ITunes Library.xml versus iTunes Music Library.xml

Hi.
What is the difference between the two?
Thanks

From this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
iTunes Library (iTunes Library.itl in Windows) is a database of the songs in your library and the playlists you've created. Some song-specific data is saved in this file. If you delete the file, iTunes creates a new, empty copy when you open the application, but any playlists, song ratings, comments, or other information you created is lost. The iTunes Library file is only used by iTunes.
iTunes Music Library.xml file contains some (but not all) of the same information stored in the iTunes Library file. The purpose of the iTunes Music Library.xml file is to make your music and playlists available to other applications on your computer. In Mac OS X other iLife applications (like iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie) use this file to make it easier for you to add music from your iTunes library to your projects.

Similar Messages

Can I manually edit the iTunes Music Library.xml file

Here's why.
Noticed on my Apple TV that there were a number of podcasts that when selected would say "Apple TV cannot play the current song".
Looked in iTunes and these podcasts are no where to be found. Did some searches in Spotlight and also, turned up zeros. Not found.
I then looked directly into my iTunes Music Library.xml file and sure enough there are the records.
What is odd is that the location of all the bad songs have a similar invalid path.
Bad path.
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/Volumes/iTunes/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/Podcasts/KQED/podcast.mp3</string>
Correct Path
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/Volumes/iTunes/Music/Podcasts/KQED'/podcast.mp3</string>
Now, all of these have dates that lead me to believe this was due to an iTunes upgrade back in September of 2005. It doesn't look like they are causing problems with iTunes itself. However, it is quite annoying for my Apple TV.
Question. Is there a different way to fix this than just manually removing the entries from the xml file?
I haven't tried to edit the iTunes Music Library.xml file just yet as I want to make I don't totally screw things up first.

I did some additional testing here and I deleted the track information from the iTunes Music Library.xml
On start up of iTunes, it does not add the deleted file back in. On the Apple TV, it still shows the bad file.
What I think that means is that even the Apple TV gets its playlist information from another source.
I have also started on another track which is to remove all of my podcasts from iTunes. Which I have now done.
The only ones left are these bad tracks that only show up in the iTunes Music Library.xml file and more importantly on my Apple TV.
I'd put this on the podcast or the Apple TV thread, but still believe this is an iTunes issue.

ITunes library file ("iTunes Music Library.xml") being trashed and not read

My iTunes music library is being recognized as a .xml file and comes up looking like a Dreamweaver file. It no longer can be loaded in iTunes (grayed out) when loading the app. Can't find the Library.
So iTunes no longer recognizes it, nor does it see the backup on a different drive! I have no idea how it got recategorized. I also check in my Time Machine backup and all the similarly named files show up as the same way (with a Dreamweaver icon). This did occur after a restart of this machine. I see the same problem with a backup of the library on the same machine.
I have not yet opened a new library and tried to import all my music over again. Is that the only viable fix? I remember this problem (or a similar one, I think) happening a year or so back. I didn't know what it was at the time but it caused me a considerable amount of grief with subscribed music not getting reloaded, etc. Is this what I'm in for again???
How can I fix this? Here's what I did so far:
1. Rebuilt Permissions. Here's the log.
+Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”+
+Permissions differ on "usr/share/derby", should be drwxr-xr-x , they are lrwxr-xr-x .+
+Repaired "usr/share/derby".+
2. Checked time machine to see if the folders' icons are the same. They are.
3. Tried to open up iTunes library manually (option+open iTunes). Grayed out.
4. Older backed up libraries show the same icon. Only version 3 or version 4 labelled libraries do not. Version of iTunes is 9.0.2
Henry

Chris CA wrote:
iTunes does not use the .xml file. It is created only for other applications to use the iTunes library.
Try this...
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select *Choose library* and select the iTunes library file in \Music\iTunes\ folder.
That's what I've said, Chris. The files that open when selecting the Choose Library are:
Yes they all exist. Also the following files exist:
*iTunes 3 Music Library*
*iTunes 4 Music Library*
*iTunes Music Library (2)*
Is there a pref I can delete somewhere to get rid of these? Copying the files from TIme Machine doesn't fix this.

HT1660 My "itunes library" folder is empty. My libray music (prior to upgrading itunes) is now in an .xml file in my itunes location under my music. How do I extract/convert this .xml file to a Itunes database and restore my Itunes music library??? Than

My "itunes library" folder is empty. My libray music (prior to upgrading itunes) is now in an .xml file in my itunes location under my music. How do I extract/convert this .xml file to a Itunes database and restore my Itunes music library??? Thanks, Tom

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

Itunes deleted my "Itunes Music Library.xml" file?

