Making playlists from folders...

Hello all. I have a hard drive full of many gigs of music. Its all arranged in folders by type of music and then by the name of the artist and then the name of the album of the artist. I need to find a way for automatically creating itunes playlists based on what the name of the folder that contains the music. I can't use the common method of arranging the music into smart playlists by genre, artist, etc, because most of my MP3 tag data is incomplete or missing. I could do this manually, one at a time, by dragging and dropping music into playlists that I create, but doing this for five hundred albums would take all day. Is there a way that playlists can be generated automatically for me? I can't be the first person to try and do this. Thanks in advance.

The easiest way I know of to create a playlist of music is to:
1) create a new playlist folder in the left column
2) select the library at the top of the list in the left column
3) drag songs from the library into the new playlist folder
To make the process easier, after selecting the library you can sort by genre or artist name, or you can perform a search. This makes it easier to find the specific songs you want to add to your playlist.

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ITunes drag to import new songs in library or to create playlists from folders on windows does not work!

iTunes drag to import new songs in library or to create playlists from folders on windows does not work!
WHY? I have to solve, how can I do? Thank you

up

Removing playlists from folders

I have a number of folders in my source list eg "groups", solo artists", "comilations", and I want to remove all the playlist from the folders and put them straight back in the source list and delete the folders. I can't seem to drag them anywhere except for other folders. The reason I want to do this is beacuse i have accidently deleted folders with hundreds of playlists in and want to avoid this in future. Is there a way to select all the playlists and move them? the only way i can find to do it is to export each playlist one by one and then import them one by one which will take days!
Can anyone help?
cheers

Holy Moly - how did you figure THAT out? Even after reading the solution I thought the interface cue was EXTREMELY subtle. I liked it better the way it was.
Some Apple things are way subtle, and way clever. But sometimes they're very difficult and not so intuitive to new users.
I used to love the way the button at top right of iTunes changed depending on what you were doing. Sometimes it was browse, sometimes it was burn. Excellent economy of space. Apple blows MS away on things like that. But the new iTunes, not so much.

Creating Playlists From Folders...

I'm new to Itunes/Ipod... I recently purchased one, but before I did I created a folder on my hard drive containing subfolders with my mp3 collection and maticulously sorted them into genres like Oldies, techno, etc. So I have different folders containing different genres of music. I noticed that when I imported the folder containing subfolders with my music into Itunes I lost the folder structures. Is there any way I can create playlists based on what I had in those folders instead of me having to track down thousands of songs that I had in those folders and manually add them to playlists? Any help would be appreciated!

*Is there any way I can create playlists based on what I had in those folders*
Create a new playlist.
Drag the folders of music from the HD onto the playlist in iTunes.
The songs will get added to the library and put into this playlist.

Anyone know how I can transfer my playlist from iphone to Itunes on my laptop. Computer had crashed. I am unable to export. I had backed up songs to icloud which are now on my laptop however without the original playlists folders?

Anyone know if I can transfer my playlist from iphone to Itunes on my laptop.
I am not keen to sync my iphone to my new laptop in case it wipes out my playlist.
My Computer had crashed so I am unable to export a playlist.
I had backed up songs to icloud which are now on my laptop however without the original playlists folders?
Any suggestions?

Hello CDA ENT
I would turn off the automatic syncing so that way you can see what is on your iPhone. From there, you should be able to see what is on your iPhone and then can export out the playlists and then import them back to your library. I would also recommend backing up your iPhone before going through with this process. To export a playlist, have it highlighted then go to File > Library > Export Playlist…
iTunes: How to backup and restore playlists
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA47831
Open iTunes Preferences and select the Devices tab. Select the option to prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
-Norm G.

I recently changed computers and lost all my playlists from my itunes on my computer, i have them still on my phone. Is there a way i can get them back without making them all again?!

i recently changed computers and lost all my playlists from my itunes on my computer, i have them still on my phone. Is there a way i can get them back without making them all again?!

