iTunes just ticked all the songs that I had unticked. Any idea how I can prevent this from happening again in the future?

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iTunes just ticked all the songs that I had unticked. Any idea how I can prevent this from happening again in the future?

Hi there,

Basically, as stated above, I've been working on unticking songs I don't want to hear in iTunes for a while, and today I noticed that everything had been reverted to "ticked". Note that this has nothing to do with syncing with a device--I'm speaking of tracks I had unticked within iTunes on my PC.

It's a bit annoying as indeed I'll have to start all over again. Any ideas how this happened and how I can prevent it from happening in the future?

Any help would be appreciated.

Kind regards,

FJ

iTunes-OTHER, Windows 10

Posted on Dec 21, 2015 6:46 AM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

272,773 points

Dec 21, 2015 5:28 PM in response to FJ4

Ctrl+clicking any check box toggles the state of that box and sets every other item in the same view to match it. I suspect you did this in error rather than iTunes acting independently. If you make a playlist of the songs you want to hear, or those that you don't it, it will be easier to reset the checked status of just the right items should it happen again.

tt2

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Answer 2

FJ4 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2015 2:33 PM in response to turingtest2

Hi tt2 and many thanks for your answer.

I'm not sure this is the case however as, unless I'm mistaken, "boxes" only appear in the Songs view, which I never use. I tend to use either the Albums view or Artists view, both of which require you to right-click on a track and select "Untick Selection" from the menu. I don't think there is a way to Ctrl+click boxes in these particular views.

Could it be something else?

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

272,773 points

Dec 21, 2015 3:01 PM in response to FJ4

It's the obvious mechanism that comes to mind. Have you imported the iTunes folder over the top of itself as a way of adding in any new media? This might import any playlists which would probably cause the tracks to become checked again.

tt2

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Answer 4

FJ4 Author

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8 points

Dec 21, 2015 4:05 PM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for your answer tt2.

I recently imported a CD but I doubt that would have the same effect as importing the entire iTunes folder over (which I haven't done recently). Could this have anything to do with some syncing issue with the Cloud or my account on the store?

Many thanks for the tip about keeping a separate playlist with the unticked items--this will be a handy way to untick everything should it happen again.

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

272,773 points

Dec 21, 2015 4:57 PM in response to FJ4

I can't think of anything else offhand. I've just checked my library and all songs have the correct checked status. I have smart playlists that would let me know if songs that I want unchecked are checked and vice-versa.

tt2

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Answer 6

FJ4 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2015 5:28 PM in response to turingtest2

Could I maybe ask you for the settings of that playlist? That way I can set up the same one.

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Answer 7

turingtest2

Level 10

272,773 points

Dec 21, 2015 7:28 PM in response to FJ4

I use the Grouping field to store various keywords which then form the basis of smart playlists. Non-iPod for example is for things that are not compatible with my devices, Exclude for things like interview tracks. Any track that has one of those key words and is checked is matches a playlist called Uncheck Me. An inverse of the rules picks out any track with none of words and isn't checked into a list called Check Me. Similar playlists pick out tracks with conditions that I want to fix in my library, like tracks without artwork, or the word and which I like to replace with &. This group of lists are all in a playlist folder called Cross Checks. When I add new tracks to the library anything that ends up in there needs tweaking to suit my taste and when the folder is empty everything is as I want it.

tt2

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