Here are the facts (and then I'll pose the question):
-Ipod 80gb Classic
-Just upgraded to Itunes v. 7.4.2.4 (after following the pop-up window asking me to upgrade to the latest version)
-Windows XP Pro
-My "Itunes Music Library.xml" file and the "iTunes Library.itl" file are stored in "C:\Documents and Settings\XXXXXX\My Documents\My Music\iTunes" but all of my music/tv shows/etc are stored in another location on my HD
Here's the problem:
After I upgraded Itunes, the "Itunes Music Library.xml" file and the "iTunes Library.itl" file were replaced with brand new blank files (10kb and 32kb, respectively). When I open Itunes, the library is blank. All of the music files are still on my hard drive in the other location, but they do not show up in Itunes.
When I plug in my Ipod (which still contains all of the music), Itunes says "The Ipod "my ipod" is synced with another Itunes library...What would you like to do?"
Here's my question:
How do I get Itunes to show the proper content that is already on my ipod and on my HD? I just need my old Itunes music library files back.
Thanks in advance.

One point where this seems to occur consistently is if you reboot or turn off Windows while iTunes is running, and have a largeish music collection.
Explanation: Programmatically, iTunes main window apparently responds OK (=TRUE) to the Windows WM_QUERYENDSESSION message and at the same time starts to write the *.ITL and *.XML files to the hard disk. Meanwhile, Windows continues to end the session because - after all - it was OK'ed by iTunes. Now, if the iTunes music library is "large enough", Windows will finish ending the session before iTunes has finished writing said files, and the next time you run iTunes they'll turn up corrupt. This is a huge caveat during iTunes reinstallation, because most of the time a reboot is needed whilst iTunes will necessarily be running at the same time (consequently, if you have a largeish music library, always back up the *.XML and *.ITL files before reinstalling or updating iTunes!!!!)
This is nearly an elementary bug, and a sad indication of the level of testing done by the Apple to products before they're released.
Workarounds: I myself just frequently backup the *.ITL and *:XML files to a different directory, and restore if file corruption occurs. Another workaround is to have another program (say, Notepad.exe) with an edited but unsaved file currently open. When Windows session ends, you will have one extra chance to delay the session end, so that either you remember to close iTunes first, or if iTunes was closed first, it'll have enough time to complete writing the library metadata back to disk.
Asian and European phone giants have nothing to afraid about iPhone, if iTunes and iPod classic are any indication of its quality.

Remaining junk in iTunes Music Library.xml

Hello all,
while browsing the cover view of iTunes, I discovered 2 remaining covers from a podcast and a TV-Show which I already deleted long time ago. Just the covers were listed and as the original files are gone, I neither could work/edit them nor could I delete them.
I checked the "iTunes Music Library.xml" and found 2 entries representing the old podcast/TV-Show.
Now I would like to know, how I can get rid of those. If I delete the xml file, it is being rebuild with exactly the same error.
Any ideas out there?

When you add things to your library, iTunes creates folders to hold the files. You may have deleted the podcast and TV show files, but the empty folder could still be in your iTunes folder and showing up in your library. Can you check to see if there are empty folders that need to be deleted? I don't have any podcasts or TV shows in my library to figure out where these might be located. But, do you have a podcast and TV show folder inside your itunes main folder similar to the iTunes music folder? If you do, look inside these for the empty folders.

ITunes Music Library.xml not updating when adding new songs

I have about 150.000 music tracks on my iMac and iTunes didnt have any difficulty with it. When using the songs in DJ program Native Instruments Traktor Pro, this program checked the latest update of the iTunes Music Library.xml file and everything went ok. Whenever I changed a smart playlist or added songs, my Traktor looked at the updated .xml file and Traktor updated it's own files.
SUDDENLY, and I dont know why, this iTunes Music Library.xml file did not update anymore. Whenever I change a song or add a song, the 'update date' in my finder next to the iTunes Music Library.xml file stays the same (1 May 2010) This means my DJ software does not show the updated/added songs...
Plse help... what should I do... I am a professional DJ and I especially bought this iMac for the purpose of DJ'ing. Because of this issue, I can't use it anymore...

try if the suggestions in this thread help: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2168081&tstart=0.
JGG

"importing itunes music library.xml" pops up every time I launch iTunes

My MacBook Pro crashed this morning, requiring a "safe mode" restart. Anyway, on relaunch, everything seems to be working okay now. EXCEPT -- now whenever I first launch iTunes (after rebooting the computer), I get the popup progress box "importing itunes music library.xml" which is followed by a message about the iTunes library being moved to a "iTunes Library (damaged)" message when complete.
I guess my iTunes library has gotten corrupted somehow.
I've searched for this error message and found numerous posts, but all seem to be in reference to moving the iTunes music library from one computer to another.
Can someone assist me in how to correct this problem? I don't want to try resyncing my iPod without fixin this first...

same prob here, but mine goes one step farther (read: worse). i reported in the form from previous post, but no response yet.
in addition to displaying the "importing..." message, the system ultimately indicated that the file was damaged and saved a version as such. Over half my music is not shown in the new file, and thus not in itunes (though the music files are still there.
has anyone figured this out? would hate to have to individually add everytihg back.

