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Is it no longer possible to create shuffled playlists in iTunes 11?

I've just upgraded to iTunes 11, and I find that it appears I can no longer create a shuffled playlist. (Or have I missed something?)


In the previous versions of iTunes, as long as I had songs in a playlist sorted by number, I could click on the shuffle button against a playlist in the sidebar and all the songs in the list would be shuffled up randomly. I could then sync to my iPod and the songs in the playlist would play in the order they appeared -as shuffled- in the song view list in iTunes.


But that no longer seems to happen. There are some shuffle icons scattered about the new version, (at the top of the list view by the title and in the play panel at the top), but clicking them doesn't seem to re-order the list of songs at all; they remain in order in the list.


I'm confused...

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Nov 30, 2012 12:07 AM

Reply
78 replies

Nov 30, 2012 3:29 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

Thanks Roger.


Yes, I had discovered those shuffle buttons. Clicking one of them seems to start the playlist playing in shuffle mode, and, as you say, the shuffle symbol also turns blue, but the main list of songs in the columns displayed underneath still remains in numbered order.


It is not that I want to play the list shuffled in iTunes, (I rarely, if ever, actually listen to music on iTunes), it is more that I want the list itself shuffled so that the shuffled order remains intact when I sync it to my iPod.


Now, I accept that this just might possibly happen as I want it to when I sync it. But I haven't tried it yet because my main lists are currently shuffled as I want them on my iPod from my last iTunes 10 sync, and I'm scared of losing those shuffles if I now sync it to iTunes 11.


Um... Has anyone been braver than me, and actually tried doing that yet? Does the shuffle still carry over to the iPod?

Nov 30, 2012 7:24 AM in response to theianhamilton

Thanks Ian.


Your answer hasn't really solved my problem; we both know that won't be solved until they get around to re-instating the feature. But I wanted you to get ten points for bravery... 😉


So that's it then. There will be no further syncing, and therefore, of course, NO MORE PURCHASES FROM THE iTUNES STORE!!! for me until they put this feature back into the app.


Helll, it is virtually the only way I use iTunes and my iPod...


If anyone at Cupertino is taking the trouble to read these discussions, please note that this feature -SHUFFLED PLAYLISTS THAT TRANFER TO THE iPOD AND RETAIN THEIR SHUFFLED ORDER- should be reinstated with all possible speed.


I will submit feedback as well.

Dec 1, 2012 4:27 PM in response to Steve Zodiac

There is a related function that I hope to see added at some point soon - perhaps there's already a way to accomplish this, but I don't believe so.


I'd like to be able to add a shuffled playlist to the Up Next list. It's possible to start playing a shuffled play list, and to add a playlist to Up Next, but I've seen nothing that allows adding a shuffled play list to the Up Next list.


Alternatively, would also work to be able to shuffle the Up Next list.


With that plus the ability to clear the Up Next list, iTunes would become a pretty complete method to sequence music.

Dec 1, 2012 4:58 PM in response to Steve Zodiac

I totally agree with you Steve, I have only just upgraded iTunes as like u I only use it when I add stuff to my devices not as a player. When u have over 25000 music tracks you can imagine the playlists I have created and now they cannot be shuffled playlists without having to go through all the settings on each device every time I wanna listen to these *****! Please bring back this feature APPLE.

Dec 1, 2012 7:23 PM in response to Jonnyvodka

I don't know if anyone has checked it or not, but its not shuffling on the Apple TV ether. Itunes 10 shuffles TV shows, movies, music, but once I updated to 11, it stopped.. I hope they add it back soon.. I really liked having all my tv shows shuffled on the Apple TV and just start watching like a TV station. My iPod shuffle is the same way.. No more shuffling.. Please fix this soon apple...

Dec 2, 2012 6:10 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

So fundamental to my use of iTunes and my iPod is the ability to transfer shuffled playlists over to my iPod, I have now managed to revert back to version 10.7.


It is by no means a straightforward thing to do, because Apple have made it difficult by apparently 'integrating iTunes within recent versions of OS X'. This in itself worries me, because it reeks of Microsoft policy...


Anyway, here's a guide to how to do it how I did. (Many thanks to other posters in other threads for the method; what I've tried to do here is provide a complete 'idiot's guide', which was what I really needed...)


First off, you will need a .dmg file of iTunes 10.7, which should still be available here:-


http://appldnld.apple.com/iTunes10/041-7195.20120912.d3uzQ/iTunes10.7.dmg


Download it and put it on your desktop, but DO NOT launch it yet.


Now, delete iTunes 11. This cannot be done, in Mountain Lion at least, in the usual way. You have to do it with the Terminal app.


Launch the Terminal app, (in Applications>Utilities), and type in the following at the command prompt:-


sudo rm -rf /applications/itunes.app


... and press Return. (Note the spaces, which are important... it's a bit like using the old Windows DOS thing.)


I ran into a snag here straight away, because it prompted me for my password, which at the time was blank, and it wouldn’t accept no password. So I assigned myself a new user password, (System Prefs>Users & Groups>Change Password), and it worked after that.


Note: After typing the command, exactly as above, nothing appears to happen. But if you look in Applications you will see that iTunes is no longer there.


Next double-click on the iTunes 10.7.dmg file that was previously downloaded, and install it as you would any other software by double-clicking the resulting disc image on the desktop and following the prompts.


