Multiple sort in iTunes

How do I sort by multiple categories in my library? I would like to sort by artist, then date, then album, then track so I have each artist in chronological order. iTunes seems to insist on sorting albums alphabetically. Is there a way to do this without creating a playlist that has my entire library on it, and then dragging things around by hand?
IBM T42 Windows XP Pro

Wow, those are some pretty complex sorting requirements there...
Anyway, there is currently no built-in way to sort on multiple columns.
I also want this feature and have told Apple about it here:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html
Until then, the only thing you can do is write an external program that sorts your music the way you want in a playlist separate from your main library.
http://developer.apple.com/sdk/itunescomsdk.html
If you're not a programmer you have to wait and hope or find someone to do it for you. I'm a programmer but right now I'm not feeling motivated to write it

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Multiple Column Sorting in iTunes

I have seen many conversations around the edges of this, but no answers. I am curious if it is possible to configure a custom sort in iTunes involving multiple columns.
Here is what I would like to end up with - Artist; Sort Show (where I have stored the release date); Album; Disk Number; Track Number. Seeing my albums in chronological order is the way I always sorted physical albums, I would like to store my virtual ones the same way. iTunes allows me to use Album by Artist and then sort by Sort Show, but this then displays the tracks in alphabetic order by name!
Identifying multiple sort columns (as in Excel) would be ideal. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Dave

It is a database internally, and there are some multivalued sorts, but as users we don't get to specify custom sort orders. Album by Artist is more properly Album by Album Artist and in pseudo-SQL it would go something like this.
SELECT * FROM Selection ORDER BY SortAlbumArtist, SortAlbum, Disc# , Track#
Where there is no SortAlbumArtist it is inferred from the first non-empty value of AlbumArtist, SortArtist or Artist.
Where there is no SortAlbum it is inferred from Album.
The Disc# & Track# sorts place empties last.
Presumably the designers think they've included useful options and adding nested sorting features would be too complicated, but you can make suggestions via iTunes Feedback.
tt2

New to a Mac in general and having multiple issues with iTunes - Help?

So I bought my first mac for design/marketing uses (flyers, video etc) and figured I'd consolidate my wife and I's iTunes stuff to it as well...So far most things are done but I have a few snags.
In moving everything over I knew I would end up with a lot of duplicates, we both had a lot of the same music via the CD's we own. The process I did was I connected the external drives from my machine and my wifes machine to the Mac which already had an external blank 200GB drive connected to it and iTunes was setup to use that drive as the music folder location. I then added all the music from the external drives from my machine and wifes machine to iTunes one at a time. I then imported the library playlists etc and changed the path in the files from "M:\itunes music\" to "file://localhost/music" ... This worked, all playlists are back and work.
For handling duplicates on my windows machines in the past I would sort to show duplicates then would go through selecting all duplicates (using ctrl key to select a lot at a time) then delete those in iTunes, it would ask to delete the file and I always had it delete the files because the files themselves were always duplicated (those file being songname1.mp3, songname2.mp3 etc). This worked for the windows machines...not so much for the mac. Apparently the mac didn't duplicate all actual files and instead created duplicate entries based on the same file in a lot of cases.
Snags:
It looks like the duplicates the mac is showing sometimes are showing multiple entries in iTunes for the same physical file, so If I delete the file, I'm deleting the only copy of the song. Sometimes though there are songname1.mp3, songname2.mp3 etc...This makes it extremely difficult to kill out the duplicates because now I have to look to see what file every duplicate is looking at before deciding to delete file or not...I would be sitting here for weeks on end to do that! I need a better solution.
Second snag that I think is related to the first. My iTunes library is showing 213GB's worth of music being stored on the 200GB drive. I think this is due to the duplicate entries using the same file...The library should be more around 140GB's. I just want to confirm this is indeed the issue or know if there is another place a mac would try to store itunes music if the music folder fills up?

OS Version: Mac OS X 10.9.2 (13C1021) < from your report
The report indicates your Mac is running v10.9.2. So you need to update your OS X software.
Click the Apple  top left in your screen. From the drop down menu click Software Update.
That will update your Mac to OS X 10.9.4
Restart your Mac after the update is installed then try Mail.
Very important to keep your system software up to date for security.

How to delete multiple duplicates in itunes 11.2

I've seen lot's of people talking about the "Show exact duplicates" funtion, but I can't figure out how to make it work in 11.2. I have over 6,000 duplciates and need an easier way to delete them other than one by one. please help?

