ITunes play order

I typed a long post and apple would not post it. so I don't want to bother typing it again.
iTunes does not let one set the play order, period.
This is a major SOFTWARE Screwup.
I'm done with iPhones.
BYE.
Mike

Chris,
Thank you for your reply!
I've been using iTunes since 2001. It was released in January, 2001..
I've been through every revision and update on both Windows and Mac OS machines.
My original iPod is still fully functional and in use in one of my cars.
ITunes used to let you create a play list, sort it to your liking and sync it to you iPhone. the order would be as expected. a few years ago this became an issue. I started using iTunes for podcasts about 10 or 11 years ago. It was easy. Make a playlist, (smart playlist) and sync the phone. The play order was set by sorting by date of the podcast and some how iTunes sorted it correctly even with several podcasts dated the same day.
Then some genius got the idea to separate podcasts from Music and introduced a separate program on the iPhone for podcasts. In that program the sort order was alway based on Alphabetic order regardless of how you sorted the list in iTunes. There was a fix to force podcasts back into Music on the iPhone but that option soon disappeared.
I have a 2013 car (A8) and its MMI unit cannot see Podcasts as a separate source, just the iTunes playlists. That is why I change the Media Kind to music to force the podcasts back into the playlists with the music.
(Chris, maybe you have a special smart car which can play the podcasts from the podcast program, I don't know. And YES CHRIS I know I can use the blue tooth to stream the Podcasts from the Podcast program, but I want to use the display in the car to see the lists)
So I (like many other users) learned how to change the Podcasts Media Kind to Music so iTunes would put the podcasts in playlists on the iPhone music app.
BUT iTunes DOES NOT, I REPEAT, DOES NOT CONSISTENTLY KEEP THE SORT ORDER CORRECT WHEN SYNCED TO THE iPHONE.
It used to sequence by alphabetic order based on the name of the podcast. So I started renaming the playlists by adding a number to the beginning of the title and then sort in iTunes by the name. Then when I synced to the iPhone the playlist would be in the correct order.
THIS HAS CHANGED. It no longer will keep the sort order consistent. Sometimes it appears to now GROUP the podcasts by the last character in the name of each podcast alphabetically. But if I re-sync the order is somehow correct. Re-sync again and it changes. There is some odd thing happening with the software.
(I don’t know why they have not added the ability to sort the playlists on the iPhone directly yet, but it will probably show up at some point).
It’s frustrating because it should be easy.
By the way, Expert Chris, have you any experience with iBooks? There’s a nightmare of sorting issues. Try importing a Book to iBooks that you did not buy from iTunes……check out the chapter sequence on those. oh, that’s right I must be too stupid to get that to work also.
End Rant.
I was just trying to sync a few podcast so I could go out and mow my lawn and listen. I work 80 to 90 hours a week and the last thing I want to do on my weekend off is waste time with ever changing software like iTunes. Wait a minute it will change! Perhaps iTunes will stop asking me if I want others to access it every time I boot the iMac? Maybe, Maybe not. Oh I forgot, it’s probably a user error and there are no other post about this issue which have been online for about a year……
Mike

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Itunes play order issue

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Possibly your "Shuffle" settings in iTunes enabled. Go to "Controls -> Shuffle" and be sure that this option is un-checked. If it already is, then try checking-unchecking it again.
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OK, since you are desperate and all...
An AppleScript can easily do the same thing, so give this one a try. The following script works the same as your example workflow - it copies the selected iTunes items into the specified folder, renaming them by adding a prefix (I used your workflow example for the details):
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px; height: 340px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #FFEE80;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor">
(* copy and rename iTunes items *)
if application "iTunes" is not running then
display alert "iTunes is not running" message "Please activate iTunes and select items."
return
end if
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choose folder with prompt "Choose a folder to copy the selected iTunes items into:" default location (path to desktop)
set DestinationFolder to the result
set {PrefixNumber, TrackLocations} to {0, {}}
-- get filepaths of the selected iTunes items
tell application "iTunes" to repeat with SomeTrack in (get the selection)
try -- skip items that are not file tracks (no location)
set the end of TrackLocations to location of SomeTrack
end try
end repeat
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repeat with SomeFile in TrackLocations
set PrefixNumber to text 2 thru -1 of ((1000 + PrefixNumber + 1) as text) -- prefix with leading zeros
tell application "Finder"
set NewName to PrefixNumber & "-" & (get name of SomeFile)
set the name of (duplicate SomeFile to DestinationFolder) to NewName
end tell
end repeat
tell application "Finder" to reveal DestinationFolder
</pre>

