Keeping itunes music folder organized

I have the box checked for "keep itunes music folder organized" but noticed that the folders on my computer are not consistent with how certain albums are organized in itunes.
For example, I have a series of albums, all with the same name, Vol. 1-6. On itunes, they are all properly separated by Vol number and disc number, but in the folder on my computer, they are all lumped in together in the same folder.
Anyone know how I can fix this because I really want to keep my itunes music folder consistent with how the music is layed out in itunes.
Thanks much.

I just ripped a 4-disc set that had really bad Gracenote tags.
I had to fiddle around with things so itunes could organize them properly. If you want more details, post back.
I really don't think this is an itunes bug. I think it's an issue with a bad Gracenote entry.

Similar Messages

  • What happens after unchecking 'Keep iTunes Music folder organized'?

    After unchecking the 'Keep iTunes Music folder organized' option, am I right in thinking that future additions to the library are simply linked from their default location? If so, what happens when ripping CDs, and how is it possible to rename or move files/folders without iTunes failing to find them and having to add them again?

    It's more what doesn't happen rather than what does. If you like to organise your own folders in your Music folder you must leave it unchecked, as checking it gives iTunes the authority to rename and move tracks at will.
    If you rip a CD with iTunes and the iTunes Music folder according the tabs recovered from Grace note. The hierarchy is Artist\album.
    This is not affected by Keep iTunes Music folder organised.
    If you add tracks already on your PC, depending on the setting of "Copy to iTunes Music folder when adding to library, iTunes will either store a link to the track in its current location or copy it into the iTunes Music folder according to the tags.
    It is not possible to move or rename any track in your library or iTunes will lose it. There is no folder watch feature.
    So you need to place and name a file BEFORE adding it to the library if you want to manage your own folders. Once added you can't change it without having to either add it again or find it manually in iTunes.
    The only thing you can do is to use iTunes to move the whole iTunes Music folder to a new location.
    Message was edited by: polydorus

  • How do I find out if Keep Itunes Media Folder Organized option is enabled programtically

    How do I find out if Keep Itunes Media Folder Organized option is enabled on Windows. My Java application needs to know this because it effects how it should interact with iTunes and last time I looked the api provided by the iTunes.dll doesnt provide this information.
    I have made some progress looking at iTunesPrefs.xml which stores preferences in a binary plist format and have mananged to extract the location of the iTunes xml file using a Java library called dd-plist
    public File getITunesXMLFile()
            System.getProperties().list(System.out);
            String homedir = System.getProperty("user.home");
            File prefsFile = new File(homedir,"AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/iTunes/iTunesPrefs.xml");
            File xmlFile;
            try
                NSDictionary rootDict = (NSDictionary) PropertyListParser.parse(prefsFile);
                NSDictionary userPrefs = (NSDictionary) rootDict.objectForKey("User Preferences");
                if(userPrefs!=null)
                    NSData iTunesLocation = (NSData) userPrefs.objectForKey("iTunes Library XML Location:1");
                    if(iTunesLocation!=null)
                        String base64 = iTunesLocation.getBase64EncodedData();
                        String filepath = new String(Base64.decodeBase64(base64),"UTF-16LE");
                        xmlFile = new File(filepath);
                        System.out.println(filepath+":File Exists:"+xmlFile.exists());
                        if (xmlFile.exists())
                            return xmlFile;
            catch(Exception ex)
                ex.printStackTrace();
                //Use default then
                xmlFile = new File(homedir + "/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml");
                if (xmlFile.exists())
                    return xmlFile;
            return null;
    However the Keep Itunes Media Folder Organized option appears to be stored in the Documents:132 key with other options and this library doesnt seem able to decode the daat into a  base64encoded value. I did think I could just compare differences between the file after enabling/disabling the option in iTunes, but the results are inconclusive - sometimes after chnaging the option the preferences file doesnt seem to change.
    Is there a known hack for this ?

