Automatically updating iTunes Library

If you are currently using iTunes 9 and the iTunes Media folder structure, you can drop the files you want to auto-add by putting them in the *Automatically Add to iTunes folder* that is in the iTunes Media folder. When you launch iTunes the next time, it will automatically add them (I think you have to launch iTunes for it to add them, but I'm not sure exactly if it will add them if iUnes is already open)

If you have iTunes 9 but are not sure if you have iTunes Media folder organization, go to File > Library > Organize Library. In the menu that pops up, there is an option that says *Upgrade to iTunes Media organization*. If it is greyed out, then you already have it. If not, select this option and press Okay. It will update your folder structure to the iTunes 9 Media folder structure as below:

iTunes does not watch for or notice new files, with the one exception (as noted by Grandmaster Jesh) of the "Automatically Add..." folder.

You have the following options:

You can put the files where you want them and then use the command File > Add Folder to Library (or drag the folder into the open iTunes Music window, which causes the same action).

You can drag the folder into the "Automatically Add..." folder

You can use a 3rd party folder watching app, such as Klarita's iTunes Folder Watch.

I cannot believe that such a feature is not included in iTunes!

I like to put my movies in a movies directory, my audiobooks in another and my music in a third. I access my media through other mechanisms than iTunes (such as my WD HD Live), I don;t wna tto mix everything in some "watch folder"

Andrew Moon wrote:
Hi i was wondering does or can itunes automatically update it's library if a new folder of music is dropped into the itunes music folder. I sometimes download music from sites such as play.com when they are cheaper than itunes and usually drop the music straight into a folder in the itunes folders as if it was placed there by itunes mearly out of habit and was wondering if it were possible to get itunes to automatically pick up this new folder without having to tell it to add to library?

I expect that it would be easier to just drag and drop the folder (that contained the music/album) into iTunes, rather than getting iTunes to automatically pick up the new folder. 🙂

Not sure if this will help. But I have several folders of MP3's on my computer. In these folders I have folders named with the album title and inside this are the MP3 tracks.

When I have iTunes loaded up. All I do is drag and drop the folder (for the desired album) into the top left section of iTunes (Library section). Once I have done this I then look through the music contents until I find the album/tracks from the just dragged & dropped album.

If you looked at the screenshot in the post that I made above, you will see that in iTunes 9, this is exactly what iTunes does: it keeps music in a Music folder, audiobooks in an Audiobooks folder, etc.; all in a central location, the iTunes Media folder. If you have the Media Kind (found under Get Info, Options tab) set to Music, Movie, Audiobook... for the files that you put in iTunes, they will automatically be placed in those folders for you.

This makes it very easy to move your iTunes library from one computer to another if you need to, just move the single iTunes folder. You don't have to track down all the different folders for the different types of media, they are all in one place.

ed2345,

Do you have to relaunch iTunes for files put in the "Automatically add..." folder to be added, or will they add while iTunes is already open at some point?

Really, I don't see why you'd need them to add if you have iTunes open already, you could just drag the files in to iTunes or use the *Add ...* menu command, instead.

Grandmaster Jesh wrote:
ed2345,

Do you have to relaunch iTunes for files put in the "Automatically add..." folder to be added, or will they add while iTunes is already open at some point?

No. When iTunes is open, it watches that one folder, and takes action if it sees a new file.

Really, I don't see why you'd need them to add if you have iTunes open already, you could just drag the files in to iTunes or use the *Add ...* menu command, instead.

They behave differently. "Add Folder to Library" (and dragging, which acts the same way), keep the original files in their original location, and may or may not make a copy, according to the "Copy Files..." option set in preferences. The "Automatically Add..." folder takes the files and moves them to their "organized" spot.

Excellent, thanks!

I don;t wna tto mix everything in some "watch folder"

You don't "mix everything" in a watch folder.
You put it into the *Automatically add to iTunes* folder and iTunes will add to iTunes and move;
movies into the Movies folder
music into the Music folder
audiobooks into the Audiobooks folder
etc.

Just chiming in to say that I really love this feature because it doesn't cause the song to start playing (for example, if you are doing file housekeeping while watching a video), and it adds the songs linearly so that if you sort by date added, different albums don't get all jumbled up. IMO, iTunes has enough to worry about when it opens, so I try not to add albums to the drop-folder when it is not open.

The feature I would really like to see added is for you to be able to choose different locations (ie, drives) for movies, music, podcasts, and so on. That way, you may be able to fit some on your laptop and keep the others on a network drive.

For the record, the albums still get jumbled when using the "Automatically Add to iTunes" feature. At least, I just added ~1.6 GB from several different albums to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder. Upon opening iTunes, they uploaded and a few albums got tracks intermingled when I sorted "By Date Added". Unfortunate. It may have to do with when it hits snags and has to add files to the "Not Added" folder or generate a subfolder. It may also be because some of the folders were grouped under artist folders and some were simply in the album folders. I don't believe that should effect anything though.