes" in which you > have created your "Scripts" folder, and where you will find your > RestartAt script. > > To use the RestartAt Applescript: > 1. Highlight a selected track in the songs table > 2. Press Return to start the track playing, then pause it by pressing > space bar. (You only need to do this the first time you play tracks > in the library, so that when you check the first status column for > your selection in the songs table you hear "status play targeted". If > you want to go back to the exact beginning you can press your left > arrow key while the track is paused.) > 3. Navigate with VO-M to the menu bar and left arrow twice. (The > AppleScripts menu is the silent spot to the left of the "Help" menu > and to the right of the "Window" menu.) Arrow down and press "R" to > go to "RestartAt" and press return. > 4. A dialog window will appear prompting you to enter a time between > the listed start and end times for the track. (These numbers are > always the start and end times for the full track, regardless of any > start or end times you have entered on the options pane.) The text > box will show the default start time. (This will reflect the start > time you set; in the case of an audiobook, it will be the bookmarked > last played position). > 5. Navigate (VO-Right arrow) to the text box and type in your desired > start time. This can be in a single number format like "3.56", "5", > "71", etc. where this will be taken to be the time in seconds, or you > can specify hours, minutes, and seconds by separating the numbers with > colons, e.g. "01:24.5" would be one minute and twenty-four point 5 > seconds. If you just press return, iTunes will start playing at the > default time (shown in the text box). > 6. You can pause the track by pressing the space bar, then stop > interacting in the songs table and VO-Up arrow to the player status > window (LCD Section). Interact and VO-Right arrow to hear the name of > the track announced and the elapsed time. Stop interacting and VO- > down arrow back to the songs table,interact, and navigate back to your > selected song. (The Command-L shortcut will highlight your currently > playing song, even when paused, and is a useful way to jump back.) > > Hope this helps. If you use this a lot it's even easier if you assign > a keyboard shortcut sequence to this AppleScript, but you would have > to do this with iTunes closed. > > HTH > > Cheers, > > Esther > > Donna Goodin wrote: > > > > > Hi Simon, > > > > Thanks so much for the help. I just want to make sure I > > understand. Is what you're saying that I need to set the start and > > stop positions, and then see what fragment of the song I end up > > with? I can see the total length of the song, so could make an > > approximate guess, but that seems like the hard way to do this. > > > > Also, should I have the " Remember playback position" checked? I > > checked it, but it doesn't seem to have helped. > > Thanks, > > Donna > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Simon Cavendish <[email protected]> > > Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 5:45 PM > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: creating ringtones > > > > > > Donna, > > > > I've only done it a few times so I may not remember but the trick is > - > > according to the steps I sent you - to go to the "get info" menu with > > command+i and then set the begin" and 'end" times of your ring-tone. > > It takes a bit of experimenting but once you set the begin and end > > points, it can be done well. As far as I can remember you have to > > check the start point position and - unless it is different from the > > very beginning point - you need to type in a value in seconds, and > > then set the end position. I remember having to go backwards and > > forwards setting various values to get the ring-tone I want. The > ring- > > tone mustn't be longer than 40 seconds. > > > > Hope this helps, Donna. I've no time to try and do it myself at the > > moment. But when I played with the instructions I had sent you, they > > were pretty good. > > > > Let me know how you are getting on. > > > > With best wishes, Simon > > On 7 Sep 2009, at 18:15, Donna Goodin wrote: > > > >> > >> Hi Simnon and all, > >> > >> Is there some way to get your playback position once you've gotten > to > >> the point in the song where you want to start the ringtone? > >> TIA, > >> Donna > >> On Sep 7, 2009, at 2:03 AM, Simon Cavendish wrote: > >> > >>> > >>> Hello, > >>> > >>> here are detailed instructions posted by a knowledgeable person on > >>> viphone list on how to create ring tones. i'm pasting them below. > >>> > >>> first of all, this can only be done with music you haven't > purchased > >>> from the itunes store. > >>> step by step instructions > >>> 1. open itunes > >>> 2. find the song you want to select for your ringtone. highlight it > >>> with your vo cursor. > >>> 3. press cmd--I to get info and go to the options tab. > >>> 4. check the start and end time boxes. [note, make sure you know > >>> where > >>> you want your start and end to be. this must be 40 seconds or less] > >>> once you've selected the allotted time, click OK. > >>> 5. go to advance and select create AAC version. this creates a > >>> duplicate of your selected song. > >>> 6. Now, the song you just created should be sitting below your > >>> original in the songs table as an aAC version. go to the original, > >>> you > >>> will know it's the original because the time is still the original > >>> length. Now you should get info again on the original track, > >>> ensuring > >>> the track is highlighted, and uncheck the boxes you checked > >>> previously. This will make sure your song is in tact. > >>> 7. Now highlight your duplicate song, the one you made for your > >>> ringtone, and hit cmd--c to copy. Paste it to your desk top and > >>> delete > >>> the duplicate in itunes. [this must be done or else the following > >>> steps will not work] > >>> 9. Rename the file on your desktop, with the m4r extension. all you > >>> need to do is hit enter/return on the file on the desktop and go to > >>> the end of the file name, deleting the m4a and typing m4r. > >>> 11. go back to itunes and hit add to library cmd--o. find your new > >>> ringtone on the desktop and import it. > >>> 12. go to your ringtones playlist and it should be there. > >>> 13. sync your iphone. > >>> > >>> > >>> On 7 Sep 2009, at 06:27, Woody Anna Dresner wrote: > >>> > >>>> > >>>> Hi Donna, > >>>> > >>>> What I would do is use a program like amadeus Pro to select the > >>>> segment of a track you want to use as a ringtone, copy it to a > >>>> separate file, save that file in AAC format, and change the > >>>> extension > >>>> from M4A to M4R. I think Amadeus Pro might be able to save as a > >>>> ringtone, so you wouldn't need to make the extension change. > >>>> > >>>> HTH, > >>>> Anna > >>>> > >>>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>> > >>>> > >>> > >> > >> > >>> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.13.83/2353 - Release Date: > 09/08/09 06:48:00 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
