i loaded up my music libray to xfer some files to an ipod alot of my songs don't appear on my libray do i went through the settings and clicked orgainize libary and it fuckin reorginizes my mp3s folder.puts half my songs in seperate folders, breaks up albums basically fucks my system up. so is there anywa way to "undo" the reorginaization process? will windows restore undo ish like that? thanx in advance guys

12/29/2005 4:46:34 AM

itunes had a feature to CREATE folders FOR you?

12/29/2005 5:52:00 AM

That's why you're supposed to have it duplicate your music first. iTunes organization is pretty intuitive and is the same way I would organize if I did it manually. You just have to make sure your ID3 tags are correct rather than creating file titles with all the info.

12/29/2005 9:16:14 AM

just fix all the ID3 tags and iTunes will put all your songs in the right folders based on the album and artist you put in the tag.

12/29/2005 10:02:01 AM

hey hey now.

That there's a feature! And if apple says you need that feature then you need it!

12/29/2005 1:24:42 PM

You don´t have to use it´s organization feature...

12/29/2005 1:26:52 PM

isn't it the default?

12/29/2005 1:29:31 PM

Yes.

If, for some reason, you are attached to your incorrectly tabbed mp3s or have a dislike of organization in general, you can easily disable this feature.

12/29/2005 3:01:11 PM

well what if you've already orginized it and dont want itunes fucking it up?

When it asks if you want to add your existing media to the itunes library, it is in no way obvious that its going to fuck everything up.

And its retarded that it even does it to begin with. The better approach is to scan all drives for media, and attach its location to its display name in the program. And then orgainize the display names.

This not only avoid annoying the shit out of your user, but its faster as well since you dont have to move the files.

Then maybe you can have a "consolidate media" option if you want to move everything to one place.

Also, what if the user adds media from the OS/games/otherprograms.

Would itunes then move that out of its original folders?

12/29/2005 3:37:38 PM

^from what I understand, it doesnt move anything, it just copies them and organizes them in the folders (if you have that feature turned on, which I don't)

12/29/2005 3:43:50 PM

so what happens if you have 20 gigs of audio and video files?

You wait for itunes to copy that 20 gigs over to its library and enjoy wasting the space on your hdd!

12/29/2005 3:45:48 PM

IF ONLY THERE WERE A WAY TO CUSTOMIZE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO FIT ONE'S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS!

THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!!!

12/29/2005 3:47:22 PM

the problem is that the default action is what fucks it up. And it does not notify you that its going to fuck it up.

So the only way you can learn that its going to fuck your shit is by going through it and finding out the hard way, or by luckly coming accross the problem on some internet message board.


Its like building a gun that shoots backwards and not telling the user they have to point it the other way.

12/29/2005 3:50:19 PM

Quote :

"^from what I understand, it doesnt move anything, it just copies them and organizes them in the folders (if you have that feature turned on, which I don't)"

if thats really what it does thats really stupid

12/29/2005 5:18:38 PM

^ why is that stupid?

12/29/2005 5:20:37 PM

iirc, when you install itunes, there's a checkbox of whether you want it to do this or not. perhaps you should pay attn when you install software.

12/29/2005 5:21:57 PM

maybe you dont mind it but my harddrive isnt huge. i dont want to fill it up with copies of my music
it should just scan and find music and note where it is

12/29/2005 5:22:56 PM

^ It does, merely uncheck the box that says "Automatically manage my music collection for me" on install.

12/29/2005 5:29:21 PM

that should be default

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 5:32 PM. Reason : and when it does manage it shouldnt simply copy them]

12/29/2005 5:32:14 PM

honestly itunes is another reason i think macs are gay

12/29/2005 5:34:08 PM

Quote :

"Automatically manage my music collection for me"

this in no way says "leaving this checked will fuck your shit up. "

"manage" != move the files.


continuing the gun example that would be like havining a switch on the gun saying "Have gun manage bullet shooting"

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 5:51 PM. Reason : .]

