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Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / May 2008Importing songs into iTunes *without* moving them into iTunes
Apologies for repeating several often-asked questions about iTunes and iPod here, but I'm about to do a major reorganization of audio files for use on an iPod via iTunes; the relevant documentation is really not totally clear or complete; and I'd like to get it right the first time. The objective is to keep my audio files --- sorry, my "tunes" --- in widely dispersed locations on my HD; use iTunes as a catalog for organizing them and putting them on an iPod; but not have iTunes moving them, stuffing them into Artist and Album folders, or otherwise altering them; and also not have to have duplicate copies of all of them in the iTunes Music folder. (And, let's not debate why I want to do this.) So, I gather that in iTunes Prefs, I should: * Uncheck "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" -- right? * Also uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" -- right? * Uncheck "Create file names with track number" -- right? (I don't want iTunes creating or messing with my file names -- the files already have the names I want) * Finally, what do I enter for "iTunes Music folder location"? (I'd like to have different files live in different folders all over my HD -- though I could live with all my folders being inside one master folder if I have to.) (Maybe I enter my User folder name? Or my Documents folder?) Anything else I need to do before I start dragging groups of these files into a virgin iTunes Music Library? And then, after I've set the above preferences and start loading my file into iTunes, since these files exist in small organized groups on the HD: * Can I actually drag each such group *as a group* from its HD location into its own iTunes playlist, right from the start? * Can I simply drag a group's enclosing folder into iTunes, or into a playlist? * Can I drag *nested* folders, each containing some "songs", into iTunes? Finally, if I manage to get all my audio files into iTunes in this way --- which I think will really mean that they've all been **cataloged** in that iTunes library, right? -- then * Will iTunes otherwise function, and deal with these "tunes", as if they were in the iTunes Music folder? (which, I realize, is where God, and Steve Jobs, intended them to be) * Will I be able to modify metadata like Genre and Album for these files using iTunes, just as if they really were in the iTunes Music folder? * Will I be able to modify individual *file names* in iTunes, and have the original files be re-named, as seen in the Finder? * And should I stick to strictly manual synching, so that iTunes doesn't try to undo everything the first time I reconnect the iPod after its been loaded the first time. And I guess I won't even ask what will happen to the iTunes links if I move one of these files elsewhere using the Finder, or rename it in the Finder . . . Thanks much for any advice or assistance (and this is on a MacBook running 10.4.11, currently using iTunes 7.6.2, and intended for a black 8 GB iPod purchased late last year). > * And should I stick to strictly manual synching, so that > iTunes doesn't try to undo everything the first time I > reconnect the iPod after its been loaded the first time. Why would that happen?  SignatureIf you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. > Apologies for repeating several often-asked questions about iTunes and > iPod here, but I'm about to do a major reorganization of audio files for [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > * Uncheck "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" -- right? Irrelevant if you have configured iTunes to not copy files to its music folder, and the only music added to iTunes is dragged into it from elsehwere on your hard drive. This setting only affects the iTunes Music folder, and you won't be using that folder. > * Also uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when > adding to library" -- right? Yes. This is the only critical setting. With this option unchecked, iTunes won't copy any files you drag into it - it just keeps a reference to the files within its database. iTunes _will_ modify your original files, specifically to update ID3 tags as you make changes to metadata in iTunes. As far as I know it won't rename the files or move them. > * Uncheck "Create file names with track number" -- right? > (I don't want iTunes creating or messing with my file > names -- the files already have the names I want) Also irrelevant. This will only matter if you use iTunes to rip music from CDs, download songs from the iTunes store (maybe), or have configured iTunes to copy files to its music folder. > * Finally, what do I enter for "iTunes Music folder location"? Doesn't matter. Leave it where God intended it to be (in Music, in your home folder). It will be empty. The iTunes Music folder will only be significant if you use iTunes to rip music from CDs, download songs from the iTunes store, or have configured iTunes to copy files to its music folder. > (I'd like to have different files live in different folders all over > my HD -- though I could live with all my folders being inside [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Anything else I need to do before I start dragging groups of these files > into a virgin iTunes Music Library? If your original files don't have useful data in their ID3 tags, then you should address this first. iTunes is entirely based around ID3 tags. Folder structure and filenames are ignored. iTunes wants to organise its library by Genre (optional), Artist, Album, Track number and Title. If these ID3 tags are missing or don't contain consistent data you will end up with a complete mess. I've seen cases where hundreds of tracks are called "Track 1" (or similar) with no other information. Not at all useful. You can also create playlists and smart playlists which organise things any way you like, but if your ID3 tags are no good then you won't have anything to work with. You can of course use iTunes to enter this data afterwards but it would be better to fill in at least Artist, Title and Album (and preferably track number, if you care about album structure) before the songs hit iTunes. You could use