    Thanks that certainly a possible workaround that I can see working but Im not that keen on using a users file as a test file, or adding a file myself that I have to keep deleting.
    The thing is I'm very close, I've found a library that can read the binary xml format to some degree, and managed to decode the Xml Library File sucessfullly (but I don't need to this as available as the in the COM lib anyway as itunes.getLibraryXMLPath())
    but I cannot decode this option whihc is lumped in with others, real shame they dont provide it via the COM lib.
    Added this link showing progress in case interested:
    http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17957433/how-can-i-work-out-if-ituneskeep-itu nes-folder-organized-is-set-programmaticall

  • ITunes 12.1.0.71 broke "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" option

    After upgrading to iTunes 12.1.0.71 (64 bit) on my PC, iTunes is no longer organizing my iTunes media folder.
    Example:
    I drop a video into "automatically add to iTunes" folder
    Video appears as a Home Video in iTunes as expected
    I go into "get info" > Options for the video and set the Media Kind to "Movie"
    Video now appears in the Movie lists, however(!)
    iTunes does NOT move the file out of iTunes/Home Videos into iTunes/Movies on my hard drive like it used to
    So now I have Movies piling up in the "Home Video" folder instead of getting auto-sorted correctly. The "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" option I have enabled in preferences is, obviously, not working.
    This is happening for "TV Shows" as well. In addition, I can no longer set disc (season) and track (episode) numbers for TV Shows so that they're renamed with the season/episode numbers in front of the episode name. There used to be a work-around where I would shift-click "Get Info" to get into the old style pane / control panel, but this no longer works. I can't figure out how to rename files from within iTunes to force the issue. If I rename the files by hand before importing into iTunes, iTunes erases the disc/track numbers off the front of the filenames.
    Does anyone know what's wrong? Why are my videos not auto-sorting into the correct folder / sub-folder hierarchy on my hard drive? Why is everything piling up in my "Home Video" folder even though iTunes has been told that they are NOT home videos? Help!

    iTunes 12.0 had an issue with not moving video files around after tag/media kind changes. That seems unchanged. A workaround is to uncheck the Keep organized option, click OK, then set it active again.
    The iTunes 12.1 version of Get Info appears, at first glance, to include all of the properties that were only available in the old school get info dialog in the previous version. Also gone are the Add Field button for optionally enabled fields, and the autocomplete on space bug. The old dialog doesn't seem to be available from any keyboard combination, although I quite possibly haven't tried everything.
    tt2

  • Is it possible to "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" with multiple folders?

    It bothers me, I am not proud of this, that I hunt through my "Music" folder to find my TV Shows etc.  I would like to separate my iTunes media in folders by type, or conform to the default OS X home folder's subfolder nomenclature.  I would settle for setting up another scheme involving seperate drives, Applescript or Automator; in order than iTunes would add appropriate media to appropriate folder.

    jamms wrote:
    It bothers me, I am not proud of this, that I hunt through my "Music" folder to find my TV Shows etc
    It is in the /iTunes/iTunes media/TV Shows/ folder.
    You can only view TV Shows in iTunes so why do you need to "hunt" them anywhere?
    If you really need to, you can select the TV Show (or movie or music or podcast, etc.) right click, Show in Finder.

  • Itunes 8 and undoing the keep itunes music folder organised

    I have recently got an Ipod and have quite a large muisc collection that i have imported into itunes.
    Unfortunately I thought it would be a good idea to tick the box that says, keep the itunes folder organised, mistakenly believing that it would help me to categorise any loose tracks that i hadn't got round to manually placing within an artists folder, also i thopught it would make it easier for me to locate and remove any duplicates.
    Unfortunately i didn't realise that this simple little box tick would seperate all my compilation albums, soundtracks and various albums and take all the different artists out of those, already in a folder together as an album, and create additional folders with artist name and then a further folder with the album name within.
    Luckily i have since discovered that by sorting itunes by album name and then selecting all the tracks, clicking get info, clicking options then selecting yes to compilation it will put those tracks back into the folder that they came from.
    The problem has arisen where I have ripped a CD previously and though i named the artist, then the album in the folders I hadn't got round to naming the tracks so i now have a folder that is filled with lots of track 01, track 02 etc and as i don't know which folder they came from I can't change the title without listening to each one, so is there any way I can get itunes to just put everything back where it was and where i was happy with the system that i had?

