New itunes search function is terrible

The new itunes search function is really terrible, as a dj and listener with over 250GB of mp3s I find the new system to be extremely frustrating. I want to be able to type in a tag and sort my music hierarchically and I am no longer able to do this.
Sad.
Colin

If you want to go back to iTunes 10 I am happy to show you the way.
I am happy to regard myself an expert now on how to downgrade iTunes 11 back to 10. Having found a straight forward and logical way of doing so I thought it my duty to share with others. I can't express what a relief it is to have version 10 back again. See the method below. Let me know how you got on.
You can jump to the method below but I feel I need to express my view on the experience I have had of using iTunes 11.
I have been a mac obsessed devoted fan all my life (I'm 46), never used a PC and got my first mac back in 1988. Until just the past few months I wouldn't hear anyone say anything derogatory about anything apple. However a few things are rocking my 'religious like' devotion. Most of all I have been dumfunded about issues of the recent iTunes evolution in version 11.
I am also obsessed with music, movies and music videos. It's not just a hobby - I am a DJ and Video DJ by proffesion. iTunes, since the very first release, has been the backbone to the way I organise and store all my digital media. I never had any need to seek an alterantive and have also enjoyed the intergration it provides with my iPhone and other things etc etc.
My libary is huge. I don't mean to brag but aside from my digital music collection of 40,000 + tracks, either purchassed from the iTunes store or imported from my CD colection, my music video collection is over 10,000. I am a proffeciant iTunes user and I often have reason to need to retag my files within iTunes or sometimes I use MetaX.
Until now I have never resisted installing any available apple updates and even feel some excitement in anticipation of improved features etc. iTunes version 11 has changed all that now. It is, without question, an inferior version to 10. Anyone who feels otherwize is probaly only using itunes in a basic way and for this reason I have always thought there was a market for a pro version of iTunes for people like me.
iTunes 11 simply doesn't work. I click to play a track, click again cos it hasn't started and click another time and only then do I get to hear the track play for the start three times. It takes ages to build links to external files, just as long as it takes to actually import them to the media folder. Tagging takes rediculous long the point yu would need to leave the job to be done over night. I could go on but you are probably reading this because you have aleady experienced your own issues concerning version 11.
Befoe following the method below, I tried to seek alternatives to iTunes all together. I briefly tried Double Twist and Song Bird amougst many other but it truth iTunes is better for my personal purposes.
The most dispointing thing about version 11 is the silence from Apple about the obvious problems. It is this specific fact that has agrivated me so much. Maybe I am romanticising, bt I can't help imagine that SJ would have never let version 11 go as far as actually being released.
Here are the Stages and Steps: For OS X only. (have no idea for PC users). Thank you to Bogoss on MacForums, whoever you are.
Stage 1.
Note: Any changes you have made to your music files since you used last used version 10 will be lost but any purchasses you have made in the time since can be downloaded again if you can't find those purchasses in your media folder. If recently made playlists are of particular importance you could export the lists to somewhere for later.
1. Back up your iTunes Folder(s) just incase
2. Download these apps 1. AppZapper from http://appzapper.com (the free version will do). 2. Pacifist fromhttp://www.charlessoft.com.
3. Download iTunes 10.7 (last version before 11). Check your download folder, it might still be there. You can also get it from : http://appldnld.apple.com/iTunes10/0...iTunes10.7.dmg
4. Using AppZapper simply uninstall itunes 11. Before you drag the iTunes icon from the Application folder to the window you will need to open the preferences of AppZapper and deselect the tick next to "Keep Apple applications safe"
5. Open the 10.7 dmg file, you will see the pkg file(usally you would double click it to install), but now, this time drag it out somewhere, eg desktop.
6. Open Pacifist
7 drag the pkg iTunes 10.7 file to pacifist and then click install from the menu bar
8, during installation, click replace everytime a window pops up.
9. installation finished, iTunes 10.7 is back!
10. Don't open it yet!!!!
Stage 2.
See this video that explains the pocess here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXKZ2IBNsIA
1. In FINDER - go to your iTunes Folder in the iTunes Folder.
2. Within it, open the folder called Previous iTunes Libraries.
3. Identify the most recent backup. It has the date at the end.
4. Duplicate it. Move it to the desktop.
5. Rename it as iTunes Library.itl. Basically remove the date from the file name.
6. Go back to your iTunes Folder and rename the file there which is already named iTunes Library.itl to iTunes Library.itl.old.
7. Now move the iTunes Library.itl file from your desktop to this location.
8. Now open iTunes 10.7. If it can't find your iTunes library, select choose library and navigate the application to the new iTunes Library.itl file you created.
9. Breath sigh of relief, you're done!
10. Copy this and post it to help others. Only come back to me to say Thanks, not for more support.
Danny

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ITunes search function suddenly won't work, pending iTunes upgrade.

