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Joining music files in iTunes


I have many albums ripped from CDs that no longer exist or have been damaged but I want to joins tunes that are intended to play together, but are separate files. Examples are live albums where one song goes into the next with no gap. Of course the main reason to join the files is to be able to place the joined files in a playlist that can be shuffled without breaking up the tunes that need to be played together. I found the following method on the net, but it does not work. There are no boxes to check for Part of a compilation and Gapless album.The instructions read as follows:


To join audio files in iTunes, follow these steps:


1. open iTunes

2. Select the audio files you want to join. You can do this

by holding down the Ctrl key on Windows or the command key on Mac and clicking

on each file.

3. Right-click on any of the selected files and select Get

Info.

4. In the Info window, click on the Options

tab.

5. Check the boxes next to Part of a compilation and Gapless

album.

6. Click OK.

7. Repeat steps 3-6 for all of the audio files you want to

join.

8. Select all of the audio files again.

9. Right-click on any of the selected files and select Create

AAC version.


Is there a functional method that works with the most current versions of iTunes?

Windows

Posted on Oct 23, 2023 5:57 AM

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Posted on Oct 27, 2023 5:24 AM

It seems as if all of the suggestions I have seen assume one is working from a disk import function. I want to join the actual files that one would find in Windows explorer, such as: Music > iTunes > i Tunes Media > Grateful Dead > Skull & Roses > Not Fade Away and GTRFB to create the joined file: Not Fade Away > GDTRFB

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Oct 27, 2023 5:24 AM in response to javaliga

It seems as if all of the suggestions I have seen assume one is working from a disk import function. I want to join the actual files that one would find in Windows explorer, such as: Music > iTunes > i Tunes Media > Grateful Dead > Skull & Roses > Not Fade Away and GTRFB to create the joined file: Not Fade Away > GDTRFB

Oct 27, 2023 10:55 AM in response to Jeff Neufer

I've been following this discussion, so let's see if I can clarify the situation.


It has never been possible to join tracks that are already in iTunes, regardless of where they originated. The "part of a compilation" and the "gapless" setting are irrelevant - they do not join tracks.


The Join CD Tracks option is just that; join tracks that are currently on a CD as these tracks are imported. It does not work on a CD that has already imported into an iTunes Library, or on any digital music file.


I know why you want to join tracks - I've done it for many albums. But I also know that the programmers of a certain music player application for Windows that works with Android devices do not understand the concept at all. (I've seen that discussion too, it was painful.)


This is how it works for a CD (only):

    • in the Import CD window, the CD tracks must be in track order, starting 1 onwards (it will not allow joining of non-adjacent tracks or any joining if the CD is not in ascending numerical order)
    • the user selects two or more adjacent tracks (they must be adjacent)
    • the gear icon in the Import CD window will now show an additional option; Join CD Tracks
    • when the CD is copied into iTunes, the tracks chosen for joining will be imported as one track, with each track listed as part of the (now one-track) title


The screenshots below, of the Import CD window, explain the possibilities and limitations:


First screenshot:

    • view shows the Import CD window, prior to starting the import
    • tracks 1 & 2 have been selected for joining. Note the link symbol between the two titles
    • track 3 will import as one track (as will tracks 8, 9, 13 & 14)
    • tracks 4, 5, 6 & 7 have been selected for joining (so highlighted in blue) but I have not yet selected the join option. As a result, when I click on the gear icon, the additional option to Join CD Tracks is shown



The end result is that the album is imported as eight tracks.


In this next screenshot, I have selected track 10 and track 12 (but not track 11):



Note that when I select the gear icon, the Join CD Tracks option is not shown. This is because you cannot join non-adjacent tracks.


In the next screenshot, the Join CD Tracks is not shown because the album is in reverse order, so the adjacent tracks are not in the correct ascending order:




So if you want to join tracks on an album that you have already imported, you have two options:

    1. re-copy from the CD into iTunes, using the steps outlined above
    2. use an audio file editor (such as Audacity) to manually join the tracks that you want to be joined. Audacity requires a degree of user experience in order to manage this task. If you have never used it, it will be a chore to accomplish. I think alternatives to Audacity will have the same steep learning curve


I've just checked the iTunes Store: Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album, which definitely requires joined tracks, is not available with those tracks joined. The option should be available. Am I surprised that it isn't? No, not at all. The music industry has never (in my experience) understood the technology it depends on.

Oct 27, 2023 11:17 AM in response to Jeff Neufer

Thank you all for your attempts to help. I am very familiar with joining tracks in the import process.

I recently did an internet search hoping that the capabilities of iTunes had expanded to include audio files. I was misled. Alas, it has not. As explained in my opening post I do not have the disks in many cases and was hoping to avoid making a bunch of trash burning playlists to disks and then importing them again to create another used piece of plastic that would be ripped into audio files in the final analysis.

Oh well. Life is too short to mess with that.

Nov 7, 2023 12:45 PM in response to Jeff Neufer

Jeff Neufer wrote:

It seems as if all of the suggestions I have seen assume one is working from a disk import function. I want to join the actual files that one would find in Windows explorer, such as: Music > iTunes > i Tunes Media > Grateful Dead > Skull & Roses > Not Fade Away and GTRFB to create the joined file: Not Fade Away > GDTRFB


As the fiend notes iTunes cannot do this for you except when ripping a CD. There are third party apps (many free) that can be used to split and join audio files.


tt2

Joining music files in iTunes

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