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hermanesque

In Reply to: ITunes organization irritation, and USB cable..... posted by Sordidman on January 19, 2007 at 17:28:24:

iTunes is a very powerful database with a lot of flexibility. You just need to learn how to use it.
If the CD is labeled as compilation in the CDDB database then it puts it in the compilation folder. You can override this by doing a "get info" on all the songs before you import and unchecking the compilation if it is checked. Keep a window open with the storage location showing while you rip to see if it is creating compilation folders. If you missed it up front, you can also reorganize after you rip it, Do a "get info" in the library and uncheck the compilation box. If you do it right away then it will delete the compilation and put it in a folder with the artists name.
Make sure you have "keep iTunes folder organized" checked in the general preferences.
Sometimes it won't move the files when you uncheck compilation. To get rid of these; create a folder with the artists name and drag the CD folder out of compilations and into your new folder. ITunes won't be able to find it now. Delete the entry from your iTunes library, then drag and drop the new folder into the library and it will be back and point to the new folder.
It doesn't matter if iTunes puts them in a compilation folder or not. It still can be organized by song title, album title, artist, whatever. In the menuus click on "show browser." You can then right click on the title bar and chooose what fields are displayed and how you want them sorted.
If you turn on your mac and it isn't connected to the external storage drives, it reverts back to the internal iTunes default folder. I check everytime I start a rippong session to see where it will go.
If you screw up and forget to change the storage location, delete the CDs from the iTunes library, move them to the preferred drive, then drag and drop the folders into the library and it will add them. Or you can delete them from the library, then drag and drop from the internal drive with the box checked to "copy files to iTunes folder" in the general preferences. This will copy them to the prefered location as it adds them.

Follow Ups:

thanks Hermanesque - Sordidman 12:04:06 01/21/07 (1)
yeah,
Sorry about the whining....
There are a lot of other programs in the world that are worse, and also not intuitive.
I wish that ITunes was written better, and had some more clearly accessible options, - that didn't require one to watch over things so closely, and, didn't have all of these "workarounds."
I need to set up remote desktop on this MAC IBook upstairs, and thereby gain greater control of the ITunes server...
Cheers,

In arenas he kills for a prize, Wins a minute to add to his life. But the sickness is drowned by cries for more, Pray to God, make it quick, watch him fall
- most of it is not iTunes fault - hermanesque 11:10:56 01/22/07 (0)
  The fact that it defaults back to the internal drive when the externals aren't connected is only logical. It would be better if it told you it was doing it though.
  The "work arounds" are not iTunes fault. It puts things into compilation folders based on what it finds in the CDDB database, which it does not own or control, and many of those entries are just wrong. If the person who uploaded the album info checks the compilation box then that is what iTunes uses.
  Try importing a classical album. They are full of errors; the composer is often entered as the artist. I don't think Mozart performed on many of his recordings :> )
re compilation albums - Jake_LA 08:53:09 01/21/07 (2)
My problem with compilations is when you're browsing by Artist you have all these one-song Artists you have to sort through, so I got rid of them all with an Apple Script from Doug's ITunes Scripts called Put This After That. It allows you to group select all the tracks on a compliation, append the Artist info to the Name info, and then delete the info from the Artist tag. So now my Nuggets compilations, etc. will read: "Rosalyn - The Pretty Things" and the Artist tag will be blank.
Personally, I'd rather keep actual compliation albums in the Compilations folder for organizational/genre sorting purposes. But there are a lot of "Best of" albums that are listed in CDDB as compilations, when to my mind an album is only a compilation if it contains a bunch of different artists. So yeah, I always check and see what the database says before importing.
- where they are doesn't matter when organizing your library - hermanesque 11:37:25 01/22/07 (0)
  It matters if you are trying to organize your hard drive folders by artist, but iTunes only uses the tag information when it sorts the library and doesn't care where the files are or what the folders are named
- Re: re compilation albums - Sordidman 12:07:28 01/21/07 (0)
  Yes,
  I hear that.
  I guess sometimes I want both.
  I have a couple of songs that appear about 7 times, due to them being on various compilations. I want to do some clean up. I also need to build more playlists....
  
  In arenas he kills for a prize, Wins a minute to add to his life. But the sickness is drowned by cries for more, Pray to God, make it quick, watch him fall

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