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Your QT may work fine but is it the most current v7.1.3? This is not to say that this will resolve your problem. You might try to d/l the 10.4.6 combo update and reinstall the upgrade to the system. That might resolve the problem.
I would wait until the new year and then upgrade to iLife07. No sense in buying 06 if 07 is around the corner.
You can downgrade to an earlier version of an app. To downgrade iTunes you would need to remove the receipt from HD>Library>Receipts>iTunesX.pkg. You will also need the .dmg of the version you want to reinstall. Old iTune versions are avalable at http://www.oldapps.com/downloadiTunesmac.php
You can get old iPhoto at http://www.oldapps.com/iPhoto.php - instructions here http://www.oldapps.com/forum/showthread.php?p=545
To downgrade your OS you will need to reload the original OS from the system disks that you have then upgrade to the level that you want.
As always b/u before proceeding.
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New iPhone search function totally lame!

I was really looking forward to the new "search" function in iPhone 2.0 update. It is totally lame. It will only look for first and last names. This was easy enough to find before. I need it to find phone numbers and information in my notes (just like the real address book search function does).
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How about a search function that can search your calendar? What good is a "datebook" application if you have to remember where you entered a specific event? iPhone is the biggest disappointments ever. HUGE downgrade from my Treo. Glad they had all of the problems launching 2.0 (which should have been considered 1.0beta)- serves them right for being so arrogant about a less-than-ready product (again).

New iTunes search help!: I'd like to just start typing in the upper right search and have the list update like it did in older iTunes versions. Now it has little suggestions of WHAT IM NOT LOOKING FOR!

Remember the days when you were looking for that metallica song... you kind of knew the name... so you start typing it in the search, and that BIG WELL of music would whittle down with every character typed? the search covered titles, artists, genres, ANYTHING that was displaying. I know a lot of folks HATED this dynamic, but let's face it, it worked, and it worked WELL. And Apple's had us all get used to that dynamic for over a DECADE.
I get that times need to move foreward, but they went WAYYYYYYY too far with how the simple search box works now(upper right one) ... The columns of Title, Album, Artist, are still there, but they drastically change the layout and presentation with everything you search for... and newsflash, NOT EVERY SONG BELONGS TO A GENRE OR ALBUM OR ARTIST....
I'm the kind of guy that doesnt allow itunes to attempt to copy eveything into hundreds of folders. I already have it all pretty well organized...Lots of my music are soundbytes that I just had in the main widow of iTunes. Sure they'd be buried in the thousands of other songs, but with a click of a key I could get to it... now iTunes ONLY seems to try searching things that are in albums, genres, labeled so specifically that I would have to take a month off JUST to start catalogging my music the way iTunes wants... Even THEN only showing me a small number of choices in the search bar .... like "Do you want these 4 songs you DIDNT search in the invisible queue next?" "Did you mean all this other sh*t that you DIDNT search for?" **** I used to be able to find almost ANY song with like 3 keystrokes. if I type in "Zelda" ... (looking for that obscure live Zelda acoustic I recorded with my phone that I dont have the band name to) It suggests EVERYTHING else BUT that song... whereas before it would just list the 20 or so ANYTHINGS I have loaded into itunes with that string of letters in it.
Anyone else seem to have this issue? Is the OLD easy to search buried in the furthest preference trenches to TRY to weed out old dogs such as myself, who were able to master the crappy UI iTunes has neglected to give a **** about in the past?

Please try the action I supplied in my post.
If you untick the search Entire library
Then type in your search term it will give the list of songs in the main window

New iTunes search - ANNOYING!

I find this extremely annoying! ... I am in the iTunes STORE, and if I type a song name in the search, fine, it will search the store, but as soon as I go to type anything else after the song name, like the ARTIST to narrow down the millions of artists that have made this song, it searches my library?!? while I am in the store? .. How do you stop this annoying thing from always searching in your library when you are trying to search in the store!?

Well, I just tried it again with a different song that I do have in my Library, and as I am typing the artist's name, it does say "In My Library", but only searches my Library if I stop typing the artist's name when that comes up. If I continue to type, it then goes to "in" (doesn't display the rest) but then goes to the iTunes Store to look:
As I am typing the artist's name:
As I continue and then complete the artist's name:
Then I hit "Enter":
Have you tried completing the artist's name before entering?
Cheers,
GB

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Search function lost in new itunes Store

You used to be able to search podcasts and get lists that you could rank by popularity. The search function has been severely reduced in the newest itunes store.
Now all you can get is thumbnails with no details.

