Export/import iTunes eq setting

Hello, wardlawc.

Songs' Equalizer settings are stored in the iTunes library .itl file . The default location for that file in Windows XP is C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\My Documents\My Music\iTunes , in Mac OS X it's /Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.

(As an aside, you've posted on the iTunes for Windows side of these boards and although for the most part we're a pretty nice bunch of people here - if I do say so myself - since you list OS X as your operating system, generally speaking you'll be better off if you post your questions over on the iTunes for Mac side of the boards.)

Back to the matter at hand, in order to copy the EQ settings to another computer you would have to copy the .itl file.

Since the .itl also contains references that point iTunes to the location of the songs in your Library, in order to prevent problems you would have to ensure the files were in the same relative position on the second computer as they were on the first.

So, this one file (iTunes Library.itl) contains the eq information for all the songs in the library.

It does. Unfortunately the .itl is an undocumented binary file so we can't look directly inside it. The best we can do is open the .xml file with a text editor to read most - but not all - of the information that's in the .itl. If you do so, you'll see a bunch of "keys" listed for each track, including an Equalizer key for those that you've assigned such a setting.

What do you mean by "in the same relative position on the second computer"?

The path leading to the files would have to be the same on both computers, i.e. if the files were located at C:\Documents and Settings\Louis XIV\My Documents\My Music\iTunes on the first computer, that's precisely where they'd have to be on the second one.

If one computer's a PC and the other's a Mac that would be a problem. There's a way of dealing with it though. Have a look at this third party article , in particular the Convert the Library.xml file from PC to Mac format section.

Here's what I want to accomplish ... Even if that capability is not currently built into iTunes, is it one a script or app could be written to enable?

The only way I know would be to follow the admittedly rather awkward procedure I've outlined above. If they're custom settings as opposed to pre-sets though, I have a feeling it might not work at all. And if you and your friend don't have identical Libraries, it would be more problematic.

Bottom line: it doesn't strike me as a very - if at all - practical solution. : - (

As far as whether a program could be written to extract the EQ settings, that's beyond my area of expertise. We do have one fellow who frequents these boards though who might be able to address that issue. I'll see if I can flag him down ...

Sorry to interrupt, Mimico Kid...

wardlawc,
I wonder if this would be of help to you?
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=makeaneqscript

CG

Okay, I have some good news and some bad news ...

The bad news: No response to my attempt contacting Robert Jacobson1, our iTunes for Windows scripting authority.

The good news: He happens to have just started a thread of his own.

I'd suggest contacting him via either that thread or the Google Discussions Group he's set up and asking about the possibility of extracting EQ settings from iTunes.

And it's certainly worth checking out the AppleScript that Casper Gemini suggests although it might lead back to the problems mentioned earlier if one system's a Mac and the other's a PC.