AppleScript Changes in iTunes 5.0

By Dave Caolo

Doug Adams has pointed out some changes that have been added to iTunes' scripting dictionary with iTunes 5. Specifically, updateAllPodcasts, updatePodcast, and download are three of the new commands.

Doug also notes that the special kind property of playlist now contains both a new "folder" and "Video" parameter. I'm not sure if this means that a video playlist is possible. I've created a smart playlist that searches for "Kind=Quicktime Movie," and that gets the job done for me, but I don't think that's what this Applescript parameter is referring to.

After reading this, I created a very simple "Update Podcasts" script that I've set as the alarm to a repeating weekday iCal event:

tell application "iTunes"
activate
    updateAllPodcasts
end tell

Very simple. It runs first thing in the morning on weekdays while I'm getting ready for work, so I've got some fresh content on my iPod for my commute. There's more, of course. Head over to Doug's site for the full list of changes. 

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