    In short, no. There is no undo option for this feature. Back at about iTunes version 4 this could result in tracks being deleted as ones with the same information would overwrite those that had already been renamed. The current versions avoid this by appending " 1", " 2" etc. to filenames that would otherwise clash.
    tt2
    Message was edited by: turingtest2

  • ITunes Music Folder organization

    Hey. I have all my albums stored in a My Music folder, some are labelled fully (Artist - Album) as the folder name, while others are simply the artist, the album or what have you. As I load new albums onto my computer, I just do a manual "add folder to iTunes" each time. I checked both Keep ITunes Music Folder Organized and Copy Files to iTunes Music Folder when Adding, and it prompts me to copy all the files over. I've tried this a few times, using My Music as the folder, and other locations, but it only ever copies like, ten of my three-hundred odd albums.. I want it to copy ALL my music and organize it accordingly, but it won't.. What gives?

    Hi Jen, welcome to discussions
    iTunes always manages the music folder in that way (\[artistname]\[albumname]\[title]).
    To keep it from splitting up your albums with several different artist, check "part of a compilation" in the info tab (right-click->get info). Now those albums will appear in one folder (\compilations\[albumname]\[title])

  • ITunes Music Folder Organization Inproperly

    After I imported music of the album "Wings Of Song", by James Galway, from my removable hard disk to "iTunes Music Folder" and had iTunes organized it, I discovered something that's a little bit wierd. All the music I just imported is put under the folder Compilation\Wings of Song. This means that when iTunes organizing the music folder, it unexpectedly "thought" all these music are by the artist Compilation. What is the reason? Could anyone tell me why? Thank you!

    The Compilation directory is how iTunes organizes albums that Gracenote (CDDB) considers works of various artists or collections of songs from the same artist, but differing albums (like "Best Of's" or "Greatest Hits").
    The CDDB is not always consistent, as some Greatest Hits are marked as compilations and others are not. This really irked me in the beginning as I was wondering why some of my albums went missing. At first I tried to manually reorganize and move the files, but it was cumbersome. I stumbled on the "Compilations" function and it made things much easier.
    For instance, if you have a Greatest Hits album of U2 sitting in the Compilations directory and would rather have it under the U2 directory (where I feel it better belongs), you would perform the process outlined below and the album and songs would move to its "improved" location.
    That's why you have folders in your Compilations directory. Some you may wish to keep there, some you may want to move to a more appropriate place. This is how. Try moving some of them to their Artist's folder (if you have any that would qualify).
    First check your Preferences:
    -- Advanced/General: Keep iTunes Music folder organized (on)
    -- Advanced/General: Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library (off) - change it back to 'on' after the song switch, if you want
    To move an Album from the Compilations folder after it was imported from a CD (or otherwheres):
    -- Highlight the collection of songs on that CD within the main Library
    -- Right-click, 'Get Info'
    -- Remove the 'Part of Compilation' check-mark - turn it to 'no'
    -- Click 'OK'
    iTunes will reorganize your PC folder structure, moving the songs from the Compilation folder to their Artist folder.
    To defeat a Compilation designation prior to ripping the tracks from a CD, go to 'Get Info' on the CD and make sure that the 'Part of Compilation' box is not checked. This will keep the album under its designated Artist folder.
    This is how I keep my music organized. I only want 'true' compilations under the Compilations folder, not some of the Artist's 'Greatest Hits'. You may have other desires.

  • ITunes Music Folder Issue:  Won't Read External Folder?

