How do I switch folder location pointers for an iTunes playlist

Question

Level 1

41 points

How do I switch folder location pointers for an iTunes playlist

I have organised my iTunes (Mac) playlists so that each points to a specific Mac folder. So all "Classical" playlist songs point to a Mac folder with the name "Classical". All "Rock" playlist songs point to a Mac folder called "Rock" and so on. I want to change the location of each playlist and point to new folder names such as "Classical - i", "Rock - i", etc. In the new playlists (now ending in "- i" I want to keep the SAME song ORDER as in previous playlists.

I copy the songs in the new folders but now iTunes playlists have lost their folder reference. If I export and import the playlists to retrieve the old song order, the playlists keep the previous song folder pointer references. After I restore the old (but not working) playlist I can restore the new folder reference manually by hand for each song but I have thousands of songs. How can I change the song folder pointers en mass for each restored playlist pointing to their new folders without going one by one?

Posted on Feb 19, 2019 11:54 AM

Reply

Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,351 points

Feb 19, 2019 12:05 PM in response to DaliGR

iTunes doesn't care where the files are as long as you don't move them by hand. Playlist order is not dependent on the order shown in a folder. A Mac will be more forgiving if you move or rename files while keeping them on the same volume, but it won't cope if you make copies and then delete the originals. If you simply rename the existing folders on a Mac that shouldn't break anything. For the tracks that are currently broken try restoring the original folder name, close iTunes, reopen, test.

There is no advantage within iTunes for using a non-standard layout for your media folder but if you must then you should use a script to move tracks and update iTunes file references in one action rather than working in Finder, e.g. Re-Locate Selected.

tt2

Reply

Answer 2

DaliGR Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 22, 2019 12:37 PM in response to turingtest2

Thank you very much for your suggestion. The directory structure I use for my music and for my music backups is a bit complicated (the music structure has to be identifiable by my Windows systems as well as my Mac) but the script you suggested (Re-Locate Selected) was EXACTLY what I needed and worked perfectly. 6.500 songs were relocated in directories. All done now.

Reply

Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

278,351 points

Feb 22, 2019 12:46 PM in response to DaliGR

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

Reply

How do I switch folder location pointers for an iTunes playlist

Similar questions