Why does iTunes change my file names

Just to add to what Ed has said, unchecking the "Keep..." option won't restore files to their original names/paths. As for the wrong file playing that would suggest either an error in housekeeping so that a file has the wrong metadata attached to it (you can after all write anything you like in there) or a crosslinking error where data for one file gets accidentally attached to another. You can run CHKDSK at a command prompt to check for crosslinked files and other disk errors.

tt2

So how do I force iTunes to keep the file names as I named them?

Go into Edit > Preferences > Advanced, and make sure that "Keep..." and "Copy..." are both not checked. Then iTunes will not modify your music.

In addition, you need to make sure that no other program on the PC is attempting to modify those same music files. In particular, go into Windows Media Player, and on the Library tab, and make sure that all those funny options like "Rename music file using rip settings" are all not checked.

Ah, I see more clearly now... In Windows Explorer you may name a file as <Artist> - <Title>.<Ext> but iTunes will read any embedded tag in the file. Most programs that you might have ripped the files with will attempt to add data such as artist, album, track number, composer, year of release etc. If this data has been attached then, when you import the file into the iTunes library the data will be displayed. The track can be called anything you like, it's not relevant to what gets displayed in iTunes. If, on the other hand, there is no tag then iTunes uses the filename, e.g. <Artist> - <Title> with your example, as the track name and all other fields are blank, including artist, album artist, album etc. In this case the filename becomes important.

iTunes doesn't expose filenames/paths in the main user interface or allow them to be used in smart playlist rules. What matters is the metadata. Although I personally have the physical structure of my library organized just the way I want it, the truth it is makes no difference to the way I use iTunes or select tracks to be part of playlists. That's not to say I haven't also had to do a lot of logical organizing within iTunes, but the physical organizing just satisfies my OCD.

tt2

You want to delete good metadata? Sacrilege! Why not edit the metadata so that it can be used to support whatever organizing scheme you have in mind? Anyway try mp3tag, though I think if the files are already imported into iTunes and you remove the tags then you would have to remove and then reimport the files for it to to update properly. Alternatively I have a script called TagFromFilename which could be modified to insert the data you want into the tag.

tt2

Perhaps ID3Kill is more effective than it is supposed to be... Good to know you have a backup. Always a good idea if you're going to perform radical experiments!

tt2

iTunes is quite unforgiving if you try to use it any other way than the way it expects to be used. See my article on Grouping tracks into albums for some advice...

tt2

You're not alone, Papa. This problem drives me nuts.

There must be millions of people who've named their songs in the format "Pink Floyd - Time.mp3" then find the names mangled by iTunes. Seems like a major flaw which should have been corrected long ago.

To tt2: Is the follow statement true?

You cannot force iTunes to import the above file and have the artist listed as "Pink Floyd" and the name as "Time".

Thanks.

Mike

Check and see if you have organize music checked under edit-> preferences-> advanced, maybe if it leaves it where you put it, it won't change it.

msandrin wrote:

To tt2: Is the follow statement true?

You cannot force iTunes to import the above file and have the artist listed as "Pink Floyd" and the name as "Time".

If there is a tag iTunes will read the information from the tag and pay no attention to the filename.

If there is no tag iTunes will populate Name from the filename, all other fields will be blank or have default values. "Pink Floyd - Time.mp3" imports as name=Pink Floyd - Time and if you are letting iTunes organise the tracks it will end up in the Unknown Artist\Unknown Album folder.

tt2