    Hi There. Just bought a new Mac Mini and installed a time machine backup on to it to mirror it with my latest laptop settings. So far, everything has been breezy, except for iTunes. I have an external drive with about 200GB of music/movies that I want to use with the Mini. When in advanced iTunes preferences, I change the iTunes Music Folder location to that of the external drive and click "Change".
    I get no errors or anything, then iTunes tells me it is updating the library, but it is still the same old (internal) library. For the life of me, I cannot get it to change it to see my external. Any advice? I thought it might be an XML issue, so I moved the XML file but it didn't change anything. Is the "Add to Library" option my next best bet? I'm ok with that as long as it doesn't actually add the files to my internal hard drive and keeps all of the items sorted correctly. Is the last case scenario to reset iTunes? How would one do that? Any advice appreciated!

    When in advanced iTunes preferences, I change the iTunes Music Folder location to that of the external drive and click "Change".
    Okay. iTunes will use that folder for everything in the future. Anything added to iTunes will put into that folder if you have *Copy to iTunes music folder when adding to library* ticked.
    If there is any previous items in iTunes, it will continue to look for them where they were.
    I thought it might be an XML issue, so I moved the XML file but it didn't change anything.
    The .xml is generated by iTunes simply for other applications. iTunes does not use it at all.
    Is the "Add to Library" option my next best bet?
    It's the only option since this is how you add files to iTunes (along with Import when RIPping from CD).
    If you want to have the items in the new location in iTunes, you need to File -> Add to library and select the location on the external.
    I'm ok with that as long as it doesn't actually add the files to my internal hard drive
    See 1st comment in this response.
    and keeps all of the items sorted correctly
    Depends.
    The sort in iTunes is whaichever column you are selected on.
    If you are talking about the "sort" in the Finder/on the HD, then iTunes sorts by Artist/Album/Song name. If you do not want this, you need to to uncheck *Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library* and uncheck *Keep iTunes music folder organized*.

  • ITunes not updating sorting in iTunes Music folder

    I have enabled "Keep iTunes Music folder organized". iTunes will properly sort files based on the ID3 data when I first import them, but it does not update the filenames or folder names when I change song information from within iTunes. I don't know what the exact behavior of this option is supposed to be. iTunes says it "Places files into album and artist folders, and names the files based on disc number, track number, and the song title." This description is consistent with its behavior when importing tracks but does not say whether it will continue to move things afterward.
    I'd like to know what the exact behavior of this option is supposed to be and if there is a way to force an update of the sorting. I'm thinking re-importing would work, but I've got 25,000 songs so that would be an unwieldy last resort at best.

    Try one of these solutions already posted to this forum or use the "Search Discussions" for many more:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4358684&#4358684
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4123245&#4123245
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4090531&#4090531
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3960710&#3960710
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3950754&#3950754

  • Playlists can't find musc already in iTunes Music folder

    I've seen this question is many forms but can't find the answer. Here goes:
    I rebuilt my Vista system and then restored my iTunes files and music. I also installed the latest iTunes version. Within iTunes I see all my songs, playlists, ratings, etc...
    However, each entry has an "!" to the far left and when I try to play it I get a message that says "The song XXX could not be used because the original fine could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" If I say yes, I can go to the iTunes Music folder, find the file, and then it will work.
    However this is not a viable solution for 4,341 files. My music is stored on a separate internal D: drive witch looks like D:\iTunes Music\artist name\album name\file name. It has been this way for a couple of years. The reinstalled iTunes application and related files all all in their default locations. Only the location of the music files is different than the default, but not different from when it was working just before the system rebuild.
    If you go to the iTunes menu for Edit - Preferences - Advanced - General tab - "iTunes music folder location I have it set to D:\iTunes Music, just as it was before I did the system rebuild.
    With these settings and folder/file structure it won't "find" any of my music. There has to be a way!! Please help!!
    BTW, all music was originally imported by either (1) ripping from original CDs with "keep iTunes Music folder organized" or directly from the iTunes store.
    I need to get my songs to play "without:" moving the songs or losing the playlists, information, ratings, etc. Help, there has to be a way. I just can't take the weeks or months necessary to recreate this.
    Many thanks,
    John

