Python Volume control for Linux

!Volume.md

View vol-up.py & vol-down.py scripts, or Download ZIP

Normally, when you scroll up-and-down on the volume icon,
the volume jumps 5% every time. 😝

I've got a 600 watt 📻 Yamaha 6.1 surround system, with a 300 watt sub. 🔈
a 5% increase in volume from my 💻 PC is a huge increase in volume from the speakers 📣 ‼️

I'd imagine you can change the global scroll-wheel settings, 🐭
but then it would take forever 😰 to scroll up-and-down webpages and text 📋

So instead, I created my own Python volume script 😄

vol-up is essentially the same as vol-down,
with a slight difference: that it only goes 🔼 Up by 2%
whereas, it goes ⏬ Down by 6%

This was so that you get finer control over setting the volume you want,
without overshooting your desired goal. 🎯

Plus, giving you the ability to quickly 🔇 dim the volume when neccissary.

In XFCE, Settings > Keyboard > Application shortcuts:
I set these to the volume-up and down keys.

I also discarded the regular ↕️ mixer icon on the taskbar.

Replaced it with two launchers:
One with an arrow icon 🔽 pointing down, and one 🔼 up.

vol-down.py

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
##  ============================================
##  vol-down.py
##  Eli Innis  @Doyousketch2
##  < Doyousketch2 @ yahoo.com >
##  15 Dec, 2016
##
##  GNU GPLv3  www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
##  ============================================
##  libs  --------------------------------------

from Tkinter import Tk, Label
from subprocess import Popen, PIPE

##  ============================================
##  vars  --------------------------------------

fontsize = 16  ##  set font size
fontname = 'Balker'  ## use whatever system font we have available
amount = '6%-'  ##  set volume change here

window = Tk()  ##  access a tk window
width = window .winfo_screenwidth()  ##  get screenwidth
height = window .winfo_screenheight()  ##  get screenheight

##  ============================================
##  functs  ------------------------------------

##  run 'amixer' as a subprocess, then pipe the output
card = Popen(['amixer', 'sset', 'Master', amount], stdout = PIPE)

out = card .communicate()[0]  ##  we only need the first element returned
vol = str(out) .split('[')[1] .split(']')[0]
##  discard everything before open-bracket, discard everything after closing-bracket

if width > 1440:  ##  if dual-screen, don't place volume on second screen.
	window .geometry('%dx%d+%d+%d' % (fontsize * 4, fontsize * 1.5, 1000, height - 90))
else:  ##  (widget h x widget w + x pos + y pos)  ...no spaces tho.
	window .geometry('%dx%d+%d+%d' % (fontsize * 4, fontsize * 1.5, width - width / 5, height - 90))

window .overrideredirect(1)  ##  hide title
window .after(1000, lambda: window .destroy() )  ##  close it after a second

##  create widget on main window, with volume % as the text, specified font & size
widget = Label(window, text = vol, font = (fontname, fontsize))
widget .pack()  ##  pack the widget into the required area, so everything lines up

##  ============================================
##  main  --------------------------------------

window .mainloop()  ##  display widget on window

vol-up.py

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
##  ============================================
##  vol-up.py
##  Eli Innis  @Doyousketch2
##  < Doyousketch2 @ yahoo.com >
##  15 Dec, 2016
##
##  GNU GPLv3  www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
##  ============================================
##  libs  --------------------------------------

from Tkinter import Tk, Label
from subprocess import Popen, PIPE

##  ============================================
##  vars  --------------------------------------

fontsize = 16  ##  set font size
fontname = 'Balker'  ## use whatever system font we have available
amount = '2%+'  ##  set volume change here

window = Tk()  ##  access a tk window
width = window .winfo_screenwidth()  ##  get screenwidth
height = window .winfo_screenheight()  ##  get screenheight

##  ============================================
##  functs  ------------------------------------

##  run 'amixer' as a subprocess, then pipe the output
card = Popen(['amixer', 'sset', 'Master', amount], stdout = PIPE)

out = card .communicate()[0]  ##  we only need the first element returned
vol = str(out) .split('[')[1] .split(']')[0]
##  discard everything before open-bracket, discard everything after closing-bracket

if width > 1440:  ##  if dual-screen, don't place volume on second screen.
	window .geometry('%dx%d+%d+%d' % (fontsize * 4, fontsize * 1.5, 1000, height - 90))
else:  ##  (widget h x widget w + x pos + y pos)  ...no spaces tho.
	window .geometry('%dx%d+%d+%d' % (fontsize * 4, fontsize * 1.5, width - width / 5, height - 90))

window .overrideredirect(1)  ##  hide title
window .after(1000, lambda: window .destroy() )  ##  close it after a second

##  create widget on main window, with volume % as the text, specified font & size
widget = Label(window, text = vol, font = (fontname, fontsize))
widget .pack()  ##  pack the widget into the required area, so everything lines up

##  ============================================
##  main  --------------------------------------

window .mainloop()  ##  display widget on window