iTunes file placement issues

Windows won't let you create two folders with the same name inside the same folder, so if iTunes is renaming files and folders as you update tag information there must be some inconsistency that remains. Can you post an example of what you see?

tt2

If I understand correctly, I too have had this problem many times - and still do - eg The X-Certs in this image

and the individual "albums"

If it's the same issue, then the actual mp3 files are in a single (correct) folder in your library. For some reason the iTunes metadata is corrupted and hence displays wrongly.

Two ways to solve,

1) Select all the tracks from both instances, open the "Get Info" panel (Cntrl-I or right-click Get-Info) and rename the whole album by say adding a "1" on the end. This in my experience always then produces a single album in the view and then can be re-corrected by Get-Info again and delete the added "1" - the album displays correctly.

2) Just select the isolated track and edit (Cntrl-I or right-click Song-Info) - this time just toggle the "Compilation" check-box. This seems to correct the display, so just go into the full-album and the song, and toggle the check-box back. This seems to work most of the time - and is quicker. (Sometimes the album only displays the 1 track after this - but if you go to another view and then back again, it is fixed.)

Overall however I agree, nothing more frustrating than software companies that don't acknowledge, let alone fix, bugs.

I believe the issue under discussion involved multiple folders in Windows Explorer even though, presumably, the listings had been tidied up in iTunes. It occurs to me that iTunes cannot move a track it is currently playing, and sometimes fails to delete folders when it removes that last item out of them as part of reorganizing tracks, so that is a possible explanation for what was happening at the physical file level.

As far as logical organization in iTunes is concerned then I have some advice that is similar to yours.

If it shows multiple instances of an artist or an album then what generally works is to select all related tracks and use Get Info to add say a trailing X to each of the fields that the tracks should have in common:

• For an album; Album, Album Artist, and Artist (if artist is the same for all tracks) *
• For an artist; Album Artist (and Artist unless there are guest/featured artists listed which should not be changed)

Apply the change which merges things together, then remove the excess characters. Occasionally it may help to close and reopen iTunes between the two renaming operations. Part of a compilation should also be set consistently.

* If tracks are to be synced to a non-iOS device there should be a common Artist and/or the album should be set as a Compilation.

Use the songs view and display the fields Album, Sort Album, Album Artist, Sort Album Artist, Artist and Sort Artist side by side so you see whether or not it is appropriate to edit Artist and if sort values could be causing any further problems. See Grouping tracks into albums for more help if required.

One further tip for really stubborn duplicates. At one point I had three lots of Various Artists in the artists view of my iTunes Match library that wouldn't respond to the usual trailing X treatment. What I found worked was to add the trailing X to start with, but then with each group that iTunes wanted to keep separate start typing a value and let iTunes autocomplete from say Var... to Various Artists. Picking from the autocomplete lists seemed to work when pasting/editing the whole value didn't.

tt2

I know that you are just ranting here to help ease your pain about this issue, but you are not addressing Apple here. This is a user to user support forum, and Apple does not participate here. All of that frustration, wasted on other users like us, and Apple will not see it.

Another time see Grouping tracks into albums.

tt2