12/29/2005 5:50:36 PM

Quote :

"maybe you dont mind it but my harddrive isnt huge. i dont want to fill it up with copies of my music it should just scan and find music and note where it is"

At first, I had iTunes set up to just leave the music where it was. But, this caused problems because eventually I had music all over my HD (downloads folder, music folder), and sometimes I would get music from other people, and have duplicates. When the music is scattered around, it's hard to know which is which without individually checking each file.

So, to solve the problem, I put all the music in one folder, cleared out iTunes, then I set iTunes to use that folder as its music folder, then I set iTunes to organize my music. This way, it didn't copy anything, all my music was in one place, and it was all organized in to neat folders.

In the end, having iTunes organize the music was a lot neater and better than have it strewn about.

Plus, i'm guessing with the iPod's popularity, most people aren't having this problem.

12/29/2005 6:02:39 PM

Quote :

"maybe you dont mind it but my harddrive isnt huge. i dont want to fill it up with copies of my music it should just scan and find music and note where it is"

At first, I had iTunes set up to just leave the music where it was. But, this caused problems because eventually I had music all over my HD (downloads folder, music folder), and sometimes I would get music from other people, and have duplicates. When the music is scattered around, it's hard to know which is which without individually checking each file.

So, to solve the problem, I put all the music in one folder, cleared out iTunes, then I set iTunes to use that folder as its music folder, then I set iTunes to organize my music. This way, it didn't copy anything, all my music was in one place, and it was all organized in to neat folders.

In the end, having iTunes organize the music was a lot neater and better than have it strewn about.

Plus, i'm guessing with the iPod's popularity, most people aren't having this problem.

Quote :

""manage" != move the files. "

Actually... it does. What else would it mean?

12/29/2005 6:03:53 PM

maybe you should whine more

12/29/2005 7:18:27 PM

^^ well put, moron

You can forget about how you used to have all your music organized. Just let iTunes take care of it.

I have mine set up with the option enabled to copy music into my iTunes library when I add it to the library and now I never have to touch the actual files on the HD. Just drag and drop files into the library and they are automatically copied into your library then you can trash the originals or eject the cd or whatever.

If you want to get music out of your collection to put on a storage device or mp3 player you can just drag and drop songs out of the iTunes interface and they will be copied wherever you want, without having to dig around in your folders of mp3's.

Just let go of your old filing system and use iTunes to manage all your shit.

12/29/2005 7:29:16 PM

i understand why you want the music in one place
i dont understand why you want the old files left where they were

12/29/2005 7:39:07 PM

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 8:28 PM. Reason : sdf]

12/29/2005 8:28:21 PM

Indeed, you'd have to be pretty silly to do that. I've used iTunes since the beginning, so I've never had the problem with two music locations. I am very anal about organization, but you can do it through ID3 tags more quickly and efficiently than creating your own folder hierarchy. I have iTunes organize the music in a central location, and copy each new file on import. My desktop is the default download location for almost anything. As audio files come in, I add them to iTunes, immediately edit / correct the tags, and trash the original file that is on the desktop. I don't see the problem with that.

12/29/2005 8:29:01 PM

or you could just set up a folder action add mp3s to itunes once they get into the downloads folder.

12/29/2005 8:31:44 PM

Quote :

"i went through the settings and clicked orgainize libary and it fuckin reorginizes my mp3s folder"

And you act surprised by this?
What did you think was going to happen?

Quote :

"puts half my songs in seperate folders, breaks up albums"

iTunes doesn't fuck up like that.
If it looks screwy, then you should fix your tags. Select song --- Get Info --- Change whatever is incorrect.

Quote :

"well what if you've already orginized it and dont want itunes fucking it up?"

Then don't tell it organize for you.

I haven't installed iTunes on my own in quite some time, but I was at a friend's house over the weekend, and after he finished installing iTunes, that option was not enabled. (I wasn't paying attention to his install, though.) He enabled it before importing his music and got the expected results.

