Remote control iTunes with the mouse
We already looked at Butler as an application and bookmark launcher. We also used it to create a multi item clipboard.
Today the exploration of Butler goes on. We will learn how to use its Hot Corner feature to remote control iTunes with the mouse.
If you don’t have Butler yet, follow this tutorial on how to install it.
Let’s start by bringing up Butler’s preferences. Press the default control-space to launch the abbreviation window, followed by command - , (comma) to bring up the settings.
Alternatively you can use the little computer icon in the menu bar, that Butler created. Go to Butler > Preferences.
Now go to the Configuration and expand the Music area by clicking the small triangle in front of it.
The content of this Music item, is what is presented to you, when you select Music from the Butler’s computer icon in the menu bar.
Of course, you could use this menu item to control iTunes only with your mouse. But this item is deep in the menu structure and is not very accessible.
So, back the Music item in Butler’s configuration tab.
First, let’s open up the sub folder Controls. You see the three controls, Start/Stop, Previous track, Next track:
You also see, that there are pre-defined keyboard shortcuts, such as control-option-Space for Start/Stop. While you can use these right away, we are more interested in the Hot Corner area, visible in the right pane.
Hot Corner
You see that every corner has two, so-called Radio buttons. In this case the left represents a regular click, while the right one represents a control-click. You also see the options for the modifier keys: shift, control, alt/option and command. More on that later.
Hint: The symbols you see are used throughout Mac OS X, so it’s good to try to remember them. For a complete overview of the special keys on a Mac keyboard, please read this post.
For this tutorial we will set up the following Hot Corners.
- A click in the upper left corner of the screen (to the left of the Apple menu) will trigger Play/Pause.
- A click in the lower left corner of the screen will trigger Previous track.
- A click in the lower right corner of the screen will trigger Next track.
Setting up the Controls using Hot Corners
Click the Start/Stop item, so it’s highlighted. Now go over to the Hot Corners area and click the left of the two buttons in the upper left corner.
Now we could activate a modifier key (e.g. command). Checking the icon for the command key, would mean the click is only recognized, if the command key is pressed at the same time. We want direct control, so we pick nothing here.
To unset a Hot Corner, just click it again.
Now, do the same for the Previous track and Next track controls. Previous track in the lower left corner and next track in the lower right corner. Feels quite natural.
What about the built-in Screen Corner feature of Mac OS X?
If you already using Mac OS X’s built-in Screen corner feature, as described here, to start the screensaver, trigger Exposé or Spaces from a corner of the screen, you don’t need to worry.
Simply use one of the modifier keys. Pressing a modifier key before you move the mouse pointer to a screen corner will NOT activate the built-in function of Mac OS X and give you the chance to trigger iTunes.
Usage
As you move your mouse to the edge of the screen a small blue triangle will pop up at the edge, indicating it’s a Hot Corner.
Now try it out. Simply click in the upper left corner to make iTunes start playing. iTunes doesn’t need to be open at all, Butler will start it for you. Advance one track by clicking in the lower right corner, go back one track by clicking in the lower left corner.
Since iTunes will not get activated by using Hot Corners you can continue your work uninterrupted, while you stay in control of your tunes.
Enjoy.
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Tags: Butler, freeware, iTunes, keyboard, mouse, productivity, shortcuts
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