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iTunes 11: Play, Pause, Stop

Warning: this is a very particular issue. But still one that bugs me 😝


One of the changes in iTunes 11 is that the "pause" button never changes to a stop button. It used to be that if you left the context in which a song was playing back — ie switched to a different playlist than the "current" one — the pause button would change to a square, ie a STOP button.


Mostly I like the new behavior. I never have to worrry about pausing itunes and actually losing the playlist I was "in."


But one aspect has been lost, and I'm wondering if anyone else has a solution:


When I'm listening to an album or a playlist, and I want to switch to a SHUFFLE of my full library, my only option is to select an actual song in my library to start with, in order to switch contexts and get the shuffle on the library going.


Is there a better option?


I used to be able to just select the library, press stop, and press play. Also, all playlists besides the main library have a "shuffle all songs" button at the top of the list — but not the full library.


Good luck with iTunes 11, everyone...

24" iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Dec 6, 2012 10:55 AM

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4 replies

Dec 6, 2012 5:57 PM in response to Chelicerata

I'm having the same issue. Very frustrating... after choosing or search for a specific band or song, I'm unable to get iTunes 11 to shuffle my entire library again. I click stop, play, stop again, select all albums, select an alternate band, alternate album... nothing works. it simply plays whatever band or album i clicked on and shuffles within. Choosing all albums (songs, etc) continues to play from the last selection. FRUSTRATING.


Apple: HELP!

Dec 6, 2012 9:44 PM in response to mattrock1

To get back to full shuffle, the steps are:


  1. Select "Music" from the LIBRARY list
  2. Set the view to "Songs"
  3. Doubleclick any visible song
  4. Make sure the shuffle icon is on
  5. Skip to the next song to hear your first randomly chosen song.


A system wide "shuffle all my music" keystroke would be really handy. Or any other options simpler than the current awkward steps — no way to shuffle without playing a chosen song first.

Dec 7, 2012 5:39 AM in response to Chelicerata

That seems to be the winning combiation, Chelicerata. Thanks.It seems so simple, yet if you don't follow those precise steps, you're SOL.... Simply clicking on MUSIC from the library and NEXT would be ideal.


For example, I'll have column view enabled and All (Genres) > All (Artists) > All (Albums) selected which displays my entire collection, though if I click next with shuffle on, I'm confined to current album shuffle ****...


Thanks again for cracking the safe! 🙂

iTunes 11: Play, Pause, Stop

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