No option "Upgrade to iTunes Media Organization".

Yes, many. The structure (relative position of certain folders) changes but don't expect the media folder name to change automatically.

Presumably you know how to switch between libraries by holding down the shift key? If you are game try this:

Shift-start iTunes and create a library called iTunes Test in the root of your X: drive. Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that that media folder is called X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media - there is an outside chance that it could be set to either X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Music or X:\iTunes\iTunes Music - change if necessary.

Copy a single music track into X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes.

This track should be added to your library and moved into X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media\Music\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext>. If you look you will note that the option to "Reorganize files" is disabled since this library is in the current layout.

Close iTunes. Using Notepad or similar open the hidden file X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media\.iTunes Preferences.plist and change the integer value from 1 to 0.

Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn "Keep..." off and press OK. Then turn it back on again. The track will move to X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext> (one level higher in the folder tree).

Close iTunes. Rename X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media as X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Music. Open iTunes. iTunes will automatically update the media folder to X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Music and be able to play the track.

You can now use File > Library > Organize Library > Reorganize files... to reimpose the modern layout. The track will move down one level, but the media folder name won't change.

Close iTunes, rename the folder X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Music back to X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media and open iTunes. Again you should find that iTunes has automatically adjusted the media folder location and is able to play the track.

Please don't take my word for it but try it for yourself. BTW This test, which I just performed again, can be completed in much less time than it takes to type it up!

When switching between libraries it is worth knowing that each should recall the correct media folder but the options for Keep... and Copy... seem to belong to the user profile, so take care if you (by which I mean anyone reading this) have personally curated file and folder names and are experimenting.

tt2

I suspect they misquoted the help file, although I suppose it is possible the original text might have said something along those lines only to be edited in the next build. If I can find the time I might even install an old version just to check.

tt2

I suspect they haven't given it much thought. Did you double-check for the presence of hidden artwork files within your old iTunes Music\<Artist> folders? When moving files around as a result of tag changes iTunes only moves the media files themselves. If a folder is emptied by a move (or folder deletion) then it is (normally) deleted. Likewise if iTunes consolidates files it only copies the media. There Is a script on my site called ConsolidateByMoving which also moves any hidden artwork or Thumbs.db files and also produces a warning if there are any mystery files remaining after the last media or artwork file is removed. A variation creates files or folder names longer than iTunes 40 character limit and another I use myself moves files to my personal preferences.

tt2

Presumably it works fine in the test scenarios that the engineers work with. If you replicated my test you should have seen that as the track moved from one path to the other the empty folders were removed. However if you had Windows Explorer open looking at one of the folders at the time you may have found that iTunes was unable to remove it. Should the request to remove a folder fail iTunes doesn't come back to have another go later.

tt2

9mario9 wrote:

turingtest2 wrote:

Close iTunes. Using Notepad or similar open the hidden file X:\iTunes Test\iTunes Media\.iTunes Preferences.plist and change the integer value from 1 to 0.

Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn "Keep..." off and press OK. Then turn it back on again.

tt2

Maybe I'm wrong but to me it sounds a bit illogical...

To turn "Keep..." off, iTunes needs to be open, but you say "Close iTunes...., turn "Keep..." off and press OK and THEN turn it back on....

A sin of omission....

Start iTunes. Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn "Keep..." off and press OK. Then turn it back on again.

This is another housekeeping thing... iTunes only checks the paths of items when you edit their tags, or you switch on the "Keep..." preference when it was previously off.

tt2