    hexonxonx,
    Thanks for responding to my question. I'm trying to troubleshoot an audiobook that won't download from the iTunes store. It's part one of a two part audiobook. The second part downloaded properly, along with three other audiobooks.
    iTunes support has given me two sets of instructions, neither which I can carry out.
    The first set is to empty the Downloads folder and then empty the trash, and the second set to to empty the cache folder. Unfortunately, I can't find either folder. I also cannot find a folder labeled with the name of the audiobook that is hung up. If you have any further advice, I'd appreciate it.
    Caoim

  • Copying iTunes music folder but keepin' MY music organized MY way!!

    The questions been asked a hundred times: how do I move my iTunes library to an external hard drive?
    Yeah, I have the same question, but with a few differences. Basically, I keep my music folder organized as I like it. Consolidating the Library screws it all up. If "James Brown" is on the soundtrack to "Rocky IV," I want to have a "Rocky IV" folder with James Brown in there-- not a "James Brown" folder with another folder called "Rocky IV!" Why should I have to search the entire hard drive for all the separate tracks that make up "Rocky IV?!"
    All I'd like to be able to do is copy my current music folder (and its hierarchy) to my new drive and link the library to it without screwing up playlists, etc.. Again, the key for me is keeping my music folder organized the way I've organized it.
    C'mon, there's gotta be a simple way to do this!

    I think you can do it this way: drag and drop the "iTunes" folder (under the 'Macintosh HD'/'Users'/-username-/'Music' folder) onto the external harddrive.
    That works if the music is in the iTunes folder.
    If it's not, it will still work but all the music will still be in the original location.
    Are you saying that holding down the Option/Alt key will then automatically ask for the location of the new music folder?
    No, it won't. It will ask you Create a new library or Choose existing library. it is asking for a iTunes library file, not a music folder.
    If an artist appears on a soundtrack, I want to keep that file in the soundtrack's folder, not the artists' folder.
    Set the album as a compilation. It will be stored in iTunes music folder -> Compilations -> {Album name}.
    All I'd like to be able to do is copy my current music folder (and its hierarchy) to my new drive and link the library to it without screwing up playlists, etc..
    Since you are managing the music yourself, not any easy way to do it.
    You could export your playlists, delete the music from iTunes, move the music folder, re-add the music and import the playlists.
    Just curious. Why do you care what folders iTunes uses? Just use iTunes to do everything instead of going into the Finder.

  • "iTunes music" folder inside "iTunes"

    in iTunes preferences i have  /Users/me/Music/iTunes for my iTunes Media folder location
    inside this folder i find a folder called "iTunes Music" that contains: duplications from the "iTunes" folder (in the higher level), songs/albums which are exclusively there but not linked from iTunes (when i ask i tunes to "reveal in finder"), and some which ARE linked from iTunes -- so, i cant really understand the logic of it.
    something tells me it got to do with the home sharing, because i find there some tracks from other libraries/computers... but all and all, it takes some lots of space on my HD, and i would be happy to know if there's a way to consolidate all of it into one folder and get rid of the duplication.
    thanks for the help!

    Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
    If you have upgraded from version 8 (or earlier) to iTunes 9 (or later) at some point, then your media folder (everything inside the red outline) may still be called iTunes Music instead of iTunes Media. The extra Music folder inside the media folder is used if you have allowed iTunes to Upgrade to iTunes Media Organization (iTunes 9) or used File > Library > Organize Library > Reorganize files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (iTunes 10). Depending on your choices for Keep iTunes Media folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library plus a little bug in which one build changed the name of the file storing the choice of layout it is quite easy for some of your files to be organized according to one layout and some the other.
    Assuming you're happy letting iTunes organize your files the following steps should tidy things up (should it be necessary):
    1. Select File > Library > Organize Library... > Tick Reorganize files in the folder "<Media Folder>" and click OK. Skip if this option is greyed out (already upgraded) or you prefer the older layout.
    2. Select File > Library > Organize Library... > Tick Consolidate files and click OK. This will bring any files currently organised outside the designated media folder into it.   NB This will create duplicate copies of any file that needs to be consolidated, and you will need to manually clean up afterwards. If space is at a premium try Doug Scripts has something that will move files rather than copy them.
    3. Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab, uncheck Keep iTunes Media folder organized and click OK.
    4. Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab, check Keep iTunes Media folder organized and click OK. This triggers iTunes into reorganizing everything according to your preferences.
    5. (Optional) Close iTunes, rename the folder iTunes Music as iTunes Media then restart iTunes. Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab that the location has automatically updated. If you can't access the media for any reason just undo the folder rename. (Assumes you don't already have a folder called iTunes Media and that iTunes Music is the currently designated media folder.)
    PS If you really prefer the older layout, but it is already in the new one then edit the file called .iTunes Preferences.plist in your media folder and change the integer from 1 to 0 before doing step 3.
    tt2

  • Is  there a way to sync my itunes music folder with my itunes library?

    Hey, I have itunes set to add music that I drag and drop into it a folder and its been set like this for a long time.  Then I would do whatever edits to the albums info if needed.  But now I realized that my folders don't snyc with the itunes libary.
    I was wondering if there was a way update the folder the way I have my music in itunes.

    If the files are stored inside the iTunes media folder, and the option under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to Keep iTunes Media folder organized is enabled then files and folders should be renamed to reflect changes you make to the tags.
    tt2

  • What is the "iTunes Music" folder for?

    I am looking for confirmation that it is a folder dedicated to holding converted files that i already have stored on my pc, and not doubles... Converted from WMA to w/e

    Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
    If you have upgraded from version 8 (or earlier) to iTunes 9 (or later) at some point, then your media folder (everything inside the red outline) may still be called *iTunes Music* instead of *iTunes Media*. The extra Music folder inside the media folder is used if you have allowed iTunes to *Upgrade to iTunes Media Organization* (iTunes 9) or used *File > Library > Organize Library > Reorganize files in the folder "iTunes Media"* (iTunes 10). Depending on your choices for *Keep iTunes Media folder organized* and *Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library* plus a little bug in which one build changed the name of the file storing the choice of layout it is quite easy for some of your files to be organized according to one layout and some the other.
    Assuming you're happy letting iTunes organize your files the following steps should tidy things up (should it be necessary):
    1. Select *File > Library > Organize Library... >* Tick *Reorganize files in the folder "iTunes Media"* and click OK. Skip if this option is greyed out (already upgraded) or you prefer the older layout.
    2. Select *File > Library > Organize Library... >* Tick *Consolidate files* and click OK. This will bring any files currently organised outside the designated media folder into it.
    NB This will create duplicate copies of any file that needs to be consolidated, and you will need to manually clean up afterwards. If space is at a premium try my scripts Unconsolidated to find out what would need moving and ConsolidatebyMoving to move rather than copy it.
    3. Select *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* tab, uncheck *Keep iTunes Media folder organized* and click OK.
    4. Select *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* tab, check *Keep iTunes Media folder organized* and click OK. This triggers iTunes into reorganizing everything according to your preferences.
    5. (Optional) Close iTunes, rename the folder *iTunes Music* as *iTunes Media* then restart iTunes. Check under *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* tab that the location has automatically updated. If you can't access the media for any reason just undo the folder rename.
    6. (Optional - Windows only) If Windows Media Player has ever had access to your files it may have liberally scattered folder artwork files about which iTunes won't tidy up when it reorganizes things, thus leaving behind a heap of folders with artwork and no media. I've written a script for cleaning this mess up which you can find at http://samsoft.org.uk/iTunes/CleanDeadArt.asp
    PS If you really prefer the older layout, but it is already in the new one then edit the file called *.iTunes Preferences.plist* in your media folder and change the integer from 1 to 0 before doing step 3.
    tt2

Maybe you are looking for