iTunes Sync: relation btwn Summary Options

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iTunes Sync: relation btwn Summary Options

I've always found this confusing and kind of get it working best as possible but really don't understand the relationship between setting the Options on the iTunes Summary page, and the corresponding options on each individual page such as: Music, Movies, TV Shows:

Starting at the Summary page in iTunes: if you click Options > "Sync only checked songs and videos", and "Manually manage music and videos" my intuitive thought is this will allow me to "Manually" designate (via checkbox) which songs and videos I want to sync between my computer and iPhone (or iPad, and iPod).

But when you go to the Music page, ___ Sync Music is uncheck, options are grayed out and none of my iTunes Library songs are showing:

If I check √ Sync Music - I get the warning:

Not exactly sure what will happen to music I've manually recorded, videos and pix I've shot even though not music, there's not enough info in the warning about that will remain on the iPhone untouched, so I refrain from "Remove and Sync" especially since I've not selected anything yet. These warnings about what will sync when you haven't had the chance to designate what you want to sync, sounds like an impossible picture and concerning because you can't know what the result of trying to activate this page and pop up warning will do.

So I go back to Summary Options page and first try unchecking "Manually manage music and Videos" and get another half information concerning warning that all existing content on my iPhone will be replaced with content from my iTunes Library. Again: my question is: replaced with which content? I haven't selected any yet. Plus I'm now not sure the relationship between the two options here: "Manually manage music and Videos" and "Sync only checked songs and videos."

I click Cancel, leave "Manually manage music and Videos" checked and try unchecking "Sync only checked songs and videos." No warnings pop up and NOW going to the Music page, check ___ Sync Music, I still get the same warning above.

I go back to Summary Options and take the chance and uncheck the other box: "Manually manage music and Videos" and get the same warning above "Are you sure you do not want to manually manage…. All existing content will be replaced on my iPhone. I click OK and go back to Music page and click the

√ Sync Music option, and all other options light up and I can see all my content.

This is my usual configuration and this lets me sync songs between my iTunes Library and iPhone (iPad and iPod).

But even after many years of iDevice ownership and syncing this is the only way I have found to create a relationship between my devices and my computer via iTunes. Since you see the Summary Options first before clicking to individual pages, I find the resulting warnings and what would seem logical to be quite illogical.

I would assume that first you would tell iTunes you want to sync, in the manner you want and then when you go to the corresponding individual pages, if you checked "Sync only checked songs and videos." and "Manually manage music and Videos" then when you go to for example the Music page, the Syn Music box would be checked and you would be able to see all you content. Not so. It's never worked this way.

Lastly: to make matters just a bit more confusing: the two Options: "Sync only checked songs and videos." and "Manually manage music and Videos" seem very redundant. Programmer speak aside, the English of these 2 sentences is quite confusing because if you select: "Sync only checked songs and videos."… then by definition of checking a box or boxes, you are manually managing your content. So how do these two options interact and what is their true meaning since they are not logically and cause and effect related using the written word.

SUMMARY: my solution which was trial and error: don't select an Options on the Summary page and go directly to the individual page you want to sync it's content like Music, Movies, TV Shows, Books and only configure your syncing directions there and ignore the Summary Options. All this seems very unApple-like to me and I've asked a number of AppleCare techs to explain and over the YEARS have never received a concise logical cogent reply. Not because they are not smart IMHO, I think because this is so convoluted that it defies a logical "Best Way" to set this your iTunes Syncing configuration up.

If anyone else has tried to make sense of this, whether new or old to iTunes syncing, I hope this thread gets some replies to help us make sense of this. IMHO I think it's long over due that Apple streamline this process.

NEXT RELATED POST: What's the Best Way to set up your iDevice to back up via iTunes related to Summary Option page: Backups > Automatically Back Up: iCloud and to This computer in addition to how this correlates to the Summary Option: Sync with this iPhone over WiFi.

IMHO: Backing Up and Syncing should be the most user friendly options one configure since they are both extremely if not essentially important to all users.

Thanks for reading. Steven

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5), 4-Core Mid 2012

Posted on Jun 27, 2015 6:27 AM

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Answer 1

jrmob

Level 1

14 points

Jul 30, 2015 4:38 AM in response to Steven Shmerler

iTunes Sync: relation btwn Summary Options

Steven - very well stated. I have the same questions. Is there anyone in the Apple Community who can address these questions regarding the "sync only checked songs and video" and syncing over WiFi? Thank you.

John

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Answer 2

Aug 3, 2015 4:09 AM in response to jrmob

Thanks for trying to re-solicit a response. firstly, the UI is so convoluted that I fear most people don't have the time to really review and look the issue in the eye in order to comment. It's not a huge problem, and you can work around it easily, usually not knowing or understanding why what you're trying works or what is the best setting. And since trying to understand a very illogical and thus confusing UI is more daunting than just muddling through as best as possible, this issue continues to not be addressed, explained, discussed here or ultimately solved by Apple.

