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Library Organization

I recently upgraded my MBP hard drive and have moved my iTunes library from an external HD onto the new one. While my library was on the external drive it was organized as /Volumes/External/iTunes Library/ then individual folders for Music, Movies, Audio Books, Tones and whatever else. iTunes would then put new music in the Music folder, new movies in the Movies folder, etc.


Now I moved the library (drag and drop) to ~/Music/iTunes with the individual media folders just as before and changed the library location in iTunes accordingly. But now instead of putting new media in their respective folders it lumps them all into the top directory (in the same folder as the Music or Movies folders instead of inside them).


Is there any way to get iTunes to go back to the way it was while I was using the external hd?


iTunes 12.1.2


Thanks!

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 5:26 PM

Reply
7 replies

Jun 3, 2015 2:15 PM in response to Richard Hogg

Hello Richard Hogg,

The resource below explains how the iTunes Library and container folders are organized. Take a look at the file paths and the options for media organiation in the Advanced pane of iTunes Preferences.

Is it possible that you do not have the options to "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" enabled?


Locate and organize your iTunes files - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204668


Copying music to and keeping the iTunes Media folder organized

You can select these options on the Advanced pane of iTunes preferences:


  • "Keep iTunes Media folder organized." Learn more about how iTunes 9 and later organizes your media.
  • "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library." Select this option to store all of your media files in the iTunes Media folder. Since they're all in one location, you can easily transfer or back up your media.
    When you import media into iTunes from a CD, it's automatically added to your iTunes Media folder. If you add media to iTunes another way (choosing "Add to library" from the File menu or by dragging an MP3 file into iTunes), it might not be added to your iTunes Media folder.

User uploaded file



Locating the file for an item you see in iTunes


If you're not sure where iTunes stores your content, iTunes will show you what it knows about your media in the Get Info window. To access the Get Info window, select a file in iTunes and then choose File > Get Info.

User uploaded file





I hope this information helps ....


- Judy

Jun 3, 2015 2:57 PM in response to judysings

Hi Judy,


In the following images, the highlighted folders are/were the folders I designated as the top library directory in iTunes. Here's the layout of my library on the external (as organized by iTunes):

User uploaded file

Here it is on the new HD:

User uploaded file

And here are my current "Advanced" settings:

User uploaded file

You can see that with the new HD iTunes is placing imported items in the top directory instead of the "Music" folder. Do I need to name the folders something specific for iTunes to recognize where to put things?

Jun 4, 2015 11:55 AM in response to Richard Hogg

Hi Richard Hogg,

Even though you have enabled the "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" in the Advanced pane of iTunes Preferences, I don't see the iTunes Media folder (/Users/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media) in the screenshot of your New HD.

If you need assistance with your iTunes application, here is the link for iTunes support:

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/contact/

Cheers,

- Judy

Library Organization

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