Quote :

" The better approach is to scan all drives for media, and attach its location to its display name in the program. And then orgainize the display names. "

Yea.
That's what it does.
Unless you tell it to do otherwise.

Quote :

"Also, what if the user adds media from the OS/games/otherprograms."

Adds media to what?
To the computer? No, iTunes will not monitor your computer and steal anything.
To the iTunes library? Yea, then it'll move the file if you have that option enabled.

Quote :

"so what happens if you have 20 gigs of audio and video files? You wait for itunes to copy that 20 gigs over to its library and enjoy wasting the space on your hdd!"

If you don't want to waste space, then don't turn on File Copy.
There are two boxes to check:
1 - Organize my iTunes folder.
2 - Copy my music.

If only #1 is checked, then it will move your files.
If #1 and #2 are checked, then it will copy and leave the originals.

Quote :

""manage" != move the files."

What else does "manage" mean?

12/29/2005 8:39:34 PM

i mean as long as you dont mind doing more work
just dont try to tell me thats better

12/29/2005 8:40:02 PM

yeah, meticulously organizing your files manually is less work than using instantaneous search


Why don't we all go back to the stone age, while we are at it? DOS. teletype. punch cards.

12/29/2005 8:46:19 PM

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~awschmit/albums.jpg

i wouldn't trust itunes w/ organizing my music

\/,\/\/ every single id3 tag i have is complete and correct, however for my singles folder, i think it would be retarded to have itunes put a single song into it's own Artist Folder, followed but some retarded Unknown Album folder because the song the song probably isn't even from album, or i only have one song from that album and a whole folder for that one song is retarded

don't assume i don't use tags

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 9:18 PM. Reason : hah, anyways i only use itunes for my ipod, it's too bloated and slow to play music]

12/29/2005 8:59:13 PM

^^Half the dorks on here would be more than happy to do that. But wait, that also means no MMORPGs! OMF! Conflict of interest!

^Number of albums is wholly irrelevant. If your ID3 tags are correct, iTunes will organize the music almost exactly the way you have it. I understand about the need for organizational control, but doing it through tags is the correct and best way. If you have downloaded music, chances are that the files contain either incomplete or incorrect tag information. No matter how you organize it into folders, the tags are still wrong, so I find tag organizing to be the most efficient. iTunes is perfect for this.

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 9:04 PM. Reason : ]

12/29/2005 9:00:59 PM

^^

this is the perfect example of the old school sucker.

1. If you didnt, instead of meticulously naming folders and files, you could have put that same effort into tagging files
2. Who the hell cares how it is organized in the file system????? If I can access the files much faster by searching for them in itunes, why would I ever need to see the file.

The only reason to do the shit in that picture is if you are obsessive compulsive or dumb.

Search + metadata is wholly superior to this slave labor manual organization shit.


[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 9:10 PM. Reason : sdf]

12/29/2005 9:08:08 PM

i like my file systems organized

12/29/2005 9:12:13 PM

Wow, we are really recycling here. iTunes does both. If you ID3 tags are correct, your file system WILL be meticulously organized automatically.

12/29/2005 9:17:09 PM

preach it brotha^^^

iTunes will do that^^

true that^

[Edited on December 29, 2005 at 9:18 PM. Reason : fix ^]

12/29/2005 9:17:55 PM

itunes also has a great feature where you can enter the cd and it will automatically get the ID3 tags. That way you don't have to do it yourself.

12/29/2005 9:23:26 PM

^mp3 programs have been doing that for years

12/29/2005 9:27:58 PM

You don't even have to enter the CD, you just insert it.

12/29/2005 9:34:33 PM

Quote :

"yeah, meticulously organizing your files manually is less work than using instantaneous search"

jesus christ because nothing else will organize your files
it was all manual before itunes came along

i mean even music match can organize your files

12/29/2005 10:17:47 PM

it's not like there's a popup that comes up and says "this is irreversable" when you say "organize my mp3s"

12/29/2005 10:44:14 PM

^^ You have the option of doing however you want in iTunes (and other programs too, probably), it's YOUR choice.

