Tutorial 9: Internet Radio with Quill Radio

In this tutorial you will play a radio station, save it as a favorite, learn the keys that work from anywhere, and record a few seconds of a show. It takes about fifteen minutes. Every step tells you what to press and what you should hear.

Internet radio has its own app in the QUILL family, called Quill Radio. It is free. If you don't have it yet, download Quill Radio and install it first. If you have QUILL, you can also find it on QUILL's QuillVille menu.

1. Play your first station

  1. Open Quill Radio from the Start Menu. Press the Windows key, type Quill Radio, and press Enter.
  2. The first time, a short welcome opens. Press Alt+N to move through its three screens, or press Escape to skip it.
  3. Focus is now in your favorites list. It is empty for now, and that is fine.
  4. Press Ctrl+B to open Browse Stations. Press Down Arrow a few times. Each press reads a branch, such as Popular Stations, By Country or ACB Media.
  5. Stop on Popular Stations and press Right Arrow to open it. The first time, give it a moment. You will hear "Loading Popular Stations", and then how many stations it found.
  6. Press Down Arrow to move onto a station, then press Enter. You will hear "Playing" and the station's name, and then the station.
  7. Press Enter again on the same station to stop it. Press it once more to play it again.

If you hear an error, that station's address may no longer work. Just pick another one. If the app says it is playing but you hear nothing, press Ctrl+M in case it is muted, and check your Windows volume.

2. Save it as a favorite

  1. Leave the station playing and press Escape to close Browse Stations. The music keeps going.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F. Quill Radio tells you the station was added to your favorites.
  3. Press Down Arrow in your favorites list. Your station is there.

From now on, this is all it takes: open Quill Radio, arrow to a favorite, and press Enter. Your first ten favorites also play straight away with Alt+1 through Alt+0.

3. Keys that work from any window

These keys work wherever you are in Quill Radio. Try each one while something is playing.

Can't remember a key? Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette. Type a word, such as "volume" or "record", arrow to what you want, and press Enter. Each command shows its key, so you learn it as you go.

4. Record a few seconds

  1. With a station playing, press Ctrl+R. You will hear "Recording started".
  2. Wait ten or twenty seconds.
  3. Press Ctrl+R again. Quill Radio tells you the recording was saved, and gives its name.
  4. Press Ctrl+Shift+R to open the Recordings window. Your new recording is at the top. Press Enter to play it.
  5. To delete it, press Delete. A question asks if you are sure. No is the default, so pressing Enter keeps it. Press Y to delete it.
  6. Press Escape to close the Recordings window.

Your recordings are saved in your Music folder, in a folder called Quill Radio Recordings.

5. Keep the music going while you work

Press Ctrl+W to send Quill Radio to the system tray. You will hear that it is still running there. The music keeps playing while you write, read email or do anything else. The media keys on your keyboard still work. To bring the window back, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R from any program. Press it again to hide Quill Radio. You can also choose Show Quill Radio from the tray icon's menu.

If you get lost

Where to go next

The Quill Radio user guide starts with "Your first half hour" and then covers every menu and key. For podcasts, see Tutorial 10.