Synergy Advance help: hot keys
Synergy Advance features a powerful and flexible hot key engine that allows you to define system-wide global hot key combinations for a large number of functions. By pressing the desired hot key combination you can trigger an action regardless of the active or frontmost application. This enables you to control your audio without interrupting your workflow.
To use hot keys make sure the "Enable Hot Keys" checkbox in the Hot Keys preferences pane of Synergy Advance is activated. If desired you can also limit hot keys so that they only operate while iTunes is running by checking the "Only when iTunes is running" checkbox.
The system allows you to select almost any combination of normal keys (for example, letter keys, number keys, function keys and so forth) plus zero or more modifier keys (allowed modifier keys are Shift, Control, Option, Command, and the "fn" key that appears on most recent PowerBook keyboards). The modifier keys are optional but in most cases it is a good idea to use at least one modifier key to minimize clashes with other applications that try to use the same keys. For example, it would be unwise to set the "Space" key as a hot key without a modifier; if you did so then you would trigger the hot key's action every time you pressed the space bar! In the case of the function keys (F1, F2 and so forth) you may decide to set modifierless combinations for the sake of convenience, but be aware that applications often compete for these keys and there may be conflicts; for example, Apple by default assigns many function keys to Exposé functions, system volume control and screen brightness on some systems.
Limitations
There are some keys on the keyboard which cannot be used in hot key combinations because Mac OS X intercepts them at a very low level and does not pass them on to applications even when they are pressed in conjunction with modifier keys. These include the keys for increasing, decreasing or muting the system volume and the eject button which which appear on most recent Apple keyboards.
You can define multiple hot keys for a single action (for example, you might decide that you want to use Command-F1 or Shift-Command-Space to start playback) but you cannot use the same hot key to trigger multiple actions (for example, you cannot use Command-F1 to both raise the iTunes volume and skip to the next track). This limitation is in place to disallow contradictory definitions (for example, what would happen if the same key was supposed to both raise the rating and lower it?). If you try to define a hot key that is already in use for another action in Synergy Advance the previously defined hot key will be unassigned from the old action and reassigned to the new action. A warning is displayed in the user interface when this occurs.
Hot Keys options
Enable Hot Keys
This checkbox is used to turn Synergy Advance's hot key support on and off.
Only when iTunes is running
You can further control whether the Synergy Advance hot keys should be active with this checkbox. When checked, Synergy Advance's hot keys will only be enabled if iTunes is running and you have checked the "Enable Hot Keys" checkbox. Otherwise hot key support will be inactive.
Extra visual feedback for Hot Keys
You can use this checkbox to turn on additional visual feedback bezels when pressing selected hot keys. The feedback is displayed in the form of a semi-transparent bezel that matches the styling and appearance of Apple's bezels (which you see when you adjust the system volume, screen brightness, or turn muting on or off using the specially marked function keys on Apple keyboards). Affected hot keys include "Play/Pause", "Next", "Back", "Previous", "Increase rating", "Decrease rating", "Increase volume", "Decrease volume", "Toggle Shuffle", "Cycle Repeat Mode", "Toggle Muting", "Toggle Equalizer", "Skip forwards", "Skip backwards", "Enable/Disable Track in iTunes", "Play", "Pause", "Stop", "Fast Forward", "Rewind", "Resume", "Rate zero stars", "Rate one star", "Rate two stars", "Rate three stars", "Rate four stars", "Rate five stars", "Turn Shuffle On", "Turn Shuffle Off", "Repeat None", "Repeat All", "Repeat One", "Turn Muting On", "Turn Muting Off", "Turn Equalizer On", "Turn Equalizer Off", "Enable (check) Track in iTunes" and "Disable (uncheck) Track in iTunes".
iTunes controls
Play/Pause
Tells iTunes to "Play/Pause". If already playing it will enter a paused state. If paused it will enter a playing state.
If desired you can also use the 'Prefer "play" and "pause" over "playpause"' setting in the "Advanced" pane of the Synergy Advance preferences to fine-tune the behaviour of this hot key. Basically, you can force Synergy Advance to send "play" and "pause" commands to iTunes rather than "playpause" commands, thus working around a bug in the iTunes "playpause" implementation. See the documentation for the "Advanced" preferences for more information.