I'll echo this. Look up Classical Music, anything there is nigh impossible to find. Telling me that a song is "symphony no. 9 movem...." is useless. I don't care, I know that. What I want to see is the movement. But I can't. Or how about dance remixes? I know the name of the song, I'd like to be able to see the actual remix name.
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However, when I follow the solution there, the problem still isn't solved. I'm using Windows 8.
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I have exactly the same problem after the update yesterday. In addition, I was looking through iTunes preferences and noticed my older devices listed along with my current ones and decided to delete the older devices that were listed.
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I just went from a prehistoric iBook G4 to a lightning-fast MacBook Pro.
The new computer was a gift, so 'setup assistant' has already been run, and I don't want to reinstall the OS, seeing as my mum added her Mac programs (Word, etc) for which I don't have disks.
The problem is: my old iBook didn't have memory, so all my stuff is already on an external hard drive. I want to find a way that the new iTunes will read and consolidate all of the existing songs on my external hard drive. I've read forum posts, and in theory there should be a 'search' function, though I have yet to find it on the new OS.
I backup frequently, so I could use backup disks, but considering that I have 80gig of music this would involve going to the hard drive, deleting the existing music, then re-importing it (I wouldn't have room on my hard drive for the old 80gig + the same old re-imported 80-gig's worth...). Big pain in the tuckus, and counterproductive.
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I seem to remember having this function on the old OS, 'twould be a bummer not to have it on the new one. I already notice that in internet settings 'Use Interference Robustness" has disappeared, meaning I can't connect wirelessly to the internet using the MacBook Pro.
Not having internet or music will make me beg to have my old iBook-PowerPC back....
I have also used my MacOS help function with little luck...

Well you should be able to import songs by clicking on "File" and "import folder" then you can select the source such as your external hard drive. Itunes will then import your music and, if neccesary, convert them to the MP3 format.
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Hello
Since downloading the latest version of iTunes, I cannot find the "search" function in the ITunes store, to search for apps, movies, etc. Can someone please tell me where this is now located? Frustrating and really hate this new version. Why did they change a perfectly decent product?
Thanks!

Actually, not on mine. All there is in the upper right hand corner is a list of my history - but no search function. Any ideas as to how I can make it appear in the upper right corner?
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The new iTunes has appeared on my desktop where I have my main music library. I am finding it impossible to search for compilation albums. It will only offer a single track from the album. Basically a large proportion of my library is inaccessible. Is it possible to revert to the old iTunes?

iTunes 11 has a new search feature that is enabled by default. Whereas the old function narrowed down the list of tracks displayed in the main window the new feature generates a seperate results window from which you can select Albums, Artists or Songs to either play immediately via the new Up Next feature or add to any of your playlists. While it might be possible to get used to the new version for playback, the original behaviour is both familiar and more useful for library management tasks. Thankfully you can restore the old behaviour by clicking the search magnifying glass and unticking the label Search Entire Library.
New search behaviour
Old search behaviour
You may also find it helps to restore the menu bar with ctrl-b and enable the side bar with ctrl-s. The same shortcuts will hide these features again. There is also a status bar that can be enabled with ctrl-/ but it seems a bug prevents it being turned off again under Window XP.
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If you still want to roll back to iTunes 10.7 first download a copy of the installer from here, uninstall iTunes and suppporting software, i.e. Apple Application Support & Apple Mobile Device Support. Reboot. Restore the pre-upgrade version of your library database as per the diagram below, then install iTunes 10.7.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to scan the media folder and catch up with any changes made since the backup file was created.
If you don't already do so I would also advise you backup the whole library on a regular basis.
tt2

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when i scroll through the music, i get the nifty little grey box with the letter in it, but how do i get to the search where i use the click wheel to input a query and search through all items in my ipod?

Unless your iPod is one of the recently announced upgraded 30GB or 80GB iPods, you don't have the search function. It was not added to existing devices in the recent update. It may or may not be added in some future software update but there's no official word on that.

When an album has multiple artist how can you make them show up on an iPod Touch 4G? I can find an artist using the search function but they don't show up in the artist view on my iPod. iTunes shows them OK when you sort by artist.

Tech support seemed to understand the question but had no answer. Why would an album with only one artist show the artist but an album with multiple artist not show any of them. The album art show various in iTunes. That makes sense but on my iPod I would expect to see all artists.

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The search function in the itunes store does not work. It will accept a request and suggest searches but then it locks up and will not search. Clicking on the magnifying glass or a suggested search does nothing. Re-installing itunes has not helped.

The search function in the itunes store does not work. It will accept a request and suggest searches but then it locks up and will not search. Clicking on the magnifying glass or a suggested search does nothing. Re-installing itunes has not helped.

everything you stated here is exactly what i have done and have got nowhere. i have windows 7 64 bit on a hp 8 g of ram desktop. im also looking for help

I am a new itunes user. I have exsisting songs on my computer prior to instaling itunes. When i installed Itunes it asked if i wanted it to search fro media and i had it import all my songs into itunes. These songs will no longer play in media player.

I am a new itunes user. I have exsisting songs on my computer prior to instaling itunes. When i installed Itunes it asked if i wanted it to search fro media and i had it import all my songs into itunes. These songs will not play in the itunes player but continue to play in the windows media player. They do seem to play in Itunes but there is no sound. Any ideas?

I am a new itunes user. I have exsisting songs on my computer prior to instaling itunes. When i installed Itunes it asked if i wanted it to search fro media and i had it import all my songs into itunes. These songs will not play in the itunes player but continue to play in the windows media player. They do seem to play in Itunes but there is no sound. Any ideas?

New itunes search function is terrible

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