It was at this stage that I found that, although I could now launch iTunes, and it was definitely 10.7 I was launching, the error message 'Error -42408' appeared every time I did so. I could live with that if it just meant getting the message, but I wasn’t sure whether everything 'under the bonnet' would work correctly as long as this error message was being generated. So I continued...


Close iTunes, if it is still running.


Next re-launch Terminal and type the following:-


open /system/library/privateframeworks


...and press Return.


Typing the above command in Terminal opens a new Finder window called 'Privateframeworks'. (Apparently one can only open this folder via Terminal; it is not visible using just Finder itself.)


Having done that, follow the following steps, one at a time. (I tried restoring all five files at once, but I was denied permission for some reason, so I did them separately.) Apologies if this is too basic...


The steps:-


First locate, in the 'Privateframeworks' Finder window, the file called 'AirTrafficHost.framework' and highlight it.


Next launch Time Machine, and wait for it to sort itself out. The 'Privateframeworks' Finder window remains visible, of course, in Time Machine, and the highlighted file also remains highlighted.


Now look back in Time Machine for a restore point in which the 'date modified' field for the highlighted file was a date well before you, ahem...'updated' iTunes to version 11. (In my case I chose a date in September.)


Click on the 'Restore' button on the right-hand side of the Time Machine bottom bar.


When prompted, select the option to 'Replace' the existing version of the file with the one you are restoring. Also, enter your password when prompted, of course.


With the 'Privateframeworks' finder window still open on your desktop, locate the file within it called 'CoreFP.framework' and highlight it, launch Time Machine as before and restore that file the same way as the first.


Next, locate the file called 'DeviceLink.framework', highlight it and follow the same procedure with Time Machine to restore that.


Do the same thing with two more files in the 'Privateframeworks' finder window, called 'iTunesAccess.framework' and 'MobileDevice.framework'.


Close the 'Privateframeworks' finder window and quit Terminal. (I think I could have quit Terminal as soon as I'd opened the finder window though, to be honest.)


And after doing all that iTunes 10.7 should launch happily without the error message. Bliss...!

Dec 2, 2012 7:27 PM in response to Steve Zodiac

I am noting this also. I have iTunes 11 Windows and a 30GB iPod Classic. I haven't figured out how to make it sync my playlists in a shuffled state.


THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!


If Apple would pay attention to function and quit trying to get Guggenheim exhibits for their mod, avante-garde-minimalist-nihilist interface designs, they would have happier customers (at the least the ones that haven't drank the Apple Kool-Aid)

Dec 2, 2012 10:04 PM in response to Steve Zodiac

Everyone is having a problem with the Shuffling. Well my concern/problem is a little different. I too love to shuffle and transfer shuffled playlists to my ipod classic. What I usually like even more is shuffling a playlist and then burning it in the order of shuffling to a CD-R. With the EQ and a decent stereo, CD-R's seem to sound a little better to me than the high's and low's from the ipod on my stereo. But, the way iTunes 11 works now, is that I cannot alter a playlist's order randomly to get ready to burn it. It shuffles only the order in which it is going to play it, and I, too do not really use iTunes to play on the computer.


I have figured a cheap and taudry way to work somewhat around this, very time consuming too, compared to the iTunes 10 which simply shuffle the list physically. Now, what I figured to do is shuffle the list in the play mode (with up next 20 songs at a time) and create a new (blank) playlist and then (20 at a time) go to the up-next menu and highlight the 20 songs (shown in random order) and drag them to the new playlist and then, shuffle the whole list again, yes, and then highlight the 20 songs and drag them to the list. You have to have it 'skip' the duplicates. You're going to have duplicates every time you shuffle (depending on size of list), it just skips them this way and you'd have to be crazy to think this is an improvement. Anyone know if this is what we're reduced to with the new (not-so-better) iTunes 11?????

Dec 2, 2012 10:23 PM in response to Cpel1000

I will say, at least (so far) they fixed some of the other issues that have plaged apple. Home sharing has not messed up with me since upgrading to 11. Air play works better with 11. Streaming seems faster (not much but less buffering). I just hope they fix the shuffle soon.. They fix some problems and miss others.. I really wish there was a way, other then posting here, to get fixes or wish lists. But it's apple.. They have their own way of doing things.. I do feel a change in the air. Maybe slowly, they will start fixing the way they do Buisness.

Dec 3, 2012 5:13 AM in response to Steve Zodiac

Ooh-errr... I missed out a bit in my guide above to revert back to version 10.7. Sorry....


It was the bit that enables the newly reinstalled version 10.7 to access your library, so it is very important.


So, immediately after installing version 10.7 from the .dmg file following the prompts, please insert the following lines:-


Open Finder and navigate to wherever you have the file called 'iTunes Library.itl' (It is usually in User/Music/iTunes)


Right-click that file and move it to trash.


In that location there should also be a sub-folder called 'Previous iTunes Libraries'. Double-click that sub-folder to open it.


Now, inside that sub-folder should be a load of files called 'iTunes Library [date].itl', where [date] is displayed as a year, month and day, eg. 2012-09-25.


Find the one of those with the most recent date, (but prior to the date you updated to version 11), and drag & drop it into the main iTunes folder.


Now re-name that file to 'iTunes Library.itl' (In other words, just delete the date from the filename.)


Close Finder.


From there, continue to follow the original guide steps.

Is it no longer possible to create shuffled playlists in iTunes 11?

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