My iTunes Music Library.xml includes 2 location paths for files

A while ago, I copied and consolidated my itunes-songs from internal drive c: to internal drive f:
I changed the location of my "itunes library" accordingly to look at f:... - all went well and all songs were playing from the new location (I thought).
However, after a while I decided to delete the OLD physical location of the mp3-files on c: and now about 2.000 songs in my iTunes are missing and have the well know "!" mark in front of them.
Now, in the itunes music library, there are 2 different locations for my songs listed - although there is only 1 location given in the settings.
Most songs are - where they should be - at localhost/f:/....
But the missing songs still are listed at localhost/c:....
Apart from the fact that I am still searching for the songs (have emptied the trash since) - how in the world can the itunes library still contain 2 different paths?
Any ideas?

One point where this seems to occur consistently is if you reboot or turn off Windows while iTunes is running, and have a largeish music collection.
Explanation: Programmatically, iTunes main window apparently responds OK (=TRUE) to the Windows WM_QUERYENDSESSION message and at the same time starts to write the *.ITL and *.XML files to the hard disk. Meanwhile, Windows continues to end the session because - after all - it was OK'ed by iTunes. Now, if the iTunes music library is "large enough", Windows will finish ending the session before iTunes has finished writing said files, and the next time you run iTunes they'll turn up corrupt. This is a huge caveat during iTunes reinstallation, because most of the time a reboot is needed whilst iTunes will necessarily be running at the same time (consequently, if you have a largeish music library, always back up the *.XML and *.ITL files before reinstalling or updating iTunes!!!!)
This is nearly an elementary bug, and a sad indication of the level of testing done by the Apple to products before they're released.
Workarounds: I myself just frequently backup the *.ITL and *:XML files to a different directory, and restore if file corruption occurs. Another workaround is to have another program (say, Notepad.exe) with an edited but unsaved file currently open. When Windows session ends, you will have one extra chance to delay the session end, so that either you remember to close iTunes first, or if iTunes was closed first, it'll have enough time to complete writing the library metadata back to disk.
Asian and European phone giants have nothing to afraid about iPhone, if iTunes and iPod classic are any indication of its quality.

Topics: iTunes Music Library.xml

How can I import my iTunes Music Library.xml into a spreadsheet or database?

After examining the file, I realized it was a Applescript file. Using Info to change the opening app to text edit fixed the problem. It no longer turns into a game file. PFL

Description column and iTunes Music Library.xml??

I see that there is a column in Itunes called description. I'd like to use it to store information but Itunes doesn't give me access to it. Why is it there then? I tried to open iTunes Music Library.xml file and add a description tag but that doesn't work. Does anybody ever tried to edit the xml file?
Thanks
JL
PC Windows XP

I found an update from sony (entertainment platform update)

How to avoid the dtd validate of the "iTunes Music Library.xml " when read?

Hi all,
In the article of What are the iTunes library files?("http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732" ),there is something about the function of "iTunes Music Library.xml " of iTunes.I can get information by reading this xml file.But this file must be validated online(dtd validate).When the net is unconnected,the web exception may be threw.How to avoid the dtd validate of the "iTunes Music Library.xml " when read?Thank you.

You can do this with YamiPod (Free)
http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/
Or manualy:
Here is a link to where it tells how to do this manualy:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=797432#797432

ITunes not opening, "iTunes Music Library .xml"

Hi, my iTunes wont start up and its currently stuck on -
Importing -
"iTunes Music Library .xml"
But nothing else seems to be happening.
Not sure what to do and I really don't want to lose all my play counts & playlists I have compiled over the last 5 years.
Please Help!
Thanks.

I eventually got around to trying to fix this problem but what I did was to let the message -
Importing - "iTunes Music Library .xml"
- continue to see what happens and after about 20 minutes it said my 'iTunes Music Library .xml' was damaged and was going to create another, so I let it do so.
The good news is everything is fine, all my playlists, play counts, ratings etc are there.
The bad news is the amount of songs!
I always keep a log of my iTunes Library in iCal everytime i buy a new CD and rip it.
I had - 24,105 Songs, 85.1 Days, 129.79 GB
I now have - 22,842 songs, 80.4 Days, 123.76 GB
So looks like I have lost or so it seems 1,263 songs!
Any ideas?
Thank You.

I open itunes "importing itunes music library.xml" then nothing???

so itunes is my everyday sanctuary.. I listen to all kinds of music.. Im also a great DJ!!
that is until now:(
yesterday i tried to open itunes and it says "importing itunes music library".. but it goes on for
like an hour.. so i clicked "stop"..
and now when i open itunes, i have no content, no playlists, no music... no NOTHING!!
please help me with this.. i have a gig and no music??!!
somebody

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

HT1451 So what do I do when it finishes? Do I erase the itunes music library.xml that is on the desktop?

I´m affraid I will lose all my music if I do it

Sounds like a permission issue.
Navigate to the iTunes Music Library.itl file
The path should be Username/Music/iTunes/
Right click on the iTunes Library.itl and select Get Info
The window will open on the left hand side. Go to the Sharing and Permissions section at the bottom
Click the padlock to allow changes and enter your Mac logon password
Select yourself and make sure you have Read & Write selected. Click padlock to lock it again
Close the Get Info window and try and start iTunes

ITunes Library.xml versus iTunes Music Library.xml

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