I'm using Firefox in version 39.0. My keyboard has Media Keys and I want to use
them for controlling sites like Soundcloud, Youtube, etc.
Is that possible?
firefoxkeyboardyoutube
I'm using Firefox in version 39.0. My keyboard has Media Keys and I want to use
them for controlling sites like Soundcloud, Youtube, etc.
Is that possible?
Best Answer
The Media Keys add-on does not work in Firefox version 57, because the developers have decided to remake Firefox into a Chrome clone. For November 2017, they have announced their intention to drop in Firefox 57 their current add-on format, now called "Legacy", in favor of WebExtensions, which in plain English are very similar to Google Chrome extensions.
This will in theory open most of the Chrome Store to Firefox users, but will invalidate all, and I do mean all, current add-ons whose developers will not convert in time to WebExtensions.
One can already see the problem in Firefox 56 by opening the Add-ons tool. The add-ons that will not work in version 57 are marked by a yellow LEGACY notice :
I have 46 add-ons in Firefox with which I have created the environment that is just right for me. All of them, except only one, are marked as legacy. The problem is much more general and extensive than you think.
Some possible solutions are listed below :
Ask the developers of your add-ons to make the effort of converting to WebExtensions.
Firefox 57 will include a "find similar extension" tool which might help to find replacement add-ons.
Abandon Firefox in favor of Chrome (I'm sure that a large percentage of Firefox users will follow this route).
Turn off updates and stay with Firefox 56 forever - not a real solution. One can also use here Firefox Portable.
Switch to Firefox ESR which will continue in version 56 until June 26, 2018, in the hope that someone will come up until then with a solution for running legacy add-ons in Firefox 57. This is not really much different from the above solution, except that critical updates will not be blocked.
Switch to Pale Moon, or Waterfox, both forked from Firefox, although not all add-ons are compatible.
None of these solutions is perfect, but I don't know of a better one at the moment. I think that the Firefox developers made a very stupid decision which will cost them a hefty chunk of their already eroding market share, but they are not asking for anybody's advice.
Another solution would be to use Chrome extensions in Firefox 57. The add-on Chrome Store Foxified already allows this.
From the article How many Chrome extensions will run in Firefox :
I have found the Chrome extension Streamkeys which according to its author does everything you asked for. However, not having Firefox 57, I don't know if it will work in it.
References :
A very light-weight solution for all browsers and versions, makes use of the following observations:
Specifically for youtube, a list of the hotkeys can be found in the article 30+ YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know. Some of the ones corresponding to the keyboard media keys are:
Spacebar - Pause/Play video (player focus required)
K key - Pause/Play video (doesn’t require focus)
↑ (Arrow key up) - Turn up volume 5%
↓ (Arrow key down) - Turn down volume 5%
Ctrl+→ - Move to next video (only in playlist)
Ctrl+← - Move to previous video (only in playlist)
These keyboard's media keys can be mapped to these keys using AutoHotkey. A list of AutoHotkey key-names is found in the article List of Keys, Mouse Buttons, and Joystick Controls.
An example of a AutoHotkey script for Youtube is:
The above script is completely untested, as my keyboard does not have these keys.