Media keys on wireless keyboard

sliberty · 12-31-2012, 01:21 PM

How does one control which apps the media keys will affect?

For example, when I am using Cog to listen to music, if I press pause, the song pauses, but ITunes also launches (which I certainly didn't want at that moment).

Is there an interface, or a utility app I can use to have more control over all of this?

Thanks,
Steve

NaOH · 12-31-2012, 01:46 PM

The media keys are designed with built-in capabilities in mind. The fact that Cog also uses them is because the developer chose to enable that.

There are two easy things to check. One is the Cog preferences, in case it allows some finer-grained control. The other thing to try is going to System Preferences > Keyboard and unchecking the option for Use All F1, F2, Etc. Keys As Standard Function Keys. That will make it so the FN key will also need to be held when pressing an FKey for the built-in functions to perform, but I have no idea if Cog will still behave as you want in that setup.

sliberty · 12-31-2012, 01:53 PM

Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately. now, I have to press Fn for the media keys to work, and they still invoke ITunes. So that didn't help. it was worth a try though.

Cog does have it's own hotkeys that serve in the same way as the media keys - I was just hoping to not have to memorize yet another set of hot keys

ANd they only seem to work when Cog is the selected app. Not in the background.

Thanks again,
Steve

NaOH · 12-31-2012, 02:02 PM

A paid option would be Keyboard Maestro (US $36). I use it for similar functionality and much more. I have the built-in functionality of the FKeys are set to require I hold FN. But pressing an FKey alone is assigned any number of tasks which I configure using Keyboard Maestro. I've even got the Eject Key on my laptop essentially acting more like an F13. There is a 30-day trial available if you want to give it a shot without committing any money.

Similar to Keyboard Maestro, but technically a beta and apparently no longer in development, is Spark. Last time I tried it under 10.7 it worked fine, but I can't remember if it will allow you to do what you'd like.

There's also the US $8 Shortcuts, but I haven't used it so I can't say if it will help for this.

NaOH · 12-31-2012, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaOH


	The other thing to try is going to System Preferences > Keyboard and unchecking the option for Use All F1, F2, Etc. Keys As Standard Function Keys. That will make it so the FN key will also need to be held when pressing an FKey for the built-in functions to perform, but I have no idea if Cog will still behave as you want in that setup.

I wrote the above incorrectly. See how things behave with that option in System Preferences checked.

12-31-2012, 01:21 PM	#1
sliberty Prospect Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 49	Media keys on wireless keyboard How does one control which apps the media keys will affect? For example, when I am using Cog to listen to music, if I press pause, the song pauses, but ITunes also launches (which I certainly didn't want at that moment). Is there an interface, or a utility app I can use to have more control over all of this? Thanks, Steve

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12-31-2012, 01:46 PM	#2
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	The media keys are designed with built-in capabilities in mind. The fact that Cog also uses them is because the developer chose to enable that. There are two easy things to check. One is the Cog preferences, in case it allows some finer-grained control. The other thing to try is going to System Preferences > Keyboard and unchecking the option for Use All F1, F2, Etc. Keys As Standard Function Keys. That will make it so the FN key will also need to be held when pressing an FKey for the built-in functions to perform, but I have no idea if Cog will still behave as you want in that setup.

12-31-2012, 01:53 PM	#3
sliberty Prospect Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: East Brunswick, NJ Posts: 49	Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately. now, I have to press Fn for the media keys to work, and they still invoke ITunes. So that didn't help. it was worth a try though. Cog does have it's own hotkeys that serve in the same way as the media keys - I was just hoping to not have to memorize yet another set of hot keys ANd they only seem to work when Cog is the selected app. Not in the background. Thanks again, Steve

12-31-2012, 02:02 PM	#4
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	A paid option would be Keyboard Maestro (US $36). I use it for similar functionality and much more. I have the built-in functionality of the FKeys are set to require I hold FN. But pressing an FKey alone is assigned any number of tasks which I configure using Keyboard Maestro. I've even got the Eject Key on my laptop essentially acting more like an F13. There is a 30-day trial available if you want to give it a shot without committing any money. Similar to Keyboard Maestro, but technically a beta and apparently no longer in development, is Spark. Last time I tried it under 10.7 it worked fine, but I can't remember if it will allow you to do what you'd like. There's also the US $8 Shortcuts, but I haven't used it so I can't say if it will help for this.