If the books were purchased at the iBookStore, you will be able to redownload, like the apps. Some other sellers, like O'Reilly, also allow multiple downloads.
If you have (or can install) iTunes on a computer (Mac preferable, not mandatory) and run it then plug the device in, does it show up? If the computer can detect it, you can and should do a complete backup onto local storage immediately. That can then be used to reconstruct the content of the device on a new or repaired replacement. If you enable encryption, even the passwords will get saved.

How do i transfer itunes playlists from one computer to another?

My old PC with Windows XP and iTunes died for good. Luckily library and playlists were save on and external hard drive shortly before. My newer Dell vostro 1520 laptop has Windows 7 and wish to instal my playlists from my external hard drive into a new iTunes 11.1.5.5. The library is too large to hold on the computer so must remain on my external drive and I've made the link in preferences. The iTunes I was using when I saved it was an older version (if there is a way to find out from the files I haven't found it). I wish to know how to transfer my extensive number of playlists, folders, and track allotment and order from my external drive to my Dell. I could experiment with moving the playlist folder but I have the knack for screwing up my system and that I would like to avoid.

Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
Since things are already broken it might be best to create this layout first then use FindTracks to repair things. Ideally you would have a complete clone of the library on a second drive as a backup. You would have the library folder at the root of the drive and the media folder inside it. Connect to the library by shift-starting iTunes. If everything is in the normal layout iTunes may be able to heal itself if you attempt to get info and locate a missing file when prompted. Otherwise you would direct the script to start its search from ..\iTunes\iTunes Media.
tt2

How do I move my PlayLists from old to new Mac?

Just got a new Mac with Lion on it.
I have moved my iTunes Library collection over from old computer to new one.
But, how can I move all my old 'PlayLists' from my other machine to my new one as I don't want to spend days re-making them all?
Thanks

The iTunes Library.itl file 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.
Find the file on your old Mac and copy it to your new Mac.
Read this for details: What are iTunes library files: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

How can I create a playlist from all songs in a single folder

On my D: drive I've got a folder called MUSIC. Under MUSIC I've got folders by artist and then album. I have no problems putting together playlists from these artists. But I have a few folders that are a combination of many different artists songs. I can't find a way to view this group in iTunes and create the a playlist from these mixed folders. It appears I'd have to hunt for all the songs individually through all my music and add them one at a time...a nightmare.
What I was hoping for was the ability to go to my MUSIC tab under my LIBRARY and add a column for file location. That way I'd sort them by folder location and grab them that way.
I created my playlist and tried to simply drag/drop the folder and/or the songs directly from windows explorer but of course that didn't work.
Is there a way to do this?
Thanks

Drag them from where? I've tried to drag them from windows explorer and it won't allow me. It seems the only place I can drag files from is from the iTunes library list. The problem is there is no way that I can find to just see the songs from a specific folder on my drive in the iTunes library list. It sorts them by artist, album, genre, etc....but not by folder.

Can't sync playlists from ipod touch to new computer

Can't Sync Playlists from iPod Touch to New Library
I just upgraded from an old Pentium computer to a new Dell XPS 18 running Windows 8.1. Downloaded latest version of iTunes to the new computer, then successfully transferred library content from the old computer to the new one via the external hard drive method. All material -- iTunes purchases, music ripped from CDs, a movie, even MP3 files purchased long ago from another source -- transferred successfully; everything plays on the new computer just fine.
My problem is that the "old" playlists didn't transfer over. After connecting my iPod Touch to the new computer, I verified that the iPod has the latest version of iOS, and its content (including the old/original playlists) displays in the window on the left-hand side of the iTunes screen. The really frustrating thing is that I can find no way to transfer the old playlists to my new iTunes library. I've tried dragging and dropping, selecting and pasting, and exploration of all the options menus, but no luck. Creating a new playlist in the new library and then clicking on the "Add To" button opens up a window into which to drop dragged songs/folders from the new library listing, but simultaneously closes the left-hand display window with all of my iPod's current playlists depicted.
I appear successfully to have backed up my iPod to the new computer, but all the sync menu options are grayed out. When I tried clicking on the Sync button, I got a warning that syncing to the new library would erase everything from the old library -- presumably obliterating my playlists with it. I have about a dozen different playlists, some of them with several hundred songs, drawn from a library of a few thousand individual items. Is there some means of importing/transferring the old playlists to the new computer/library, so that I don't manually have to drag and drop hundreds and hundreds of songs into a new set of playlists? Am I overlooking something really obvious or simple? Can I safely turn on Home Sharing and then import or paste the old playlists into the new computer's library. I don't think I'm too much of a Luddite, but given the size of my library I'm very leery of turning on Home Sharing (to the old Pentium computer) after I've successfully transferred over many GBs of content from the old machine to the new.
Thanks very much --

