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Joe_Dawson Author

Level 1

38 points

Bring back the Sidebar in iTunes 12

I have used iTunes since version 1 in 2001. And for 13 years we have had a sidebar that allows us direct access to our device and all our media. As the list of types of media grew we had them all at our fingertips with the sidebar. Now on version 11 by default the sidebar was gone but you could turn it on and get the same user experience you knew back.

In version 12 it is gone... When you click on playlists that sidebar is not comprehensive it is only a limited view of your playlists. We need the full one back that we have had for 13 years. You build up a user experience for 13 years and then you just abandon it because you want to do things different? And not better just different...

Microsoft tried that type of different with the start menu on Windows 8. Hopefully apple will learn from the user community like Microsoft did with the start menu. We like our sidebar so please bring it back as an option like it was in version 11. You can have your new method, just allow us to enjoy the old method as well.

Posted on Oct 17, 2014 3:41 AM

Top-ranking reply

simoncook1969

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Oct 17, 2014 5:25 AM

Agree, 100%. Bring it back. Even better, go back to iTunes 6 which was the last decent one.

View in context

47 replies

EB-WFH

Level 1

4 points

Jul 8, 2016 9:43 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

What they've done is to introduce irregularity to the interface.

While the whole range of content is shown on attached devices, the PC/Mac library can only display one type of content at a time (Music, Podcast...).

No wonder so many people are moaning. Apple was once known for good interface design, but seems now to have forgotten how to do it.

I don't denigrate the attempt to simplify the screen as the number of media types grows, but it should always be possible to get back to previous behavior, and all content repositories should have the same, consistent, interface.

EB-WFH

Level 1

4 points

Jul 8, 2016 9:56 AM in response to Emile vande Griendt

What's the triple dot menu? Does it exist on iTunes 12.4 under Windows 7?

The maddening thing about the reduction of sidebar capability is that it's so unnecessary. The top menu lists various content types, and lets you put a check-mark on the one you want to show. If you could check multiple types, everyone would have what they're asking for, and even PeterVL57 could get the interface he seems to want to impose on the rest of us.

Bring back the Sidebar in iTunes 12