Making Dedicated Shortcut Keys on Keyboard

Question

This is kind of an "out-there" question, as im very much hoping someone can answer it but not really sure im going to get a response i like but here we go.
I'm looking to set a key (e.g. F9), or a combo (e.g. Command+F9), to change to the next song on itunes no matter what program im in or doing.
I have wanted this because i like to keep the itunes screen closed while the music is playing and like to keep switching songs but hate having to either right click on the Dock icon or opening the whole screen.
Thanks, SaL

Answer 1

HI, Salvatore.
To do this you'll need two things:
1. An AppleScript to tell iTunes to advance to the next track. The following AppleScript will do the trick:<pre>tell application "iTunes"
next track
end tell</pre>To use the script:1.1. Launch Script Editor, which is in the Macintosh HD Applications > AppleScript folder.
1.2. Copy the three lines of blue text above and Paste these into the Script Editor window.
1.3. Click "Compile."
1.4. Select File > Save.
1.5. In the resulting Save sheet:• Type a name for the script (e.g. Next Tune).
• Select a location for saving the script, e.g. your desktop or your Home > Documents folder.
• Select "application" in the File Format pop-up menu.
• Click Save.The script is saved, e.g. NextTune on your desktop.
1.6. Test the script: start playing a playlist or album in iTunes. Double-click the script and see if it advances to the next song in the playlist / album.
Note that iTunes must already be running for this script to work.2. A third-party utility for creating your own global keyboard shortcuts, such as iKey or QuickKeys. With Mac OS X, you can't assign an AppleScript to a keyboard shortcut without using a third-party utility: this is unsupported in System Preferences > Keyboard and Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts.
Follow the instructions in the documentation for the third-party utility you choose to assign the script created in Step 1 above to your desired keyboard shortcut.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X