Itunes library and duplicate items and Windows Explrr folders

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Level 1

4 points

Itunes library and duplicate items and Windows Explrr folders

I have a 2 or 3 general questions about iTunes. I download all my iTunes to a PC and only really play them there. Hence the questions about iTunes folders in Windows Explorer.

1 How do duplicates happen in the library? I have loads. I've seen the advice on removing them. This helps a bit but it's still a piecemeal task. How do I stop it happening in the first place?

2 Also on duplicates. Last night I went into Windows Explorer on the PC I use for downloading and playing iTunes, and went into the iTunes Media/Music folder. I painstakingly went through every album folder removing any duplicates here. However, on opening iTunes itself today, the duplicates all seem to be still there in the library list. Why didn't this work? Doesn't iTunes load content from that folder? if not, why am I advised to back it up?

3 What does the iCloud symbol next to some of the tunes mean? If I run the cursor over it, it says 'download'. But surely I downloaded it when I bought it and added it to my library? Why would I have to download it again? Does this symbol that the tune in question can't be played if the PC is offline?

4 One of the tracks in my Library list was not appearing today in my Windows Explorer iTunes Media/Music folder. i may have deleted it accidentally while I was removing duplicates there and have now downloaded it to the album folder in there. Presumably then, the iTunes library does not load constantly from the Music Folder on a Windows PC? Does it only load from there if backup is needed?

If so OK but other files appear in the Library that are not there and it asks if I want to locate the file?

I suppose my confusion stems from the assumption that the iTunes Media/Music folder in Windows Explorer should precisely indicate what will appear in the Library in the app.

iPad 2, iOS 8.1.2, 12.9 GB capacity, 4.9 GB available

Posted on Jul 15, 2016 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

63,626 points

Jul 16, 2016 4:53 PM in response to Vondegru

Vondegru,

Regarding questions 2 and 4: iTunes does not automatically "load" any files from the folders. You can do an optional optional one-time initial scan when you first install iTunes, which will add all found compatible files into the iTunes library. After that, files don't get added unless you take some action to add them.

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Answer 2

Vondegru Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 16, 2016 4:55 PM in response to ed2345

Thanks. That clarifies it.

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Jul 17, 2016 10:10 AM in response to Vondegru

iTunes may create duplicates if the same content is repeatedly added from outside the media folder when it is set to make copies of anything that is added to the library, or is added from an external drive that hosts the media folder that was offline when iTunes was launched.

Apple's official advice on duplicates is here: Find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership, or that sometimes the same file can be represented by multiple entries in the library and that deleting one and recycling the file will break any others.

Start in the Songs view. Use View > Show Duplicate Items (pre iTunes 12.4) or File > Library > Show Duplicate Items (post 12.4) and then click Same Album to display exact duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.

Use my DeDuper script (Windows only) if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background on the script, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.

(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)

The most recent version of the script can tidy dead links as long as there is at least one live duplicate to merge stats and playlist membership to, and should cope sensibly when the same file has been added via multiple paths.

tt2

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Jul 17, 2016 1:17 PM in response to Vondegru

iTunes doesn't scan the media folder for new content added to it, or removed from it. If it notices that you've removed a file then that will show with an exclamation mark if it is supposed to be stored locally. Purchases that haven't been downloaded show with a cloud. Management of the media should really be done via iTunes rather than Windows Explorer, however you may find iTunes Folder Watch a useful tool if you want to make sure that iTunes and the file system match.

tt2

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Answer 5

Vondegru Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 17, 2016 1:23 PM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for that. Again that clarifies things further. I thought I"d downloaded every item but I've also had to replace the whole library a while back once or twice after rescuing Windows 7 via a disk image, maybe that's muddied the waters.

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Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Jul 17, 2016 1:42 PM in response to Vondegru

It is hard to say for certain without the details but redownloading (and the creation of folder level duplicates) might have been avoided if you'd seen Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash at the time.

tt2

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