Apple's official advice is here... HT2905 - How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership.
Use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.
Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)
tt2

Multiple sort levels

Hi all.
Is there anyway to use multiple levels of sort in iTunes?
If I want to sort Albums by Artist or something like that?
I can't seem to find it in iTunes itself.
Thanks!

Well, sorting Albums by Artist is conveniently built-in to iTunes. Just click to sort by Album and then click that sort tab again. It toggles between Album, Album by Artist and Album by Year.

Multiple sort levels in a smart playlist

I use iTunes 7.1.x on a MacMini to update my iPod. Before I moved over to OS-X, I had used a Windows-based media manager (J. River's Media Center). One feature of that media manager that I have not been able to figure out how to duplicate in iTunes is the ability to have multiple sort levels.
My main use for multiple sort levels is the ability to sort songs by the count of times played, then within each count group, shuffle the songs randomly.
For example, all songs with a zero play count would be grouped together and then shuffled, then the songs with one play count would be grouped together and shuffled within that group, then the songs with a two pla count... etc...
The net effect of this dual-level sort is play all songs with the same low play-count in random order, then move up to the next highest play count and play those in random order.
What feature of iTunes am I missing that will provide the sorting capability I want?
Mac OS X (10.4.9)

What feature of iTunes am I missing that will
provide the sorting capability I want?
Nothing. iTunes will not do this.
How does one ask Apple for a new feature in iTunes?

Multiple Sort Apps?

I have a lot of apps on my Iphone 4s and i used to use the Itunes store to sort them into folders based on Genre then by name. But since one of the updates i cannot figure out how to use multiple sorts. If anyone could tell me how to set the Itunes app list to sort by Genre -> Name that woul be extremely helpful.

swg18 wrote:
I have a lot of apps on my Iphone 4s and i used to use the Itunes store to sort them
Do you simply mean iTunes? (not store)
I have a lot of apps on my Iphone 4s and i used to use the Itunes store to sort them into folders based on Genre then by name.
Turn on the C olumn browser (menu View > Column browser) select a Genre then sort by Name.

How can I have multiple users on iTunes (in order to connect to a shared office iPad)?

How can I have multiple users on iTunes (in order to connect to a shared office iPad)? Currently each of us has our own iTunes account, so I've made an "all office" Apple ID. However, I can't seem to get two different accounts (my personal and the office) to work on my machine. Even when I login as "the office", my personal library is still showing. Additionally, when I try to setup with a first-time use in iTunes, I get an error that I don't meet the minimum age requirement - no matter what birthdate I enter!

The library exists regardless of which user is logged in.
The only way around that is to create different user accounts on the computer.
There is no way to have 20 unique iTunes users access a shared iTunes under a single login on the computer.

How do I sync multiple devices on iTunes without apps that are only on an iPad Air not sync on other devices?

How do I sync multiple devices on iTunes (iPad Air & iPhone 5) without apps that are only on an iPad Air not syncing on my iPhone 5? I have apps on the iPad that I do not want on the iPhone, but when I sync my iPhone I have apps that are on the iPad sync to it also. How do I fix this so only the apps/data on each device sync to it?

Settings
iTUnes and app store
turn off automatic downloads for apps
Then what you buy on one device only goes onto another if you want it to

Multiple Copies of iTunes.MSI file

I am in the process of cleaning up my older Sony Vaio system disk (XP Home), and noted I have multiple copies of iTunes.msi and Quick Time.msi files in a subdirectory entitled *'downloaded installations'*. Some dates go back to 2005. Is it advisable to delete older versions or are all versions/dates necessary to remain on the system? I also noted many ipod updater files from 2006. Are these necessary along with *restore.jpsw files to be kept? I'm hoping there is a concise file listing of whats really necessary to keep vs. install or update leftover files. Most of these are 35Meg+ so I have a lot of disk space being used right now for these older files.
Thanks in advance...............

I never noticed theose before! I had several. I got rid of them all after a quick google convinced me I'll never need them again.

Multiple copies of podcasts appear in iTunes on my computer, but correctly on my iPhone 4S. How do eliminate multiple copies in iTunes on my PC?

Multiple copies of podcasts appear in iTunes on my computer, but correctly on my iPhone 4S. How do eliminate multiple copies in iTunes on my PC?

