Manually editing iTunes library

Hello, I'm trying to get my song statistics from last.fm in iTunes. I would do it with a bash script, but I'm not sure how to edit iTunes Library. When I edit /Users/Me/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml, it makes no changes to my library, and the XML file is refreshed when I start iTunes, returning it to it's original state. Seems that I would have to edit /Users/Me/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library (it generates the XML file acctually?), but when I open that file in editor, I get a bunch of trash, weird symbols... can't work with that...
So anyway, can I edit some file, so that it changes my Play Counts in iTunes Library?
cheers!

The iTunes library.xml file is generated by iTunes for other apps (like Last.FM) to access the iTunes library.
The iTunes library file is not accessible.
To change playcounts, see this -> New Play Count v2.0

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Manually Manage iTune Library

I want to Manually Manage iTune Library between 2 Macs. Today I plugged my iPhone and clicked Muanully Manage Music and it asked me that this is synched with another iTunes Lib. and It will delete all ibrary and it won't let me apply.. I can do this with my iPOD Classic.. But I can't do this with my iPhone?? I have too big of a Library and I can't be synching.
I said apply and now all my music and video is gone on my iPhone..
Help!!!

Each device can be managed individually as you desire: manually, selected playlists, or auto-sync.
Typically, an iPhone can be synced with an iTunes library on a single computer only for Music and Photos. You are able to sync contact info, calendar events, and Safari bookmarks on multiple computers.
If you want to sync Music/Photos on multiple PCs then the links below may help. While not an Apple endorsed method, you can see these workarounds (2 examples):
i) One iPhone, Two Computers, Many Solutions
ii) How to sync an iPhone with two (or more) Computers
Generally, a Google search will yield more than enough websites that can assist you should you need more options. They are not too hard to find. Search, Evaluate, then choose one that makes you comfortable.
Best of Luck

Q on new set up, manual migration iTunes (Library)

Hello all,
I am getting a brand new iMac very soon and this time, I have decided I am not going to use Migration Assistance to migrate everything from my 3-year old iMac, simply 'cause there is just "too much trash" in it that I do not want to move over.
Plus, now a lot of mine 'personal' settings are iCloud-based, so all I need is to sign in my Apple ID/iCloud ID and most of my stuffs like contacts, calendars and emails will be in place.
One of my major concern is my iTunes (library).
If I manually copy over from User (home folder) > Music > iTunes, to the new iMac.
Everything will be in place? Including all the Playlists etc I have created?
Thank you very much and have a great day.

Hello mightymartin,
Thanks. I have checked my User-Shared folder and it is empty.
Anyway what matters most is the
Playlists I've created 'cause some are mix-and-match songs compiled into a playlist
The rest of the media - songs, shows etc
Not so much of the apps 'cause I know I can re-download them again, actually so are all the media since I am on iCloud and I have iCloud Match.
So it is the data/Library file that is probably the most important
Cheers

Manually transferring iTunes library/playlists from a G4 to a G5

Does anyone have a step by step list of how to manually transfer a iTunes library and playlist from a G4 with Mac OS 10.3.9 to a G5 with MAC OS 10.4.8?
Thank you - Scott

And you can connect them together with a Firewire cable using "Target" mode on the G4 if you don't already have these two computers networked together or both able to access the same storage space.
Patrick

Edit Itunes Library on another computer

If I get ARD (and pay 300 bucks) - can i go into another computer on my home network and fully edit that computer's itunes library ? tweak playlists etc ?
basically is ARD like windows RDT ?

If all you need is to be able to control another computer, then ARD would be vast overkill. If the systems all have Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6, you can use the Screen Sharing built into those versions of Mac OS X to take control of the machine, at which point you can do just about anything you could do from the system itself.
Regards.

