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User profile for user: avd155
avd155 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

View songs not imported by iTunes when importing .xml playlists

Hello everyone - happy 2021! I've researched this question a lot and haven't found an answer, so could one of you kind folks please help me? Here's the situation...


I'm importing a .xml playlists into a new iTunes library. All the songs in the .xml playlist are exist in the new iTunes library, as the new library is just a combination of files from a few different iTunes libraries I've had over the years.


When importing these playlists (e.g. "Best Albums_1.xml"), I receive an error that reads “some songs in the playlist were not imported because they could not be found”.  Unfortunately, iTunes doesn't provide a list of songs that weren't added to the playlist, which makes it impossible to manually update the playlist to ensure all songs from the .xml playlist exist in the new library's playlist.


Do you know any way to see the songs not imported by iTunes when importing .xml playlists?

Posted on Jan 9, 2021 12:27 AM

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
272,905 points

Posted on Jan 9, 2021 6:03 AM

Hi there,


I've made some tweaks to the ImportFromXML script which mean that the log file should now show all tracks that aren't at the locations specified in the XML. Here is the log from some sample data where I've corrupted one of the paths in the XML so it no longer matches what is in my library. (I took the r out of Frog in Peace Frog). The other record you've seen before and is because the track in my library is called Land Ho! not Land Ho. In principle if the track wasn't at the given <Location> when you imported the XML, then there won't be a match for the <AltKey>, so this log should include all of the failed imports, some of which will also include play & skip data.


<#>ImportFromXML - Error log generated 09/01/2021 13:19:40

<#>Log format compatible with ExportImportAltKey

<#>Could be used to complete metadata import after suitable editing of AltKeys


<ID>25D17EAF-DB01FD86

<AltKey>The Doors\Morrison Hotel\04 Peace Fog

<Location>E:\Music\iTunes 1\iTunes Media\Music\The Doors\Morrison Hotel\04 Peace Fog.mp3


<ID>2282AB0C-43E09D40

<AltKey>The Doors\Morrison Hotel\07 Land Ho

<Location>E:\Music\iTunes 1\iTunes Media\Music\The Doors\Morrison Hotel\07 Land Ho.mp3

<Plays>4

<Played>21/12/2020 15:44:13

<Skips>1

<Skipped>17/04/2015 03:55:42


Using the example above if I were to manually edit the two AltKeys to match the file names that are in my file system, add those tracks to the library if they haven't already been added to it, then drag the log file onto ExportImportAltKeys that ought to add the play/skip counts/dates. This is a potential road to recovery as long as there isn't any other information from the old XML that needs retrieving, such as playlist membership.


It might be worth downloading iTunes Folder Watch to get a sense of what tracks are in your media folder but not currently attached to your library.


tt2

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
272,905 points

Jan 9, 2021 6:03 AM in response to avd155

Hi there,


I've made some tweaks to the ImportFromXML script which mean that the log file should now show all tracks that aren't at the locations specified in the XML. Here is the log from some sample data where I've corrupted one of the paths in the XML so it no longer matches what is in my library. (I took the r out of Frog in Peace Frog). The other record you've seen before and is because the track in my library is called Land Ho! not Land Ho. In principle if the track wasn't at the given <Location> when you imported the XML, then there won't be a match for the <AltKey>, so this log should include all of the failed imports, some of which will also include play & skip data.


<#>ImportFromXML - Error log generated 09/01/2021 13:19:40

<#>Log format compatible with ExportImportAltKey

<#>Could be used to complete metadata import after suitable editing of AltKeys


<ID>25D17EAF-DB01FD86

<AltKey>The Doors\Morrison Hotel\04 Peace Fog

<Location>E:\Music\iTunes 1\iTunes Media\Music\The Doors\Morrison Hotel\04 Peace Fog.mp3


<ID>2282AB0C-43E09D40

<AltKey>The Doors\Morrison Hotel\07 Land Ho

<Location>E:\Music\iTunes 1\iTunes Media\Music\The Doors\Morrison Hotel\07 Land Ho.mp3

<Plays>4

<Played>21/12/2020 15:44:13

<Skips>1

<Skipped>17/04/2015 03:55:42


Using the example above if I were to manually edit the two AltKeys to match the file names that are in my file system, add those tracks to the library if they haven't already been added to it, then drag the log file onto ExportImportAltKeys that ought to add the play/skip counts/dates. This is a potential road to recovery as long as there isn't any other information from the old XML that needs retrieving, such as playlist membership.


It might be worth downloading iTunes Folder Watch to get a sense of what tracks are in your media folder but not currently attached to your library.


tt2

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User profile for user: avd155
avd155 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jan 9, 2021 6:43 PM in response to turingtest2

This has solved my problem. Thank you, tt2! After reading your many forum answers, you must be one of the most helpful people on the internet. Thank you very, very much.


In case others read this thread, here's what I did to find out the songs that iTunes didn't import to the playlist when adding .xml playlists:


  1. Saved a copy of the ImportFromXML.vbs script from tt2's website
  2. Ran the script. To do so, opened iTunes and didn't select any of the songs (this allows the script to run on the whole library, not just a select group of songs). Then, dragged and dropped the "Best Albums_1.xml" onto the .vbs script. The script showed a few prompts, which I answered based on the instructions in each prompt.
  3. Wait for the script to complete. For a playlist of ~900 songs it took 30 minutes.
  4. Once the script was complete, it spit out a log file. I could then use this log file to see the songs that weren't able to be added to the "Best Albums_1.xml" playlist.
  5. Imported the "Best Albums_1.xml" playlist into iTunes. It showed me the “some songs in the playlist were not imported because they could not be found”. error, which was expected.
  6. Opened the log file created by running the ImportFromXML.vbs script from tt2's website, then slowly read through the log file to find a song name, then search it in iTunes, then dragged the found song onto the "Best Albums_1.xml" playlist. It took time, but any other alternatives likely would've taken longer.


In case it helps, another idea I had after posting this was to do the import of the .xml playlist, again accepting that some of the songs weren't' imported. Then, export the newly imported .xml playlist, thereby creating two copies (old vs new) of the "Best Albums_1.xml" playlist. Then, take these two copies and put them into a "dif" tool/website, which would then highlight any songs that existed in the old .xml playlist, but not the new .xml playlist.


Hope this information helps someone else out there in this predicament. I feel like it's the best solution I've seen on this problem, and I really scoured online to find some answer. Thanks again to tt2!! Have a great year everyone!

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View songs not imported by iTunes when importing .xml playlists

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