iTunes to assist if you add tracks in small enough groups (e.g. one album at a time), as you can shift-click a range of tracks and get info to change details for several at once. I believe there are also tools for doing things like copying filenames into track titles. Check out http://dougscripts.com for some useful iTunes automation scripts. > And then, after I've set the above preferences and start loading my file > into iTunes, since these files exist in small organized groups on the HD: > > * Can I actually drag each such group *as a group* from its HD > location into its own iTunes playlist, right from the start? No. You have to drag them into the iTunes "Music" library before you can organise them as a playlist. You could set up a smart playlist which tracks your most recent imports, and then create a normal playlist from that. > * Can I simply drag a group's enclosing folder into iTunes, > or into a playlist? If you drag a folder into iTunes (specifically into the "Music" library) it will scan the entire set of subfolders and add all the music files to the library. (You can't go directly to a playlist - see above.) > * Can I drag *nested* folders, each containing some "songs", > into iTunes? Yes, as above. > Finally, if I manage to get all my audio files into iTunes in this way > --- which I think will really mean that they've all been **cataloged** [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > as if they were in the iTunes Music folder? (which, I realize, > is where God, and Steve Jobs, intended them to be) Yes. > * Will I be able to modify metadata like Genre and Album for > these files using iTunes, just as if they really were in the > iTunes Music folder? Yes. This stuff is mostly stored in ID3 tags inside the individual files (with a cached copy in the iTunes library database files). Some data is in the iTunes library only (e.g. "last played"). > * Will I be able to modify individual *file names* in iTunes, and > have the original files be re-named, as seen in the Finder? No. iTunes doesn't provide any way to change the filenames (unless you have the files in the iTunes Music folder and have the appropriate "keep organised" features turned on, in which case iTunes manages the filenames automatically). It does show them in the Info window. > * And should I stick to strictly manual synching, so that > iTunes doesn't try to undo everything the first time I > reconnect the iPod after its been loaded the first time. Um, not sure what you are asking there. The iPod is a separate issue, and it receives data from iTunes (it doesn't cause modifications to the iTunes library, except for some data like "last played" and the play count). If you have the iPod configured for automatic synching, then it is "owned" by a specific copy of iTunes and every time you connect it, iTunes will automatically update the iPod for appropriate changes in the library, by deleting, adding and replacing songs on the iPod. You can set the iPod to automatically sync with the entire library or just selected playlists. If you have the iPod configured for manual synching, then you have to manually add, remove and modify items on the iPod, and can do so from any computer running iTunes (constrained by host platform - if the iPod is Mac-formatted then you can't manage it on Windows, but if it is Windows-formatted then you can manage it on both Mac and Windows). If you change between manual and automatic modes (or vice versa), iTunes will want to wipe the iPod and start fresh. > And I guess I won't even ask what will happen to the iTunes links if I > move one of these files elsewhere using the Finder, or rename it in the > Finder . . . I suggest a controlled experiment. In general I'd expect iTunes on a Mac to be quite happy if you make folder-level or file-level changes within a volume (as long as you don't try to move files to a different drive or partition). For example, you should be able to rename folders and move them around without causing problems. (This is the magic of HFS+ aliases.) Moving files to different folders will probably be OK, as will renaming files. If you renamed or deleted a file then put another one in its place with the original name it might confuse things. > Thanks much for any advice or assistance (and this is on a MacBook > running 10.4.11, currently using iTunes 7.6.2, and intended for a black > 8 GB iPod purchased late last year). SignatureDavid Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz > > And then, after I've set the above preferences and start loading my file > > into iTunes, since these files exist in small organized groups on the HD: [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > it will scan the entire set of subfolders and add all the music files to > the library. (You can't go directly to a playlist - see above.) Sorry, but the above is not completely accurate. You can drag a folder of songs to the "PLAYLIST" header in iTunes sidebar and it will create a playlist of that name containing the songs in that folder. It will NOT create a nested folder structure, though, just a flattened playlist with all the contained songs. SignatureSpenser > > > And then, after I've set the above preferences and start loading my file > > > into iTunes, since these files exist in small organized groups on the HD: [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > NOT create a nested folder structure, though, just a flattened playlist > with all the contained songs. Thanks for the correction. That was a feature I didn't know about. You can also drag a folder directly to an existing playlist and it will add all the songs in the (nested) folder hierarchy to the library (if necessary) and to that playlist. SignatureDavid Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz > > > If you drag a folder into iTunes (specifically into the "Music" library) > > > it will scan the entire set of subfolders and add all the music files to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > add all the songs in the (nested) folder hierarchy to the library (if > necessary) and to that playlist. I should proofread before I post. By "nested" I mean it will find all songs in the folder hierarchy. The hierarchy is not replicated in iTunes. SignatureDavid Empson dempson@actrix.gen.nz |
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