Help manually restoring itunes library

hi all, I need some help please.
I just have got a new laptop so i backed up my library onto 4 dvds and I have come to restore however it keeps hanging on the same track on the restore dvd 3. I cant find a way around it. All the data appears to be one the disks, how can i get the data manually into my library by dragging and dropping from cd please?
thanks

Have 2 windows explorer screens open. One for the DVD and the 2nd for your PC's hard drive, whatever folder you want to put it in.
Left-mouse a file from the DVD screen, drag it over to the PC's hard drive screen and release the mouse.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Moving-and-copying-files-by-usi ng-the-drag-and-drop-method

Manually Copied iTunes Library to new Mac -- Will iPhone sync be messed up?

Hi. Apologies in advance if this has been addressed elsewhere in the forums. I have found no clear answers though in my relatively thorough search.
I just bought a new Mac to replace my old one. I decided to start as cleanly as I can by only migrating documents.
After reading a thousand different ways to copy my library from my old Mac to the new one (and maintaining playlists, ratings, etc.) I ended up copying the full contents of my music folder from old to new via Firewire and then I option-clicked to tell iTunes to use the Library I just copied over.
A few questions for all of you:
1. Is this a decent method for recreating my prior iTunes experience on my new computer? Any pitfalls of which I should be aware? I'm going from 8.2 to 8.2 by the way.
2. What will happen when I try to sync my iPhone with the new computer? I want to make sure I'm not about to wipe it clean or otherwise mess it up. Again, I copied the full contents of the Music folder in my user account, so assuming my iPhone settings, backups, etc are in there, they hopefully will still work?
iTunes looks like it did before, but I'm nervous I might be deluding myself.
Thanks for the help and suggestions!

You got most of it, but you missed your backups which are in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. If you don't copy them, iTunes will make a new backup.
Also the software update files are elsewhere, but iTunes will download them again if needed for a restore. If you really want to move them, they are in ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support and iPhone Software Updates (but you don't need them unless your internet connection is dial-up and you don't want to wait for iTunes to redownload them).
BTW, the ~ symbol indicates your home account.

How to restore iTunes library from TimeMachine external hard drive backup after clean install

I was not able to solve this problem, hence I decided to open this discussion.
1. Recently, I clean installed Yosemite so my new Mac is completely empty.
2. I have my time machine backup on my eternal hard drive and would like to restore only specific things - such as iTunes library.
3. I did not manually copy iTunes library to my drive, I did the TM backup only, but I also do have all the files in my own "music" folder I manually backed-up.
However, I cannot locate the library there, where is it?
How do I move the library to my new Mac and then establish a new source folder that would be on my drive?
PS: Previously, iTunes used my own music folder as a source = it contained all the music files. I had it on an external drive, later moved it to my Mac.
This leads me to the conclusion that my backup copy of iTunes library did not contain the files anyway.
Any advice?
Thank you in advance.

I am confused as to what you had or have where and when. The bottom line is, your library (for the standard user) is everything in the iTunes folder. As far as iTunes' organization and display is concerned, your library is a file called "iTunes Library.itl" which points to all the other host of files and folders normally in the iTunes folder which all work together.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
If you kept everything together in one place then you need to put the whole iTunes folder on the drive where you want it, start iTunes while holding down the option key and guide it to that .itl file. If things were split up and you had media on the external and the rest of the library on the internal you need to get them back to exactly where they were before. If you can't find that iTunes folder holding the critical .itl file anywhere then you have a bunch of media tracks and no organization and will need to rebuild the organization from ground level.

Force Re-Creation Of iTunes Library.itl from iTunes Library.xml?

Can't figure out how to edit a post, so I'm putting this here instead of adding it to "Recovery From Hosed Music Locations - Without Losing Ratings?".
iTunes v9.
It's dawning on me that I can edit "iTunes Library.xml" and fix my hundreds (if not thousands) of broken links there.
But iTunes seems to work out of "iTunes Library.itl".
Seems like there had to be a way to get iTunes to re-create "iTunes Library.itl" from "iTunes Library.xml".
?

Damage the ITL first. That method has worked for several folks. Example:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11566523#11566523

I am trying to edit my music list and then sync it to my iPhone 5 so I don't run out of storage space. However, I see the check marks on the iTunes library but am unable to uncheck them? How do I manually edit what will be synced to my phone?

