Can I turn off the Autofill?

Question

Can I turn off the Autofill?

Call it a case of not liking change, but the Autofill bar, thingy at the bottom of my iPod & iPhone song list is annoying and I want it gone. I manually manage songs on both my players and, well I want it gone.

Can I turn it off somehow or do I have to install the prior version of iTunes, which I still have on my MacBook.

Thanks.
Ed.

iMac 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Mar 13, 2009 2:42 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 14, 2009 7:03 AM in response to FreakOfNature

Anybody?

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Answer 2

Mar 14, 2009 7:59 AM in response to FreakOfNature

It's there because lots of people asked for it - but, you don't have to use it! Just never click the Autofill button. It seems you can't actually remove it from the UI though.

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Answer 3

Mar 14, 2009 2:38 PM in response to christopher rigby1

"It seems you can't actually remove it from the UI though."

Darn - that's what I want to do. Ok, thanks guess I'll revert to the prior version.

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Answer 4

lkrupp

Level 6

14,116 points

Mar 14, 2009 3:28 PM in response to FreakOfNature

FreakOfNature wrote:
"It seems you can't actually remove it from the UI though."

Darn - that's what I want to do. Ok, thanks guess I'll revert to the prior version.

Then you lose the security patches and leave yourself open to malware.

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Answer 5

Mar 14, 2009 3:39 PM in response to lkrupp

Malware? Via the iTunes Store? Never heard of that one. There's not been a reported case afaik.

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Answer 6

lkrupp

Level 6

14,116 points

Mar 14, 2009 4:03 PM in response to christopher rigby1

christopher rigby1 wrote:
Malware? Via the iTunes Store? Never heard of that one. There's not been a reported case afaik.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3487

Not saying there's a current threat out there but iTunes 8.1 plugged some holes security wise. The point is it's shortsighted to revert to a previous version because a minor UI issue. Every update of an Apple application usually has an accompanying security component also. It's a fact of life these days. Personally I'd rather be safe than sorry when a minor issue is involved. Just my opinion, of course.

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Answer 7

Mar 14, 2009 4:12 PM in response to lkrupp

Oh I'm sure you're right. But when I examine the reason behind most of these 'holes', it seems to me they are most likely to be fallen into by people who click on a link in a phishing email, or visit an infected website.

It's like PCs are supposed to be riddled with Trojans, worms and viruses, but actually I know plenty of folks who don't have, and never have had, a virus. Commonsense is often the best protection.

But I won't argue against your basic point.

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Answer 8

danegeld

Level 2

185 points

Mar 29, 2009 7:25 PM in response to christopher rigby1

I completely agree about the Autofill UI change. It is ridiculous not to be able to turn off something so intrusive and prone to accidental clicks. It's almost as bad as the obnoxious screensaver on the iPod Classics. iTunes gets more bloated and less responsive with every release. There's also now a very noticeable delay when updating tags that wasn't there in the last version. For a company that prides itself on it design, iTunes is an anomaly and seems more Microsoftish with every version.

I also agree about the security issues. Even if Apple plugged some holes with this newest release, the primary fault lies with those users who can't be bother to learn (or take) even rudimentary precautions.

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Answer 9

werelamb

Level 1

0 points

Apr 11, 2009 3:49 AM in response to FreakOfNature

I totally agree. Not being able to hide or turn off the autofill feature in iTunes 8.1 is ridiculous. Like many people i prefer to always manage iPod manually to avoid problems with auto syncing etc. Now i have this stupid autofill function taking up screen space, and have to be careful not to inadvertently clicking on it.

I thought about reinstalling an earlier itunes version, but know from previous experience that sometimes not having the most current iTunes will prevent you from shopping in iTunes store.

Any ideas ?

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Answer 10

leroy t

Level 1

0 points

May 21, 2009 8:52 PM in response to werelamb

just create a smart playlist, i've named it 'All Music';

in the edit smart playlist box;

tick "Match the following rule:"
make the rule "Artist - is not - ____autofill_***______";
untick "Limit to" and "Match only checked items";
and tick "Live updating".

then, click on your new smart playlist and yay, no more annoying autofill box. all your music will be in this playlist (unless you've got an artist called ____autofill_***______ that is) and it will automatically update when you add new music to your ipod. admittedly, this is only a workaround, but hey, it's better than nothing.

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Answer 11

May 11, 2011 12:04 AM in response to FreakOfNature

I don't want to have to create no modified smart playlists. *sigh*

I also came here with the intension of finding a way to turn the **** bar off, now at least I'm sure it's impossible. Thanks

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Answer 12

Tommy142

Level 1

0 points

Oct 18, 2011 5:43 AM in response to Mr Clickwheel

This is just the sort of thing I have been dreading. I bought the new IPhone the other day and the phone itself is fantastic. I have however by mistake clicked autofill in itunes and am now watching in utter despair as all my manually and neatly organized tunes are ruined with all the other stuff I don't want to listen to.

Apple, this is SO stupid! Why cant I disable it for goodness sake!? Do Apple really think there are more people out there who would rather use this stupid autofill feature than people who want to choose what they listen to? Someone out there please help me!

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Answer 13

Jan 30, 2012 8:23 PM in response to Tommy142

Hi to all of you on this topic!

I just changed my phone to an iPhone recently and today, yes like many of you, I hit autofill by mistake! I was not happy when I noticed iTunes was actually filling up my phone with music automatically. After reading this forum I was even more disapointed about not being able to remove the music downloaded to my iPhone.

But I did find the solutions!!! When you device actually shows up in your iTunes, you will notice the "Music" icon just below your phone Devices icon! Click on it and on the right you will notice the whole list of music downloaded to your phone!!!

Simply click in that window and do the "Command + A" to select all and then delete them all. Then either synching happens automatically or you have to do it, either way, resync and all the music will be removed from you phone!

Their you go, and don't ever hit "Autofill" unless you mean to, but now you have a way to remove all the music on your iPHone.

Take care,

Godefroy from Montreal

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Answer 14

Nov 18, 2012 6:33 AM in response to FreakOfNature

Create a new empty playlist. Call it something like "No Autofill" Then on the left of that autofill bar that you and I so despise, select the empty playlist that you just created. From now on, If you inadvertantly click on the autofill button, you will get a pop up that says: "iTunes cannot add any songs to the iPhone “Castor” because the playlist “No Autofill” does not contain any songs."

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Answer 15

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Nov 18, 2012 8:17 AM in response to VistaNoGo

VistaNoGo wrote:

Create a new empty playlist.

3.5 year old post.

I suspect the original poster is no longer interested.

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