Take Five

Command Line Preferences

Setting the Preferences

The settings described below can only be changed using the command line in a Terminal window. The general form for the command to add a preference is as follows:

defaults write com.iconfactory.mac.TakeFive [parameter] [type] [value]

If you want to go back to the default preference, use a command like this:

defaults delete com.iconfactory.mac.TakeFive [parameter]

After changing one of the preferences, you need to restart Take Five.

Available Preferences

The parameter names and types are shown below:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
fadeOutDelay	-integer	4	Seconds to display the window before fading out.
timerEndingReminder	-integer	10	Seconds before timer ends to display reminder.
windowAnimationDuration	-float	0.15	Seconds for the window fade animation.

So to change the fade out delay from 4 seconds to 2 seconds, you'd use this command:

defaults write com.iconfactory.mac.TakeFive fadeOutDelay -integer 2

Take Five API

Overview

Take Five communicates with audio applications using AppleScript. By default, Take Five controls iTunes, but any application that includes an AppleScript dictionary with support for a few common commands can be used as well.

Many popular applications, such as Ecoute, Pulsar, Radium, Rdio, Spotify, and Sonora have added support for Take Five by implementing this simple AppleScript API.

Installation

Applications that support the Take Five API include a small .scpt file in the user's Home > Library > Application Support > Take Five folder. The script file contains functions that Take Five calls when it needs to information from the audio application (such as track names and artwork) or when it needs to control the application (like pausing the music or adjusting the sound levels.)

You can open default scripts using the AppleScript Editor to see what the API looks like. These scripts are read at launch, so if you're developing a new script you'll need to quit and relaunch Take Five after any edits.

Implementing AppleScript Support

If you're the developer of an audio application, implementing AppleScript support can seem like a daunting task. To help you out, we're providing a SilentPlayer application as a part of the Take Five SDK.

SilentPlayer is a simple application that acts like a music player—it does everything except make noise (hence the name.) Since the focus of the app is with the playback control and scripting interface, it's easy to see what you need to add.

For more information, please download the SDK and take a look at the README file.