Next
Tells iTunes to move to the next track in the current playlist. The exact behaviour of this action depends on what kind of playlist is current in iTunes and which track is currently selected. For example, in the case of Internet Radio stations performing the "Next" action will move to the next station in the list.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes iTunes to fast forward within the current track. iTunes will continue to fast forward until you release the hot key or until the end of the track is reached, whichever comes first. Note that there are some types of track for which the fast forward action does not work (Internet Radio tracks, for example).
Back
Tells iTunes to move back. If already at the start of a track iTunes will try to move to the previous track. If midway through a track iTunes will move back to the start of the track. As is the case with the "Next" action the behaviour of this hot key depends on the playlist type and the currently selected track.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes iTunes to rewind within the current track. iTunes will continue to rewind until you release the hot key or until the beginning of the track is reached, whichever comes first. Note that there are some types of track for which the rewind action does not work (Internet Radio tracks, for example).
Previous
Tells iTunes to play the previous track.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes iTunes to rewind within the current track. iTunes will continue to rewind until you release the hot key or until the beginning of the track is reached, whichever comes first. Note that there are some types of track for which the rewind action does not work (Internet Radio tracks, for example).
Next album
Tells iTunes to skip forwards within the current playlist to the first track of the next album. Takes no action if there is no next album. In the current implementation only "file" tracks are considered (this means tracks that are physically located on your disk). Tracks stored elsewhere (such as on shared playlists, iPods, CDs or Internet radio tracks) are not considered while determing what is the next album.
Previous album
Tells iTunes to skip backwards within the current playlist to the first track of the previous album. Takes no action if there is no previous album. In the current implementation only "file" tracks are considered (this means tracks that are physically located on your disk). Tracks stored elsewhere (such as on shared playlists, iPods, CDs or Internet radio tracks) are not considered while determing what is the previous album.
Increase rating
Tells iTunes to increase the rating of the current track. Note that there are some types of track for which iTunes will not accept ratings (for example, Internet Radio tracks). It is possible to use the advanced preferences to customize how much the rating should increase each time you press this hot key.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes the rating to continue incrementing until you release the hot key. You can use the advanced preferences to control the amount of time that should pass before the press-and-hold action should take effect.
Decrease rating
Tells iTunes to decrease the rating of the current track.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes the rating to continue decrementing until you release the hot key. You can use the advanced preferences to control the amount of time that should pass before the press-and-hold action should take effect.
Increase volume
Tells iTunes to increase its current playback volume. It is possible to use the advanced preferences to customize how much the volume should increase each time you press this hot key.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes the volume to continue increasing until you release the hot key. You can use the advanced preferences to control the amount of time that should pass before the press-and-hold action should take effect.
Decrease volume
Tells iTunes to decrease its current playback volume.
This hot key differentiates between simple presses and press-and-hold actions. In the case of a simple press it behaves as already described. In the case of a press-and-hold it causes the volume to continue decreasing until you release the hot key. You can use the advanced preferences to control the amount of time that should pass before the press-and-hold action should take effect.
Toggle Shuffle
Tells iTunes to toggle the current shuffle setting. If shuffle mode is currently turned on it will be turned off; if it is off it will be turned on. Note there are some types of playlist for which it is not possible to change the shuffle mode (for example, when listening to Internet radio).
Cycle Repeat Mode
Tells iTunes to cycle to the next repeat mode of the current playlist. By pressing this hot key repeatedly you can cycle through all three possible settings ("repeat off", "repeat all" and "repeat one").
Toggle Muting
Tells iTunes to toggle the current muting setting. If muting is currently activated it will be turned off; if it is deactivated it will be turned on.
Toggle Equalizer
Tells iTunes to toggle the equalizer from on to off, or from off to on.
Show/Equalizer Window
Tells iTunes to show the equalizer window if it is not currently showing; otherwise hides the equalizer window.
Toggle Visualizer
Tells iTunes to turn the visualizer on if it is currently off, and off if it is currently on.
Toggle Visualizer Fullscreen
Tells iTunes to enable fullscreen mode for the visualizer if it is not already enabled; otherwise it disables fullscreen mode. Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on or off; it merely sets whether it should use the fullscreen when activated.
