iTunes Organizing & Playlists

Tips for the iTunes Library

Customizing Your Columns
You can specify which columns of information iTunes displays in its windows–to remove columns you never use or to add ones that iTunes normally doesn’t display. One way is by using the Edit menu’s View Options command. Here’s an easier way: Control-click on any column heading, and uncheck or check columns in the shortcut menu.

You can also use the shortcut menu to automatically resize columns to fit the longest item in each one. You can also change the order of the columns themselves, moving them left and right to suit your tastes. To move a column, click on its heading and then drag left or right.

Keeping Your Library Organized
iTunes normally stores your music in the Music folder, as described on page 25. If you download an MP3 file from the Internet and drag it into the iTunes window, you’ll actually have two copies of the MP3 file on your hard drive.

If you don’t want this -if you’d prefer to have your music files scattered throughout your hard drive -choose Preferences from the iTunes menu, click the Advanced button, and then uncheck the box labeled Copy Files to iTunes Music Folder When Adding to Library. You can also temporarily override the copying feature: press Option while dragging a file into the iTunes window. Note, though, that having music scattered across your hard drive makes backing up your music library much more cumbersome.

If you already have files scattered across your hard drive and you want to move them all to the Music folder, choose Consolidate Library from the Advanced menu.

iTunes Playlist Tips

Opening a Playlist in a Separate Window
To open a playlist in its own window, double-click the playlist’s name. iTunes opens the playlist in a new window, and switches its main window to the Library view. You can open as many playlist windows as you like, and drag songs between them, as shown here. It’s a handy way to work, since it lets you see the contents of your Library and your playlist at the same time.

Creating a Playlist From a Selection
Here’s a shortcut for creating a playlist: in the Library view, select the songs you want to include in a playlist, and then choose New Playlist From Selection from the File menu. iTunes will add the songs to a new playlist, which you can then rename.

Naming Playlists with iPod in Mind
If you plan to transfer your playlists to an iPod, there’s a trick you can use to ensure that a given playlist will appear at the top of the iPod’s Playlist menu. This cuts down on the time and scrolling required to find a specific playlist. To have a playlist appear at the top of the iPod’s Playlist menu, precede the playlist’s name with a hyphen (-) character, as in – Mac’s Greatest Hits. A few other punctuation characters, including period (.), will also send a playlist to the top of the heap.