I have some long running scripts with breaks requiring input/interaction to continue but when I switch to another window I'd like to be notified (by sound) that a task is complete and now awaiting input.
I would prefer to be able to play an audio clip (*.mp3, *.ogg, etc.) but wouldn't care if the only solution is to make the PC Speaker beep noise.
Any ideas? I'm open to any CLI utilities I can install that play sounds that in turn I can execute when needed.
FYI: My System is running WinXP Pro.
UPDATE: Doh! My Windows > Control Panel > Sounds > Default Beep: was set to (none). Grrr...
Problem solved.
Try this:
echo ^G
(^G is obtained by ctrl+G).
Note: you can't copy and paste this code in a batch file, it won't work. To obtain a ^G character in a file, type in a cmd window:
echo ^G > beep.txt
(again, ^G is obtained by ctrl+G).
Then you'll have a file named beep.txt, open it with notepad, there will be a square character. This is our ^G once it is saved in a file.
You can then copy and paste it in a batch file to make a sound (don't forget to put "echo" in front of it).
This will make a beep from within bash
echo -en "\007"
spd-say
sleep 2; spd-say 'get back to work'
Infinite loop with -w if you need extra motivation:
sleep 2; while true; do spd-say -w 'get back to work'; done
Pre-installed on Ubuntu 14.04 via the package speech-dispatcher: http://releases.ubuntu.com/trusty/ubuntu-14.04.4-desktop-amd64.manifest for blind people I suppose?
See also: https://askubuntu.com/questions/277215/how-to-make-a-sound-once-a-process-is-complete
Also add a popup
This combo is a life saver, b stands for beep:
b() ( spd-say 'done'; zenity --info --text "$(date);$(pwd)" & )
and then:
super-slow-command;b
If I'm somewhere in the room, I'll hear it and know that the long job is done.
Otherwise, I'll see the popup when I get back to my computer.
Related: How to show a GUI message box from a bash script in linux?
Listen to your cooler
I'm joking of course, but for compilation I noticed that I use often use this queue subconsciously. When the cooler stops humming for a while, it means that the compilation is over!
copy con beep.bat [Enter]
@echo off [Enter]
echo [Ctrl+G] [Enter]
[Ctrl+Z] [Enter]
beep.bat [Enter]
By setting this variable as follows
PROMPT_COMMAND="echo -en '\a'"
then bash will beep every time it shows the prompt. When you do not need it anymore,
unset PROMPT_COMMAND
To play the system sound from Windows command line you can run:
rundll32 user32.dll,MessageBeep
It should work on all version of Windows.