Hi AkMat.
Have you actually opened these files to see what they are yet? The few Apps I've downloaded (not from iTunes) typically come with a few files. The actual app, the instructions/help/TOU and sometimes an uninstall.
mwn
Message was edited by: much wiser now

HT1766 How can I have multiple iphones on itunes and prevent them from having the info from one ipone going to the other

How can I have multiple iphones on itunes without them sharing contact info

If contacts on each iPhone are being synced direct with the same supported address book app on the computer via the iTunes sync process, deselect Sync Contacts under the Info tab for the iPhones that you don't want synced with the same address book followed by a sync.
If each iPhone is sharing the same Apple iCloud account with Contacts enabled for over the air syncing, each iPhone needs its own iCloud account.

Multiple Libraries in iTunes 7 (Windows)

Another whinge about iTunes 7!
The multiple libraries feature in the Windows version (I don't know about the Mac version) is very poorly implemented and, quite frankly, useless.
When changing libraries in iTunes 7, the preferences for the new library are not copied across; in effect, iTunes 7 retains the preferences for the previous library. This becomes very annoying if the user has libraries with different preference settings, as I do. I have two libraries, one of which is located on the hard drive of my PC and the other on a network drive. The two libraries have different preferences, ie music location and the encoder used when importing files (one lossless and the other AAC).
Whenever I switch libraries in iTunes 7, the preferences for the previous library are retained. Consequently, when I select a new library I have to change the preferences to match those required for that library. Otherwise, iTunes 7 updates the new library according to the preferences for the old library. Very frustrating, I can tell you!
I have now removed iTunes 7 and restored iTunes 6, along with a third party library manager until such time as Apple comes up with a decent way of managing multiple libraries.
Windows XP

No, it's the same Windows XP user account, but I have two separate music libraries - the music files in library are in a lossless format, while those in the other are in AAC. For convenience, I wish to keep the two libraries separate.
In iTunes 7 it is possible to have separate libraries - start iTunes and hold down the SHIFT key (Windows) while the program starts. A dialogue box then appears where the required library can be selected. However, as far as I can tell, it's not possible to have a different set of preferences for each library.
Say the preferences are set up for my lossless library, which is located on a separate network drive. If I then make the AAC library active and open iTunes, iTunes reindexes the library according to the settings for the lossless library and I end up with the AAC library full of lossless files. I've tried unchecking various things in the preferences box, but I've had no luck fixing the problem. Thanks for your suggestion - I have already reported the problem.
The whole thing is a rather inelegant way of managing multiple libraries in iTunes. Surely the Apple developers can come up with a way of doing it from within iTunes??

Multiple Libraries in iTunes.

Can someone explain me how to create multiple libraries in iTunes.
I've a huge load of 5000 songs of which 2000 is what I hear often.
I don't have album art on the other 3000 songs and don't want to clutter it with my main library.
Moreover, these 2000 songs are automatically synced with my iPhone. However, I sometimes need to move a couple of songs from the main list which I find it too tedious without a library.
Can someone teach me how to create a second library in iTunes without affecting my main library and switch seamlessly (and copy files) between the two?
Thanks,
Mugunth

One more thing, if you want a more efficient way to switch iTunes libraries without having to keep restarting iTunes, considering downloading free software http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/ipoditunes/multitunesdavidcaldwell.html

Multiple Libraries on iTunes

Is it possible to have multiple libraries on iTunes? How do I set them up.
I have a library with about 26,000 songs and want to add out holiday music.
I'd like to have a seperate library just for the holiday music and be able to switch between them.

Steve:
I must echo Matthew's recommendation of iTunes Library Manager. I am currently in the process of reencoding all of my CDs. I had ripped a substantial portion of them when iTunes first came out, and I did so without knowing what I was doing - some are ripped in low bitrate MP3, others were transcoded from AAC to MP3 and vice-versa. In some cases, there were problems with the rip and songs were truncated. I decided that rather than try to weed out the bad tracks, I'd just re-rip the entire physical library as Apple Lossless.
By doing so in a separate library - I don't worry about duplicate tracks or the Lossless files getting mixed up with the MP3 data files, and then whenever I need a "clean" copy for my main library - I can just browse, import and convert to the desired codec. I also don't want the Lossless in my main library because that is the Library I use to sync with my iPod, and I don't have enough space to keep all my music in Lossless format on the iPod.
The utility is very easy to use - when you first open it, you should save your current library under two different names, and then load the version you are going to edit. iTunes Library Manager will ask you if you want to quit and load, and then it will prompt you for relaunch. You can have as many libraries as you need. The current version doesn't have a way of creating an empty library - if you want to start from scratch for any reason, but all you'll need to do is delete the songs from the Library, but NOT - REPEAT NOT - FROM YOUR HARD DRIVE.
Definitely worth the $5 shareware fee.
Lita

Multiple sort in iTunes

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