When I choose "View Options", nothing seems to occur. The menu selection is not greyed out, it just doesn't seem to have any functionality when you select it.
Occasionally when I click elsewhere, I'll see a brief flash, as if something had popped up, but only significantly delayed and not long enough to figure out what happened.
User Jersey33w helptully offered this solution:
Not looking for the sidebar -- already found it.
Thanks for the suggestion though.
The missing view options briefly befuddled me as well. It's a bug in that the option should be grayed out unless you're in an area where the options can be applied. If you're in the iTunes store looking at movies, for example, there are no "view options" and selecting the menu item will do nothing (it should be gray). If you're in "My Music" looking at your collection, you have view options and selecting the menu item will pop open the view options (which are top right, just below the search). Hope that helps.
I listen to my iPod through iTunes on my work computer (that is, the songs are on my iPod, not on my computer, but they play through iTunes - kind of like using an external hard drive). In the past I've been able to sort the songs on the iPod by opening "view options" and choosing which column to sort by (clicking on the columns does nothing while in this iPod-play mode). In iTunes 12 now, though, I have the same experience as above: I click on "view options" and nothing happens.
And to add to this, it is EXTREMELY annoying that you can't just click on the headings in the columns in the main view, to sort them by column ascending or descending. Why go though some arcane menu item (if and when it's working), when a much-more-intuitive and commonplace solution could be in place. We are all used to clicking on table, spreadsheets, search results, etc - should be the same here.
Isn't working for me. Mind you, I don't keep a music library on it (work computer, windoze 7). so may be part of it (or the root of the whole problem?) Like a previous post above, I play my music that's on my iPhone through iTunes and need to be able to sort my music on my device by album, so that the tracks get played in the correct order - classical and concept albums sound weird out of order!
If you are looking to set view options for a particular playlist, then just right-click on any of the column headings (Name, Artist, Album, Time, etc), or the headings bar. You will then see a fly-out menu with the various current items checked - click on an item to uncheck or check.
So I need to make a playlist of my entire library? Just to use the View Option that used to be available? Seems wrong.
If you are looking at the Library using the "Songs" option, then you can do as I mentioned above, and right-click on the heading bar to select/deselect options from the fly-out menu. But I think that only works for "Songs" view in the Library.
In iTunes 12.1.2.27, the columns are sortable by clicking on them (you probably know this). Also, if you right-click in the row of column headings you can specify which columns should show.
Also works in the Column Browser view.
As others have pointed out, if you select Playlists and create a playlist, you get a playlist with only two columns. If you go to Music in the playlist view you can set the column options in View. But these will apply to the songs in view not the playlists.
The simple secret is that the playlists will each have by default in the upper right corner a button saying "Playlist" showing. But if you click on that "Playlist" button and choose "Songs" you will get the columns that you have chosen in the Views: View Options.
One of the columns that I use to depend on for my podcast playlist was release date. Because the view options is greyed out I can't sort the list. This makes it impossible to sort my podcasts in sequential order.
I spend an hour with the Genius bar at a local apple store. They believe this is a bug with itunes 12.2 and there doesn't seem to be a work around.
Very frustrating!
George Rachor
I found the replies here confusing until I figured it out myself. But the info is all in this thread;
By default now, when you create a new playlist it will be in "Playlist" sorting mode. As PherankH further up explained, just change this to "Songs" in the upper right corner and you'll have back your usual columns. Rightclick on any column to get the column selection list where you can add or remove more columns, like Sort By Release Date.
Took me an hour to figure out, **** update.
Awiro
Does anyone know how to change the default view for all playlists to "Songs" view, or some view other than "Playlists"? I can go to a specific playlist and change the view for that playlist, but I need to do that manually for every playlist.
This was very helpful. I didn't realize one could choose "songs" while still remaining in "playlist" view (in other words, with a playlist sidebar... If I choose this option, iTunes finally resembles the version I am familiar with. Thank you.
View options in iTunes 12 - window won't display