Cycle Visualizer Size
Tells iTunes to cycle to the next visualizer size setting. By pressing this hot key repeatedly you can cycle the visualizer size through all three possible settings (small, medium and large). Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on or off; it merely sets the size used by the visualizer when activated.
Skip forwards
Tells iTunes to skip forwards within the current track by a predetermined number of seconds (the default is 3 seconds but you can change this in the advanced preferences). If skipping forwards causes iTunes to come to the end of the current track then it will move to the beginning of the next track. There are some track types (such as Internet Radio streams) for which pressing this hot key will have no effect. The main purpose of this hot key combination is to assist people who use iTunes to perform transcription work.
Skip backwards
Tells iTunes to skip backwards within the current track by a predetermined number of seconds. If skipping backwards causes iTunes to come to the beginning of the current track then it will not attempt to move to the previous track.
Enable/Disable Track in iTunes
Tells iTunes to toggle the enabled status of the currently playing track in iTunes. This is equivalent to using the mouse to click the checkbox that appears next to the track in its playlist. Note that there are some tracks for which this hot key will have no effect (for example, when listening to Internet Radio).
Show/Hide iTunes
If iTunes is not frontmost then pressing this hot key will cause it to come to the front. Pressing again will cause it to hide.
Bring iTunes to Front
Tells iTunes to come to the front. If it is hidden it will unhide and come to the front.
Launch/Quit iTunes
Tells iTunes to quit if it is running; if it is not running then pressing the hot key launches iTunes.
Advanced iTunes controls
These additional controls are for users who want more precise control over iTunes than that provided by the controls listed above. Some of these actions may be redundant, depending on the hot keys you define in the list above. For example, most users will elect to define a hot key for the "Play/Pause" action above rather than defining two separate hot keys for the actions "Play" and "Pause" below.
Play
Tells iTunes to start playing.
Pause
Tells iTunes to pause. Note that there is a bug in the current version of iTunes (4.7.1) in which telling iTunes to "pause" is actually interpreted as "play/pause". So if you define a hot key combination for Pause and press the combination several times iTunes will pause, then play, then pause, then play and so forth. If this behaviour is undesirable to you you should file a bug report with Apple.
Stop
Tells iTunes to stop.
Fast Forward
Tells iTunes to fast forward within the current track. iTunes will continue to fast forward for as long this hot key is maintained in the pressed position or until it reaches the end of the current track, whichever comes first.
Rewind
Tells iTunes to rewind within the current track. iTunes will continue to rewind for as long this hot key is maintained in the pressed position or until it reaches the beginning of the current track, whichever comes first.
Resume
Tells iTunes to resume normal playback if it is currently rewinding or fast forwarding, otherwise has no effect.
Rate zero stars
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current track to zero stars. Note that there are some types of track for which it is not possible to set ratings (for example, Internet Radio tracks).
Rate one star
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current rack to one star.
Rate two stars
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current rack to two stars.
Rate three stars
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current rack to three stars.
Rate four stars
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current rack to four stars.
Rate five stars
Tells iTunes to set the rating of the current rack to five stars.
Turn Shuffle On
Tells iTunes to turn shuffle mode on. Note there are some types of playlist for which it is not possible to change the shuffle mode (for example, when listening to Internet Radio).
Turn Shuffle Off
Tells iTunes to turn shuffle mode off.
Repeat None
Tells iTunes to set the repeat mode for the current playlist to "repeat none".
Repeat All
Tells iTunes to set the repeat mode for the current playlist to "repeat all".
Repeat One
Tells iTunes to set the repeat mode for the current playlist to "repeat one".
Turn Muting On
Tells iTunes to turn muting on.
Turn Muting Off
Tells iTunes to turn muting off.
Turn Equalizer On
Tells iTunes to turn the equalizer on.
Turn Equalizer Off
Tells iTunes to turn the equalizer off.
Show Equalizer Window
Tells iTunes to show the equalizer window (if it is not already onscreen).
Hide Equalizer Window
Tells iTunes to hide the equalizer window (if it is onscreen).
Turn Visualizer On
Tells iTunes to turn the visualizer off.