I am trying to edit my music list and then sync it to my iPhone 5 so I don't run out of storage space. However, I see the check marks on the iTunes library but am unable to uncheck them? How do I manually edit what will be synced to my phone? (the check marks are not bolded, does this mean they are not in my library but only on my phone?)

You uncheck the music in your iTunes library on your computer and along with sync only checked songs and videos selected under the Summary selection for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes, only checked songs in your iTunes library will be transferred to your iPhone or remain on your iPhone and the unchecked songs in your iTunes library that are currently on your iPhone will be removed when syncing.
Or make use of iTunes playlists and choose selected playlists, albums, artists under the Music selection for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes and select the playlists below that you want transferred to your iPhone.

ITunes match question (manual sync and iTunes library)

Hi all
Just noticed that iTunes match is now avaliable in Denmark, and therefore I have a few questions that I can't seem to find answers for elsewhere.
My situation is that I have all my music on a NAS (and on at USB backup drive). Some of the music is in 128 AAC and is 320 mp3.
On my macbook pro I have all of my music converted til 128 AAC so I can fit all of my music on my iPhone (10000 songs). All my music on my iPhone is manage manually through iTunes. I normally 1) add it to itunes, 2) transfer it to iphone and 3) remove the music again from my iTunes library. I mostly just have an empty iTunes library (since i play music from my iPhone and my Sonos system) and just use iTunes for ripping CDs and editing of tags.
Since my iPhone is running out of space, I thought it would be a good idea to have some of my music i iCloud (iTunes match). From what I've read it is not possible to have both music transfered manually from iTunes to my iPhone and at the same time accessing music from Itunes match? What I really would like is to have 20 GB on my iPhone with the rest avaliable through iTunes match (20 GB) for when I need it. Is this possible?
My second and most important question is about the itunes library. What happens if I connect to iTunes macth and afterwards remove all my music from my itunes library? As I just explained I prefer my itunes library to be empty unless i want to transfer music to my iPhone.
Hope you can help me with some answers?
Thánk You.

That info has not been released yet but to venture a guess, I doubt any extraneous info such as comments will be used.
Also, iTunes Match will not use your tags to identify songs. Some algorithm will analyze the audio file to match.

Is There A Way To Edit The Raw iTunes Library File?

I have thousands upon thousands of songs. I'm of a mind to (in effect) do a find/replace on every instance of a phrase in one particular field and don't want to have to go though every single one manually, since that would take forever.
Anyone have any ideas?

You cannot edit the library file itself, but you could perhaps edit the XLM file and then import that, basically following the procedure you use when the library file has been damaged:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
You'll need to be very careful about editing the XML, though, as it's really easy to completely mess up your library if you edit the wrong thing. Make absolutely sure you have backup copies of the original iTunes library file and XML file, so you can put them back just in case something does go wrong.
Hope this helps.

