How can I view my music in list view in iTunes 12.4?

You’re ****** right. iTunes has been gaining layer after layer of bloat for years and Apple seem intent on change for change’s sake.

They have more brains than the Manhattan Project* and more money than god: why can’t they come up with an interface that Just Works?

*OK, maybe this is hyperbole. But you get my meaning.

I'm not so sure it's hyperbole at all, Jack.

But I'm glad you replied because that gave me an auto-notification that reminded me of this thread so that I can share a new trick with this new 12.4 release that I just discovered this morning.

Earlier I mentioned hating to have to click through the onerous drop-down menus to switch between apps and music and podcasts, etc. Well by experimenting with the menu commands I learned that there are keyboard shortcuts which will accomplish the same thing much more easily. When in iTunes, to view:

Your music: CMD + 1

Your movies: CMD + 2

Your TV shows : CMD + 3

Your podcasts: CMD + 4

Your apps: CMD + 7

There are additional such shortcuts for every number 1 through 9 and you can see the whole list if within iTunes you click on "View" in the menu bar, then "Media Kind". I was going BONKERS and cussing up a blue streak every time I wanted to switch from apps to music to podcasts until I learned these and I've already memorized the combinations I use most frequently.

Now if they would only make the default button on the iPhone syncing screen the "sync" button like it used to be, instead of the "done" button as they have switched it to....but I'm so ecstatic about having found a way to defeat the blasted drop-down menu that I'll hold my peace on that item for now.....

Hi Emguls

Didn’t the previous version have something similar ? Because the functionality could be achieved by pointing and clicking we never needed to summon these shortcuts.

As with all UI changes, eventually we get used to the most retrograde of design moves (don’t get me started on how inferior Pages 5.62 is to 4.3) but in most cases you can see some overarching concept in what Apple are attempting, namely preparing us for the integration on OSX and iOS. But iTunes needs a ground-up rebuild to separate the functions of user library and shop front; to split sound, visual and App catalogues; and remove the accretions of pointless complications of the last ten years.

I’ll admit that to create something so simple requires far more thought and ingenuity than another mere round of bolting on of features, but that’s precisely why we love Apple right ? Apple customers have a right to expect the very best – and quite simply we’re not being given it.

Another round of rearranging the Titanic’s deckchairs could make old hands jump ship. I’ll bet there are smart programmers out there who would love to implement third party solutions to Apple’s Gordian Knot.

I can’t see iTunes staggering on for much longer – even its (very) few fans wouldn't put up much of a fight to prevent a radical overhaul.

I'm with you. After the update I imported some video files and was dumbfounded to see the interface had again changed. I've been an Apple Fanboy for many years and am now retired from 40 years of IT work. My biggest complaint with Windoze was Microsoft's insistence on changing the entire interface with each version; change for the sake of change, with little or no real improvement in the product. It was extremely annoying, time wasting, and expensive since we had to get everyone else up to speed so work could get done. Just being able to open a Windoze file or mange one's files was an exercise in total frustration. The consistent interface of the Mac OS was a big draw for me personally. It was my oasis when I returned home. Soon after Steve Jobs died, that policy has been thrown to the wayside and it's as if the patients are now running the asylum. I'm beginning to have the same frustrations I had with Windoze. Steve Jobs was not only a visionary, he was an excellent captain of the ship and didn't tolerate anyone who didn't get with the program. Yet, he was also able to inspire true creativity among his staff. That's true leadership and extremely rare. Wake up Apple, people here are providing valuable feedback. Listen or reap the result when someone else eventually does listen and eats your lunch. No one, not even Apple, lasts forever. And the biggest reason is when a company no longer listens to its customer base and provides what they need or want and someone else does.

Ha! I, too, was in IT - though for a little less than half of what you were (but in either case that still pretty much covered the whole lifespan of Windows PC's anyway as I was just starting out when our office got its first Windows PC - I don't think it was even 3.1 yet). I became a superuser and, while not an MCSE I certainly had my fair share of advanced classes in Windows support. Apple at home was - and still is - a similar "oasis" for me, I'm not lucky enough to be completely "retired" yet but I AM "retired" from IT as I went into a completely different field (medical coding).

I used to be proud of my skills in being able to outwit Microsoft's gremlins but the day finally came when I woke up and realized it was even smarter to throw in the towel and get a system (Apple) that - even with the relatively minor little quirks such as those mentioned in these forms - does NOT require a rocket scientist's skills to figure out solutions to those quirks.

I find the 12.4 UI a great improvement over previous releases - it is simpler and considerably more logical, without the scatter-gun approach that resulted in functions being randomly accessible via the main menus, context menus, buttons, separate dropdowns, etc.

No one's here to defend (or question) Apple's choices, just help others.

Fair point, but I’ve been doing just that since 1985 and it’s becoming increasingly difficult when Apple repeatedly shoot themselves in the interface foot.

I find the 12.4 UI a great improvement over previous releases

But specifically the 'Save a File in a New Format’ function. Do you honestly consider this an improvement ?

That's a change that I'm indifferent to, as in 10 years of using iTunes I've never once found the need to convert between media formats within iTunes (and the only scenario in which I do so outside iTunes is to convert digital purchases in FLAC format to ALAC, given iTunes' lack of support for the former). Given that this shouldn't be a function that anyone needs to use on a regular basis, putting it in a logical place in the UI at the expense of one mouse click seems a good tradeoff to me.

Easy, put the library (or playlist) into Song View, then add the "Date Added" as a column and click on the header. If this is a playlist, then right-click on the playlist name and select "Copy to Play Order" to save the sorting.

Yes, command+j for Mac, probably "ctrl" for Windows. It usually seems that when Apple hides features that were readily visible, it's because they are about to be phased out, which is probably what they did with the conversion to mp3 feature. That's the next thing I'm about to look up.

For me, it was hard to find because I didn't have the "View, Show Sidebar" option checked (Ctrl+S).

After that, it was easier to find everything. The sidebar might be hidden by default, or stuff that you used to be able to find otherwise is now only in the sidebar.

Please, no more updates, every time an update is released I start to consider getting off iTunes platform (which would e a problem due to the amount of itunes content I have), still at some point I have to consider if it's worth putting up with these "change for the sake of change" updates.
<Edited by Host>

Chris CA, you're wrong. Certain IOS versions require you to update iTunes on the computer. So in fact, Apple is forcing you to update if you want to update the iOS on your phone.

And to others, yes, it's much more inconvenient to use dropdown menus rather than icons or buttons. In design school they teach you that you only ever use dropdowns when there's no space for icon bars. One click is always preferable to two. And it's bad customer service to remove features entirely rather than making them a 'preference' for people.

It seems that Apple has lost its way, and the truly inventive designers are finding rewarding careers elsewhere. Maybe personal devices named after fruits eventually have a life span.