Can't Sync Playlists from iPod Touch to New Library
I just upgraded from an old Pentium computer to a new Dell XPS 18 running Windows 8.1. Downloaded latest version of iTunes to the new computer, then successfully transferred library content from the old computer to the new one via the external hard drive method. All material -- iTunes purchases, music ripped from CDs, a movie, even MP3 files purchased long ago from another source -- transferred successfully; everything plays on the new computer just fine.
My problem is that the "old" playlists didn't transfer over. After connecting my iPod Touch to the new computer, I verified that the iPod has the latest version of iOS, and its content (including the old/original playlists) displays in the window on the left-hand side of the iTunes screen. The really frustrating thing is that I can find no way to transfer the old playlists to my new iTunes library. I've tried dragging and dropping, selecting and pasting, and exploration of all the options menus, but no luck. Creating a new playlist in the new library and then clicking on the "Add To" button opens up a window into which to drop dragged songs/folders from the new library listing, but simultaneously closes the left-hand display window with all of my iPod's current playlists depicted.
I appear successfully to have backed up my iPod to the new computer, but all the sync menu options are grayed out. When I tried clicking on the Sync button, I got a warning that syncing to the new library would erase everything from the old library -- presumably obliterating my playlists with it. I have about a dozen different playlists, some of them with several hundred songs, drawn from a library of a few thousand individual items. Is there some means of importing/transferring the old playlists to the new computer/library, so that I don't manually have to drag and drop hundreds and hundreds of songs into a new set of playlists? Am I overlooking something really obvious or simple? Can I safely turn on Home Sharing and then import or paste the old playlists into the new computer's library. I don't think I'm too much of a Luddite, but given the size of my library I'm very leery of turning on Home Sharing (to the old Pentium computer) after I've successfully transferred over many GBs of content from the old machine to the new.
Thanks very much --

How do I move iTunes settings and playlists from PC to Mac?

I have a very convoluted arrangement of playlists and folders in my Windows version of iTunes. I now would like to move these over to my new Mac. Is this easy or indeed possible? I'm not referring to the music files themselves. They reside on a separate external drive.

It's easiest if you network the two machines, or use another drive to "transport" them.
You can select all the songs in a playlist and drag them to a folder on your desktop, or through the network to the other machine. Then, on your mac, drag this folder to your iTunes. They should be copied to your new library, and you can remove them from the folder.

How do I transfer library and playlists from external drive to PC?

My old PC with iTunes died for good. Luckily library and playlists were save on and external hard drive. How do I transfer my library and playlists from that drive to another PC (Windows XP) and are the arrangement of tracks within the playlists included?

Correction to my last post (in bold): I'll try to explain what I did originally, not knowing everything that would be required to transfer, so you can better understand my situation. Just before my first computer died I saved my Music folder containing iTunes, Library, and Playlists folders to an external drive, so I no longer have programs, sub-folders or other information rooted in my first computer. I then downloaded iTunes to my second computer (Dell Vostro 1520, WindowsXP). I then dragged my Music folder from the external drive to iTunes 11.1.5.5 music tab and near as I can tell the library was transferred because in the Songs tab, the tracks are there in duplicate, one with the exclamation at the left and one that functions playback. (However, my total song number is doubled and that can be addressed later if it doesn't impede anything). In individual playlists each track within has a “not connected” mark. I have an extensive playlist catalogue so I would rather not have to reconnect them one by one. Can you think of a solution where I don't have to do that? Would you like more info? Aragorn

How do i get my "on the go" playlists from ipod to library.