Can not edit my songs in the itunes library

Can not edit my songs in the itunes library
Windows7 64 BIT / SP1 / Self-built PC
Latest ITunes version 10.4
80GB Classic 5th GEN IPOD
      I had almost full of content on my ipod,then I upgraded from XP HOME(32) to Windows7 (64 Bit)
What I did not want to do was to spend time loading All 75GB back on the itunes Library, but decided I should restore the ipod, since it's been acting up a bit. I did not deactivate the last XP OS Computer prior to formatting the harddrive,because I thought it would not matter, since the software would be GONE.
So I downloaded another itunes/Quicktime on this new Win7 O.S., and created the same playlists I had before, then dragged each genre/main music folder into the appropriate folder in itunes.
I clicked on a few songs to change the Info, but they are all greyed out and I cannot edit anything....I never had these problems before.
How to I re-enable to EDIT the INFO again?   Thank you!
(itunes also told me I had authorized four out of five computers for this device...WHAT? There is only one computer, and my one ipod.
......BUT.......My sister has a 16GB itouch, and I put my songs on her itouch, also charged it up on my computer, since she does not have her own computer yet. Will that mess anything up?
Can she create her own User apple ID/password, then be able to edit her stuff from my computer? AUTHORIZE her itouch on my computer, or do I have to create her own playlists (because I have an 80GB, and she has a16GB, obviously, she will not get all mine on her small device) then checkmark ONLY her playlists to manage on her itouch, from my computer?
A few people told me to try this....
     I Plugged in the OL' ipod, Under the SUMMARY TAB, and under the OPTIONS TAB, I changed what I had, which was "SYNC ONLY CHECKED SONGS AND VIDEOS" [B]to MANUALLY MANAGE MUSIC AND VIDEOS"[/B]
THEN underneath that, "OPEN ITUNES WHEN IPOD IS CONNECTED", "AND MANUALLY MANAGE MUSIC WERE [U]BOTH CHECKED[/U]."
THEN - I went back into my Win Explorer Main Music folder,and under PROPERTIES, I unchecked the READ-ONLY Box, hit APPLY, then OK, then I went back into the itunes library and tried to edit a few songs, but they are all still greyed out and not editable.
I went back into the WIN EXPLORER main Music folder and checked to see if the READ-ONLY was still unchecked, but it automatically reverted back to READ ONLY.
Another question I wanted to ask was this. I have my main Music Folder on my Storage HDD. They are MP3 files, and listed as Country,Blues,Classic Rock,Reggae,etc. After I installed the WIN7 OS, I had to download itunes again/Quicktime,then dragged each main music folder into the appropriate playlist until they were all there. Since my itunes app is on my Boot Drive,and my main music folder on my Storage drive,am I wasting or adding any needless HDD space having on both HDD'S? or is this a non-issue? Thank you!

Hello All!
Well, after posting the help messages, I went diggingthrough both my itunes folder on my (C) drive, and then the Music Folder on my(F) Storage drive where I keep all my music files and then went into securityand in each line, I made FULL CONTROL, APPLY, then went back into iTunes afterplugging my ipod in and clicked on MANUALLY MANAGE TUNES.
I don't know which did it, but now I can edit the songs. To answer yourquestion, I was able to play the songs, but just couldn't edit any of themuntil now. Thanks for your Reply!

If I edit an audio file that is already on my ipod in the itune library will it change the file on the ipod or will the file on the ipod overwrite the file in itunes?

I have some audio files that could be edited to remove portions I don't need. They were lectures that has some portions which I like to remove. If I edit the file in the itunes library will it be able to sense that with even the same name the file has changed and update my ipod, ipad an so forth? Or will the files on the devices be moved back and overwrite the newer version? Or perhaps will I need to do all of this by hand? Thanks

- Only iTunes purchases will copy from iPod to computer.
- If you sync manually and do not specify those modified songs to sync they will not sync to the iPod nor will the original version be deleted from the iPod
- If you sync automatically and include those songs or select the modified songs to sync manually, the songs in the iPod should be replaced with the modified songs. However sometimes that does not happen

How can I transfer my itunes library edits to my computer music

I got my PC music that I transfer to my itunes library, and I do a lot of editing of my itunes music and I would like it to automaticly edit my PC music so that when I lose my itunes music I could go back to my PC and download it again without having to re-edit the same songs over n over again. In the past it automaticly would do it but not no more, I don't know what I got to do to change or authorize itunes to edit my PC music?

Ok, great - now how do I do this without an external hard drive or LAN? It seems I made the mistake of updating to iTunes 10.4 and lost the option to backup to a disc. Also, one of the reasons I am transferring to a new computer is my old one is an old, very slow PC, so having to do things like reinstall iTunes 10.3 to get the backup to disc option back is very time consuming and frustrating. I also purchased iTunes Match in the hopes that I could access all my files from the new computer that way, but I can't figure out how to access it from the new computer.
Is there a reason why this has to be so difficult? Didn't Apple used to be really good at making user-friendly products?

Manually editing iTunes library

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