Painfully basic iTunes question

Hi John,

I'm not positive, but I think the Album name is how iTunes determines artwork for the album. What is it you are wanting to do? Each Artist/Album/Song has the ability to have other fields that are not used by iTunes custom defined. For example, I use the Grouping and Video Show fields to group my songs into smart playlists for my various devices.

Can you give me an idea of what you are wanting to do?

Cheers,

GB

Hi John,

No, I don't know....😟 However, I just experimented with what you were saying on my Macbook Air, and moved two of my albums into a new folder called Test, and it didn't seem to affect anything on the iTunes side....I looked at the Get Info option for the albums, and could see nothing different after I moved them....

Don't know if that helps you at all. I really had nothing to lose by moving things around because my full iTunes library lives on another computer....the one I have on this Mac just consists of a few things that I purchsed on this machine....

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

iTunes gurus....do you have any help for John?

Cheers,

GB

John

iTunes itself is only a media player with a database behind it (library), The player and database links your file/folders into what you see in the Library once you have uploaded, purchased or added to it.

The ripping, storage and archiving of the files/folder is either an Itunes selected 'automatic' structure or one you create. How you configure this is up to you really depending on how many artists, albums, tracks and also how you want to deal with back-ups/archiving of new stuff.

So you could have one "Music" Folder containing 1000 directories (one for each album) thus say 11,000 items when completed. Backing up the entire folder OR searching for the latest ripped/bought Album to back up can take hours.

Say you had 27 folders (Artists names starting with a letter or one for all numbers e.g. 10CC) then archiving/searching becomes easier once the album has been moved from initial location into the right folder. Backing up say your Music\A\* takes an hour but as you have only added ABBA Gold means quicker and easier archiving.

When you start adding more ripped/purchased CD's is when it starts becoming a nightmare. Plus anything that is AAC/M4A does not work on my car stereo so I have to convert them to MP3. I have yet to fully understand the limitations of the Apple storage system but am fully aware of the PC directory characteristics.

Sorry this is long.

Mark

John

The Directory structure you use will not confuse iTunes but I base my file storage structure on my experience of PC's and more recently Mac's.

You can structure it like you have said if you want, I'm only thinking longer term when you are scrolling/moving files/directories to your back-up archive and it is time consuming scrolling through the directory list to say folder 800/1000 which is Rolling Stones - Greatest Hits.

Hope you understand my explanation here.

Mark

When you import a CD in itunes it's different than when you import files. In first case it has to create the files and folders, in second case it's an option in preferences:

Preferences > Advanced Tab > Copy in itunes media folder the files added.

I suggest you uncheck this option so all files added to itunes are let where they are and aren't copied. But in case of CD itunes will anyway create the files and folders to import the CD and create the files.

Also in options, general tab, you have a button "import settings" or something similar (I don't use itunes in English). There you can change the formart of import, for example to mp3 at any setup you want instead of default probably some Apple mp4 setup.

If you move files and folders already in itunes or rename it you need take care that itunes find them because it stores a technical id. Also take care that : You copy the files somewhere like on another drive. Then move the original files and folder to trash. Then play the tracks in itunes and miracle it works. But then empty the trash and try again and itune will ask you the new position of the files.

If you want have organized music files I strongly suggest you to use another place then itunes music folder and use the change location ot relocate a file :

- Import the CD.

- Copy the files in the location you want.

- Go in itunes library and select the tracks imported from the CD, and delete and confirm they are moved to trash.

- Then drag the files/folder where you put the files copied into itunes.

If you have already imported the CD and added information instead you will want avoid delete the tracks in your library, so:

- Copy the files in the location you want.

- Go in itunes library and select the tracks imported from the CD, and select show in Finder.

- In Finder delete tracks and folder you want.

- Be sure you have copied all stuff you moved in trash.

- Then empty the trash.

- In itune select the first track then ittunes will ask you the location of the file, select your files copied.

- Repeat for each track moved.

EDIT: Those manipulations work only if you unchecked that option:

Preferences > Advanced Tab > Copy in itunes media folder the files added.