Multiple Choice Dialogs

Bunch’s multiple choice interactivity feature can make this example a simpler process, but it serves as a demonstration of using external scripting to provide a multiple choice menu. It can be used to extend beyond the basic menuing that Bunch provides.

Selecting A Spotify Playlist

Here’s an example using from script frontmatter to let you pick from your favorite Spotify playlists or perform a Spotify search.

The script is in JavaScript (for Automation) and saved in a scripts folder inside my Bunch folder. I can reference it with the relative path scripts/ChoosePlaylist.applescript.

The script would take some modification with your own playlists and titles, but would be easy to change:

#!/usr/bin/osascript -l JavaScript

var app = Application.currentApplication()
app.includeStandardAdditions = true

var playlists = {
    "Mellow": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E35F7NsH3aWbs",
    "Pop": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E39mpAvbgovri",
    "Punk": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E3930Ag6USpnA",
    "Indie": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E39UzhnpcOJqd",
    "Metal": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E35o96rAfTenf",
    "Rock": "spotify:​playlist:37i9dQZF1E38gxK1HWfQU0",
    "Search": ""
}


var list = app.chooseFromList(Object.keys(playlists), {
    withPrompt: "What to play?",
    defaultItems: ["Search"]})[0];

if (list === undefined) {
    'spotify url: spotify:'
} else if (playlists[list] === "") {
  var search = app.displayDialog("What to search for?", {
    defaultAnswer: "",
    buttons: ["Cancel", "Search"],
    defaultButton: "Search"
  });
  `spotify url: spotify:​search:${encodeURIComponent(search.textReturned)}`
} else {
  `spotify url: ${playlists[list]}`
}

The above script offers a list with the keys from the playlists object. If you cancel, it outputs Spotify’s base url handler, ‘spotify:’. If you select “Search,” it pops up a second dialog asking for a search string, then formats that into a URL encoded Spotify URL for searching. If you pick a playlist, it returns the value for that key, which is already a full Spotify URI.

Now create a Bunch that just contains:

---
title: 🎵Listen
from script: scripts/ChoosePlaylist.applescript
---
Silicio
<<#Search Spotify
___
---[Search Spotify]---
Spotify
- ${spotifyurl}

When the Bunch is opened, it runs the above script and stores the spotifyurl variable. The embedded snippet launches Spotify and passes the URL to it. Having Silicio and Spotify in the Bunch means that when I close it, both apps quit, making music listening easy to manage. You could also add automation for setting audio devices and volumes, running Moom to position windows, etc.

---
title: 🎵Listen
from script: scripts/ChoosePlaylist.applescript
---
(audio output Komplete Audio)
Silicio
<<#Search Spotify
___
-[Search Spotify]
Spotify
- ${spotifyurl}
# Alternatively to the file parameter,
# you could use this to start playing immediately:
# * tell app "Spotify" to play track "${spotifyurl}"