I Will add to the mix that after updating itunes yesterday, I notice that my usual Summary > Options setting: "Manually manage music and videos" stayed checked through the update process, but on the Music Tab page, the Top sync checkbox lost its check and thus all Library music didn't show. I re-checked it to reveal all my iTunes Library music content and upon returning to the Summary page noticed "Manually manage music and videos" was now unchecked.

So, some one at Apple is listening albeit quietly and still without any insight about the relation between the a possibly redundant (or at least redundantly worded) global manual Option settings in Summary and the manual Sync checkboxes on the individual content pages.

Suffice it to say that apparently if you check an individual content page's Sync checkbox as of the latest iTunes 12.x, this will uncheck the Summary > Options > Manually manage music and videos checkbox.

CHecking Summary > Options > Sync only checked songs and videos, will check and stay checked when you check or uncheck individual content page checkboxes, and checking or unchecking the Summary Option doesn't seem to have any effect on syncing or the UI whatsoever making the trial and error approach to figuring this all out even harder.

There has to be an upper Tier Apple Tech who can explain what manual iTunes settings mean and how to best configure. Anyone listening Apple?

I'll keep pushing until I get clarity. Apple Store Genius Bar here I come...

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Answer 3

Hepcat B

Level 1

39 points

Oct 19, 2015 12:23 PM in response to Steven Shmerler

Steven, even though there is no response, and I'm not surprised since I question whether anyone understands these confusing and seemingly contradictory prompts, it is at least cathartic to hear someone articulate so well what remains, after all these years, the mystifyingly incomprehensible array of options on how to most efficiently control what goes onto your own dang iProduct from your own dang library. iTunes is indicative of my love/hate relationship with Apple in general: so much brilliance, so much neglect of proper support, so many head-slapping messes of unusability for major functions on major software and hardware. (And the smug self-satisfaction of their branding image only grinds my gears that much more.) But I've had serious failures with Mac: corrupt faulty internal hard drives, Apple Care Support causing me to erase two hard drives instead of the only one that needed it, a 7.x iPhone update frying my 4s's wi-fi / bluetooth antennea, leaving me with an iBrick. I know, I know I'm ranting, whereas your posts are laudably diplomatic. Kudos for your self restraint.

Anyway, I've been through these same manuevers, U-turns, and dead ends, the confusing mixed signal alerts and options everytime I try to change any setting regarding music sync, that I literally can't remember what choices I made to run the devices the way I do; there's an element of guesswork every time.

Gripes aside, the details of your post however has inspired a new educated guess as to what exactly the "sync only checked items" is all about. To back up, in the past, and maybe you've tried this too, I've had mixed success with trying to add playlists or just loose tracks / albums to the iProd by dragging and dropping them - in the attempt to load files without the often interminable and crash-crazy syncing process. (Does the syncing thousands of files already loaded on your device, or seeing "transferring purchase, 5 of 17" after 10 minutes of waiting, knowing you haven't bought any new music on your device, sound familiar?)

Only recently has the drag and drop worked while blessedly skipping the sync process. But only intermittently, or maybe depending on the device - though I do know I've had it work on my iPad one day, then without changing any settings anywhere, the next day it automatically initiated the dreaded sync. But as I've said, your description made me think: maybe the "Sync only checked items" selection prevents drag and drop from working, requiring checks the playlist / titles menus. I can't imagine why someone using checked items would want to *prevent* themselves from drag / dropping (they could just *not* do it!) but that would at least differentiate *something* within manual management of media. It would make sense of a sort, not that lots of Apple's software design isn't nonsensical.

As a limited, very incunclusive test, I just deselected "Sync only checked items," and dragged an album over, and indeed it loaded the tracks quickly with no new sync. Hopefully that's indicative of a reliable method for loading tracks quickly without the convoluted syncing glitchfest.

Incidentally, myself noting the seeming redundancy of "sync only checked items" and "manually managing," my interpretation was that checked items might refer to rejecting any items - even if contained in a selected playlist / album / artists, that have been "unchecked" within the iTunes library, referring to the tagging status that, deselected, makes the library skip the item during continuous play, or during shuffle if elected in its own Preferences option. (Such an item only plays in the iTunes window if you click on it directly.)

The fact there are two plausible yet completely different interpretations of what they mean by "syncing only checked items," is characteristic of the haplessly conceived, uselessly confounding alterts and prompts Mac's give to supposedly guide you through supposedly simple procedures. Grrrrrrrrr!

Anyway, interested to hear if you feel that might be useful in trying to clarify any of this mess.

Best, B.

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