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Export and Import multiple playlists... HOW ???

Please help,

I'd like to move an existing itunes library over to a new Mac (without consolidating the entire old library). I copied the entire music files that used to be on three different hard drives to ONE NEW hard drive. (The old three hard drives are gone by now...)

As a result, itunes doesn't know where the music files are anymore - no surprise...

But I was able to change the main path in the itunes preferences [: under the advanced tab/iTunes Media folder location]. So far so good! iTunes can play back all the songs and finds them on the new hard drive.

BUT - all my old PLAYLISTS are gone.

I was able to do this:
- manually export an old playlist from the old computer
- open the .txt file and change the file path to the new hard drive
- import that playlist on the new computer
- VOILA - GREAT, I was able to relink the selected playlist

BUT: THERE ARE OVER 500 playlists... DOING THIS STEP ONE BY ONE will take DAYS if not WEEKS...

Is there a simple way to export all playlists at once into ONE giant text file? And then replace all the old file paths in ONE simple find/replace command... and then import ALL THESE playlists AT ONCE on the new computer???

Let me know is there is a solution... (haven't found an Automator script...)

MANY MANY thanks

P








I wanted itunes to resolve the dead-linked files. But that doesn't seem to work if you are only dealing with paths to your music files as opposed to having all your songs stored inside the itunes music folder...

I was able to just move the song links from the main music library

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 10GB RAM, 2.8Ghz

Posted on Apr 15, 2010 6:16 PM

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Posted on Apr 15, 2010 7:47 PM

Get the itunes library.xml from the old computer then File -> Library -> Import playlist.
10 replies

Apr 15, 2010 7:24 PM in response to pk4273

BUT: THERE ARE OVER 500 playlists

Why so many?
If you are creating playlists for each artist or each album, they are not needed as iTunes already creates them and the more playlists you have, the more you will slow down iTunes.
iTunes menu View -> Column browser then you can select any Artist(s) and Album(s) you want.

Apr 15, 2010 7:51 PM in response to Chris CA

Yes, I can import the playlists from there... BUT, all the links to the songs point to the old hard drives that no longer exist... I tried to open the file and maybe edit the links, but that .xml is about 144MBs.

It is an impossible task to resolve all the songs MANUALLY.... unless you can devote weeks of your time...

Jul 18, 2011 9:49 AM in response to pk4273

On your old computer, go to whereitunes is stored:

home > music > itunes.

Then copy the itunes music library.xml file to a flash drive or on your desktopif you can access your old computer from your new computer.


Onyour new computer, go to your itunes folder. There may already be a file with thesame name, if so, just rename it (and you can delete later). Put the new filein the folder.
Open itunes. File > library > import playlist. Navigate to this playlistand import it! They will ALL be there! It imports them all so youmay have some duplicates of the standard playlists itunes comes with but theseyou can delete.

Jul 18, 2011 10:02 AM in response to juliefarr

This was epxlained 15 months ago in this thread.


Onyour new computer, go to your itunes folder. There may already be a file with thesame name, if so, just rename it (and you can delete later). Put the new filein the folder.
Open itunes. File > library > import playlist. Navigate to this playlistand import it! They will ALL be there! It imports them all so youmay have some duplicates of the standard playlists itunes comes with but theseyou can delete.

As soon as you open iTunes, it will overwrite the .xml file you copied into the iTunes folder

Note that iTunes does not use the .xml file. It is created for other apps to use iTunes.

Aug 25, 2013 10:27 AM in response to juliefarr

I had a momentary problem with this instruction.


You Export a LIBRARY from the old computer. But, when you transfer it to the new computer, you look for file > library > import LIBRARY, but there is no "Open Library." You use "Open PLAYLIST" to open the Library file.... A tad 'off,' but that worked for me.


Now i just have to figure out why i have duplicates of all songs in my library....

Export and Import multiple playlists... HOW ???

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