Quote :

"i mean as long as you dont mind doing more work just dont try to tell me thats better "

It's not more work... but don't try and say that not-your-way is worse.

12/29/2005 11:36:45 PM

Quote :

"http://www4.ncsu.edu/~awschmit/albums.jpg i wouldn't trust itunes w/ organizing my music"

Awww, how impressive.
What is that, about 550 artists?

iTunes handles my 671 artists just fine.

And I love how you have handled artists who begin with "The" --- I can never remember if it's "The Smashing Pumpkins" or just "Smashing Pumpkins" .... good thing that with iTunes I'll never have to worry about this. Ever.

Quote :

"\/,\/\/ every single id3 tag i have is complete and correct, however for my singles folder, i think it would be retarded to have itunes put a single song into it's own Artist Folder, followed but some retarded Unknown Album folder because the song the song probably isn't even from album, or i only have one song from that album and a whole folder for that one song is retarded"

Very true, and good point, but seriously, what the fuck do you care? I have a lot of single songs that are in an "Unknown Album" folder, but I couldn't tell you when is the last time I actually looked in those folders.

12/30/2005 12:45:54 AM

I kind of don't understand this thread.

The program gives you an option to do something. IT ASKS YOU. You can choose to do it or to not do it. I don't care one way or the other. It's just kind of weird for people to be all up in arms about that shit.

12/30/2005 1:21:07 AM

I haven't tried it yet, but I read on another board that Wimamp has a plugin that is supposed to work with Ipods, similiar to itunes. Check out Winamps website and see what they have.

12/30/2005 1:26:31 AM

Quote :

"Awww, how impressive. What is that, about 550 artists? iTunes handles my 671 artists just fine. "

haha, looks like some one got a ruler out to try to measure their e-music-penis, that's cute...
(bc you actually care, i'll let you know you still lose... by a lot... )

Quote :

" .... good thing that with iTunes I'll never have to worry about this. Ever. "

good thing i don't either, j button in winamp is my friend, and faster then itunes


and as a last reply for this thread to explain why god forbid i don't use itunes and why i organize my music the way I do

1. I don't want my singles grouped together with my complete albums
2. I don't want the songs in various artists albums and soundtrack albums to be scattered everywhere, I want each cd to have it's folder...itunes can not handle this unless you mislabel the artist tag to some generic thing like "Various Artists" so it goes to that folder, which i don't want to do
3. I care because I and others actually do need to access the actual .mp3 file, and this is the most logical and organized way to do this
4. Itunes is one of the most bloated media players out there, some crap like musicmatch jukebox might beat it, but itunes is up there
5. I've been organizing my music the way I have wayy before Itunes ever existed -- it works for me and i like it, enough reason right there
6. I'm very OCD about my music, one of the few things I actually am about, and the thought that a file isn't in the right place would bug me p.s. thanks for spotting the smashing pumpkins, ha i had the artists tagged the right way, just not the folder

[Edited on December 30, 2005 at 3:43 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2005 3:32:29 AM

Quote :

"2. I don't want the songs in various artists albums and soundtrack albums to be scattered everywhere, I want each cd to have it's folder...itunes can not handle this unless you mislabel the artist tag to some generic thing like "Various Artists" so it goes to that folder, which i don't want to do"

You apparently missed the "Part of a Compilation" check box.

Quote :

"3. I care because I and others actually do need to access the actual .mp3 file, and this is the most logical and organized way to do this"

And what's so hard about dragging the file directly from iTunes or navigating by artist, then album then song?

It's not a big deal to me if you don't use iTunes but making uninformed statements just makes you look dumb

12/30/2005 12:27:51 PM

i dont have a problem with this. i organize my own mp3s into one folder > artist subfolders > album subfolders > songs.

then i turn off the option of itunes organizing my music for me. and import.

my music stays organized in my folder. and in itunes.

its easy

12/30/2005 12:51:53 PM