How to Put iTunes on a Timer

Each of these options lets you shut down down iTunes after a predetermined period of time.

Many people enjoy listening to music as they fall asleep. What most do not enjoy, however, is waking up in the middle of the night to the music still playing. By default, Apple's iTunes media player does not come with a sleep timer option. If you want to put iTunes on a timer, you have a number of options at your disposal, including a dashboard widget and Apple script if you are a Mac user, and a third-party application if you are a Windows user.

Instructions

ITunes Timer Dashboard Widget

1. Open the Mac computer's Web browser and navigate to Apple's Dashboard Downloads website.

2. Click the "Music" option beneath the "Categories" heading, followed by the "iTunes Timer" option beneath the "Widget" heading. Click the "Download" button to download the widget .ZIP file.

3. Double-click the widget .ZIP file to unzip the file. Double-click the unzipped widget file and click the "Install" button when prompted to install the widget. Click the "Keep" button when prompted to place the widget in the computer's Dashboard.

4. Double-click the iTunes application icon to launch the application. Click the "Play" button to begin playing a song from the iTunes Library.

5. Click the "Dashboard" icon in the computer's dock. Slide the iTunes Timer slider to the desired time limit and click the green button to start the timer. When the timer runs out, iTunes will stop playing.

Apple Script

1. Open the Mac computer's Web browser and navigate to the My Web Sights Apple Scripts Web page. Click the "Download" link next to the "ITunes Sleep Timer" heading to download the Apple script file.

2. Click the "Finder" icon in the computer's dock, followed by the "Library" folder icon. Click the "iTunes" folder icon. Right-click and select the "New Folder" option from the context menu. Name the new folder "Scripts."

3. Double-click the Apple script file you downloaded in Step 1. Place the "iTunes Sleep Timer" file into the "Scripts" file you created in Step 2.

4. Double-click the iTunes application icon to launch the application. Click the "Scripts" icon in the iTunes menu bar and select the "iTunes Sleep Timer" option from the Scripts menu.

5. Type the amount of time, in minutes, after which you want iTunes to stop in the space provided. Click the "OK" button to start the timer. ITunes will now shut down after the allotted amount of time elapses.

Abbie's Sleep Timer

1. Open the Windows computer's Web browser and navigate to the Abbie's Sleep Timer website. Click the "Download" link beneath the "Download" heading to download the program onto your computer.

2. Double-click the program's install file and follow the onscreen instructions to install the program onto the computer.

3. Double-click the "iTunes" application icon to launch the application. Click the "Play" button to begin playing the music in your iTunes Library.

4. Double-click the "Abbie's Sleep Timer" program icon to launch the program. Click the drop-down menu next to the "Sleep In..." heading and select the timer length from the drop-down menu.

5. Click the "Start" button to start the timer. When the timer runs out, the iTunes application will stop playing music.

Resources

• Apple: Dashboard Downloads
• My Web Sights: Apple Scripts
• Eph Pod: Abbie's Sleep Timer