Keep iTunes media folder organized

Hey Bob1459,

Thanks for posting your question about adding music to your iTunes library in Apple Support Communities! A great place to start is by checking out the steps in the article: Import media from a computer to iTunes on PC, as it outlines on how to add music from your computer directly to your iTunes library.

Best wishes.

Hey Bob1459,

If it is not moving the music to the appropriate folders then it there may be an issue with the app and its supporting files that aren't executing this task correctly. Try updating your Windows operating system and check for updates for the iTunes app. If both have already been updated then uninstall iTunes and reinstall it. You can find steps on how to do that using this article: Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows 7 and later.

Cheers.

Hey Bob1459,

In this case here if your options are configured correctly and you are still experiencing issues then it may be best to contact Apple directly in order to receive some additional troubleshooting steps. You can contact them by following this link: Contact Apple Support.

Take Care.

Ah, we get to the nub of the issue. There is a bug in recent builds of iTunes that, at least for some users, seems to stop the media folder preference from being saved properly. See Make a split library portable - Apple Community and put your library in a shape that isn't affected by the issue, and is easier to backup and move around in future. I would recommend moving your library files to D:\iTunes and then consolidating to D:\iTunes\iTunes Media.

tt2

Hey Bob,

Could you provide a bit more detail into your issue? Once your music is imported to iTunes it automatically transfers them and organizes them into the library within the iTunes app. The iTunes app doesn't physically reorganize or change the items outside of the application.

Take Care.

Hi,

There are two main options that affect the behaviour of content added to the library. Keep organized... will move and rename things already inside the iTunes Media folder in response to changes in metadata. Copy files... will make a copy of anything that is added from outside the iTunes Media folder organizing the copied files according to the iTunes layout rules. The original files are ignored thereafter. Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files if you've had Copy files... turned off to add copies to the media folder where they will be managed properly in future. When adding content to the library you may prefer to drop it into the Automatically Add to iTunes folder inside the media folder so there is less housekeeping to perform.

Specifically, iTunes will not move content from the desktop or any other location outside the media folder into it. Should you require such a function I have a script called ConsolidateByMoving that does what it says.

tt2

Bob1459 wrote:

This is what I use Keep organized... will move and rename things already inside the iTunes Media folder in response to changes in metadata. But in my case its not in the iTunes media folder. Its just in D:/Music. When I was on Windows 7 my files were always managed this way. Now my files just stay wherever they are imported from.

The iTunes Media folder, that gets reorganized if needed, is the folder listed as the media folder under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. Any content located outside this folder is left alone by the process. If you want content outside to be copied in use File > Library > Organize LIbrary > Consolidate Files.

tt2