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Editing the list: drag an item in the list to it's preferred location and select to save it as i would for any other file using any other application... well desktop type application as opposed to one that uses a database as its primary means of storage.
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Hello,
I have been using my new iPod for a couple of weeks now and it is working very well as is iTunes. My issue is with trying to get certain albums/playlists to play in a certain order on my iPod.
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What is going on here. I don't have this problem with my 3rd generation Nano (the square one with the clickwheel), but I do with the 6th gen (the square one with the touchscreen).

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Secondly
How do I get the nano to continue to play the next podcast automatically.
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There may be an easier and more elegant way to achieve what I want but rather than continue to be frustrated and hate the current system I have found a work around.
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Hi leezack,
Have you tried resetting your iPod? To reset an iPod:
First, toggle your iPod's "Hold" switch back and forth a couple of times.
Then, press and hold the Menu and Select (center) buttons together for 5-10 seconds.
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Playlist / change the play order ,,, Gen 2 15GB classic

I have most things mastered Ipod wise -ish , after 6 months "no !!! I can figure it out "
No luck with highlight drag & drop play lists up or down to change play order ???
I have applied a bandage to my forehead from beating it against the wall .
Thanks bandage head

I assume you want a custom sort order within a playlist, not sorted by Song, Artist, or Album.
With the playlist in view in iTunes, make sure that "Shuffle" is turned off. Then click on the left-most header (the empty box over the numbers in the left column). Once you click on that empty box you have unlocked the playlist and can then drag songs to any order you like (just make sure Shuffle is OFF).
When you're done, Option-click on the playlist name (right-click in Windows) and select "Copy to Play Order" to lock in the new sort order. If you auto-sync then you would re-sync the iPod. If you manually manage the iPod, you should be able to do this on the playlist on the iPod with it connected to iTunes.

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After syncing Podcasts (and iTunesU) the play order on my iPod is reversed so it plays, for instance, episode n, before episode n-1, ..., before episode 2, before episode 1.
This is very frustrating
I listen to lots of these, so don't want to create smartlists or other manipulations, just play them in date order. Is that too difficult?

Oh? What a strange assumption — I listen to them all
the time. Do you always assume that others share your
ignorance and difficulties? That must be comforting.
Speaking only for myself, then, I have no indication
in my iTunes of your "download" date. "Release" is a
date column that is displayed in the Podcast playlist
section of iTunes and, significantly, it is the only
one which can be sorted upon.
Sorry, it is called "Date Added", not "download date". I checked again and you are right, it is the release date according to which podcasts are sorted (and played in the shuffle). I was confused because of encounters with podcasts where the actual release date and the date of the content are not consistent.
The date info in the Release column never changes; if
it shows September 2005 when I first subscribe to
some podcast, that same date is still displayed after
I download (using "Get") in March 2006.
Sorting on Release in iTunes does just that, and it
is that order which, as far as I've ever been able to
tell or determine, absolutely determines the order of
podcast play in the Shuffle.
Given the choice between my experience and your
claims and assurances, I believe I'll just stick with
what I know to be the case.
I did but to no avail. The reason I am so ****
......... etc.
You did what but to no avail? Put in your
iTunes Feedback and are now cranky that things didn't
just automatically change by that very afternoon?
I did file a bug report approximately 6 months ago and didn't open my mouth again on this issue (removal of restrictions to change play order of podcasts) until now. And yes, after six months I am starting to get cranky.
12" powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Smart playlist "copy to play order" not working?

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This may be tolerable with rock music, but in classical music when several movements must be played in order, it poses a major problem.
I have re-ordered it using "Album by Title", verfied the play order in iTunes and then have chosen "Copy to Play Order". then I sync to my iPods, but in iPod the playlist is out of order (whatever order Smart Playlist chose.. which seems rather random).
The only way to work around so far, is to create a standard playlist with a different name, and copy the contents of the Smart Playlist, order it correctly, and then chose "copy to Play Order". But this sort of defeats the Smart Playlist...
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