Turn Visualizer Off
Tells iTunes to turn the visualizer on.
Turn Visualizer Fullscreen On
Tells iTunes to turn on the fullscreen mode of the visualizer. Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on; it merely specifies that it should use the fullscreen when activated.
Turn Visualizer Fullscreen Off
Tell iTunes to turn off the fullscreen mode of the visualizer.
Visualizer Size Small
Tell iTunes to set the visualizer size to small. Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on; it merely specifies the size it should use when activated.
Visualizer Size Medium
Tell iTunes to set the visualizer size to medium. Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on; it merely specifies the size it should use when activated.
Visualizer Size Large
Tell iTunes to set the visualizer size to large. Note that this hot key does not turn the visualizer on; it merely specifies the size it should use when activated.
Enable (check) Track in iTunes
Tells iTunes to enable the currently playing track in iTunes. This is equivalent to using the mouse to click and check the checkbox that appears next to the track in its playlist. Note that there are some tracks for which this hot key will have no effect (for example, when listening to Internet Radio).
Disable (uncheck) Track in iTunes
Tells iTunes to disable the currently playing track in iTunes. This is equivalent to using the mouse to click and uncheck the check box that appears next to the track in its playlist.
Show iTunes
Tells iTunes to show itself.
Hide iTunes
Tells iTunes to hide itself.
Launch iTunes
Launches iTunes if it is not already running. Pressing this hot key combination is equivalent to double-clicking on the iTunes application icon in the Finder, so if iTunes is already running when the hot key is pressed it will come to the front and become the active application.
Quit iTunes
Quits iTunes if it is running.
iChat controls
Toggle iChat Away Status
Tells iChat to toggle the current status to "Away" if already online and Available. If offline or Away sets the status to "Available".
Show/Hide iChat
If iChat is not frontmost then pressing this hot key will cause it to come to the front. Pressing again will cause it to hide.
Bring iChat to Front
Tells iChat to come to the front. If it is hidden it will unhide and come to the front.
Launch/Quit iChat
Tells iChat to quit if it is running; if it is not running then pressing the hot key launches iChat.
Advanced iChat controls
These additional controls are for users who want more precise control over iChat than that provided by the controls listed above. Some of these actions may be redundant, depending on the hot keys you define in the list above. For example, most users will elect to define a hot key for the "Toggle iChat Away Status" action above rather than defining two separate hot keys for the actions "Set iChat Away status" and "Set iChat Available status" below.
Set iChat Away status
Tells iChat to set the status to "Away".
Set iChat Available status
Tells iChat to set the status to "Available".
Set iChat Offline status
Tells iChat to set the status to "Offline".
Show iChat
Tells iChat to show itself.
Hide iChat
Tells iChat to hide itself.
Launch iChat
Launches iChat if it is not already running. Pressing this hot key combination is equivalent to double-clicking on the iChat application icon in the Finder, so if iChat is already running when the hot key is pressed it will come to the front and become the active application.
Quit iChat
Quits iChat if it is running.
Growl controls
Displays a Growl notification containing information about the currently playing track. In order to see Growl notifications you must have Growl installed and running (see Growl website for information on downloading, installing and running Growl) and you must have Growl set up to not ignore "iTunes information (hot key)" notifications from Synergy Advance (by default Growl displays all notifications but it is possible to ignore some or all notifications from specific applications by configuration the Growl preference pane).
Synergy Advance controls
Show/Hide Global Menu
Add the Synergy Advance Global Menu to the menu bar if it is not already present; if it is present then remove it from the menu bar.
Pop Up Global Menu
If the Synergy Advance Global Menu is present in the menu bar but inactive pressing this hot key causes it to pop up and become active; you can then navigate the menu using the keyboard, trigger the action of the currently highlighted menu item using the Return or Enter keys, and cancel menu tracking by pressing the Escape key. Note that due to the way this system dispatches hot key events the hot key can only pop up the Global Menu, it cannot be used to dimiss it (instead you must use the Escape key or select a menu item and press Return/Enter); this is because hot key events are queued up during menu tracking and Synergy Advance does not receive them until after the menu has been dismissed.
Quit Synergy Advance
Causes Synergy Advance to quit.
