Can the Dictation key pause Spotify instead of muting it

[Swin]

When you press the dictation key, it mutes any sound on your computer. I’d like to create a macro that pauses stuff like Spotify in the background when the dictation key is pressed, but am unsure if it’s possible. When I tried to create one, it just made the dictation key unresponsive

[kevinb]

@Swin

a macro that pauses stuff like Spotify in the background

This macro may well be of interest (I have not tried it):

Controlling my music in "Music/iTunes" & Spotify at the same time

Here’s the macro I use for pausing/resuming a variety of media players. I have used it with Apple Music, TV, QuickTime Player, VLC, Spotify and Podcasts. Right now, the AppleScript portions that control Spotify, VLC and Podcast apps are commented out because I do not have those applications installed currently. You will need to uncomment them if you want to use those apps, and comment out any portions for the apps you don’t use. You must comment out (or delete) portions that refer to apps you d…

@Swin

When I tried to create one, it just made the dictation key unresponsive

You could instead turn on dictation from within your macro. Your macro could include a select or show a menu item action to turn dictation on. Set it up with the following values:

Select menu in: Front Application
Menu Title: Edit
Menu Item: Start Dictation...

You could trigger your macro with your choice of hotkey, and that could probably even be the standard "dictation" key if you wanted (I do not have that key on my keyboard, so I can't say for sure).

I might even guess that your macro clashed with the Mac Dictation key because you were trying to use the same hotkey for both – but of course I haven't seen your macro.