I have an ipod classic that I manually sync. For speed I make playlists using "on the go" and now have a number of these that I want to transfer from ipod to my library. The only way I can think of doing this is to revert to automatic syncing. When I start to do this I get a warning message saying my ipod will be wiped and only content in the library will be sync'd. Does this mean I will lose any playlist created on my ipod ? Can anyone advise please?

Despite the fiend's confident manner and his curt correction, I believe he is very mistaken about this. I sensed this was baloney and kept looking, to find a thread in which the same is discussed for iPhone, but it worked on my Classic iPod as well. (I don't mean to get overly down on a.f, but one should be careful and try to be sure before telling someon they can't do something that seems like a basic function that should by all reason be possible - Not that all lack of reason doesn't often apply to these products...)
How to transfer playlist from iPhone to iTunes 11.1.3?
The procedure described here did work for me, but know this: if I hadn't somehow actively saved an on-the-go list long ago (and forgotten,) I never would have known, because although I have been selecting tons of tracks for "on the go," apparently it erases all lists when you power down, unless you do that deliberate save. That's right; c beyond all sense of reason (case in point of above) the iPod does not continue to save selections in one growing on-the-go list unless you save it before shut-off. Saving auto names that list and starts over. So while I would like to have one big list in which to save all songs for future DJ choices, I will have to have a new list for every time I select even one single song before power off, or POOF gone. Wish I'd known that before, I stupidly assumed 100 or more songs were saved cause I never checked.
Check it out and see if it works for you. Cheers. And no offense A.F.
I guess considering how tedious and dysfuntional this is (also not a first for Apple,) I will find another way to earmark tracks on the fly, like use a star rating which I've never really used with consistency. You might consider the same if you have similar purposes. If you're sitting down and deliberately making a specific list all at once, save it and you should be good to "go."

Moving playlists from itunes to ipod

How do I move playlists from itunes to my ipod? I click the playlist and try to move it to the ipod but it doesn't transfrer. I was able to do this in the past. I'm not sure what has happened. Can anyone help?

I'm making progress. First, I found that I could retrieve the iPod icon by turning my iMac off and then on again (I wish there was an easier, faster way). Secondly, I was reminded why I hadn't been able to drag Playlists to my iPod icon in the past: the distance was too great. By this I mean that as long as the iPod icon and the Playlist to be moved are both on the same screen at the same time, there is no difficulty in dragging the Playlist to the iPod icon. However, if the Playlist is too far down the list of Playlists to appear on the same screen with the iPod icon, it can't be done. At least I don't know how to do it. I once asked for instructions for adjusting the font size the iTunes window, but that apparently can't be done. Other than that, I don't know how I can drag Playlists that are too far down the list of Playlists to the iPod icon. Does anyone?

How do I play just 1 song on the iPhone / Making Playlists on iPhone?

Is it possible to just pick 1 song and play that and nothing after it? It always wants to play another song after the one I choose.
Also - What is the 'On the go' playlist for and does it sync to iTunes?
Lastly - Is it possible to make playlists on the iPhone or do these need to be made in iTunes and then synced?
-Frankie

Like Glor says is how to set it to play one song and then end playback. Add that one song to the on the go playlist, and then play the playlist.
This is because it appears that the phone refers to each song as part of a larger group. It's not <songname>, it is <playlist>-<songname>. Even the master list groups songs under a group heading, kind of like a First Name Last Name setup. I figure it's to keep a song named Blue easily separate from a phone contact named Blue, and both of those separate from an application also named Blue. They would be called App Blue, Song Blue and Contact Blue. Just my offhand supposition.
As for making playlists on the phone... You can only add songs to the On The Go list, all of the others are unable to be edited. However, if you add songs to On The Go, the next time you sync that playlist is copied to iTunes and renamed "On The Go 1". And then the original On The Go is reset to empty - ready for you to monkey around with it at will.
So, I add "Blue" to On The Go on the phone.
Then I sync.
"On The Go 1" appears in iTunes and on the phone. It only contains the song "Blue"
The phone's On The Go is reset to empty.
So now I have a playlist "On The Go" that I can add songs to with the phone, and another playlist called "On The Go 1" that I can only edit on iTunes.

Making playlists from folders...

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