Organizing music in ipod

When i figured out how to finally import music into my ipod it did not organize it into artists, albums, and songs, it just has a list of the songs i imported under each category.
For example, i imported all the songs from the beatles album "Help!" into my library, when i added them to my ipod i expected to find the songs under artist:The Beatles, album:Help!, but instead it just had all the songs under the artist and album menus, please tell me what i did wrong

You didn't do anything wrong, the library is used as the source for playlists. If you want to be able to access the Help album as an individual playlist, create a smart playlist with the parameters Album Is Help.
Have a look at the video tutorials, they are very comprehensive:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/howto/

Similar Messages

More on Organizing Music on iPod Classic

Hi,
My iPod is not organizing music in a predictable manner, and I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue. I spent hours organizing the iTunes library so that every CD I've imported lists the music according to the parameters: Name (song name, done automatically by iTunes), (ii) Artist (I enter the name of the album artist in this field, such as "Norah Jones"), (iii) Album by Year (I enter the name or title of the CD [e.g. "The Essential Billy Joel"]), (iv) Genre (I created my own genres and placed all of the music into the corresponding genre of my choosing).
Ok, here's what's happening. So far I've imported about 100 CDs with perhaps 35/45 different artists. Since I put the artist's name in the artist field for every CD, one would think that when I click on "Artists" on the iPod (after syncing, of course) I'd have 35/45 different artists to choose from. However, when I click on "Artists" on the iPod I find many missing artists (actually, the greater percentage are missing). For example, I have just about everything by guitarist David Russell (I have 14 CDs in all by him), yet his name doesn't appear in the list of artists unless I click on "Artists" then "All Albums", in which case I have to scroll through my entire collection of albums in alphabetical order by CD title until I find the CD I'm looking for!
An odd thing also happens when I click on "Genres". Let's say that I click on "Genres", and then "Classical Guitar". This takes me to a screen at the top of which is the choice "All Albums", followed by a list of 6 artist's names. Now, I have many more than 6 artists in the classical guitar section, yet only 6 names appear.
There doesn't seem to by any reason for some artists to appear yet others (the majority) not to appear, as I'm organizing every CD in exactly the same way. When I import a CD, I select all songs, right click, select "Get Info", and when the "Multiple Item Information" screen appears, I enter all the information according to parameters already mentioned.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
~Sean

Usually the biggest culprit of this is if the "Part of a Compilation" box is checked. In iTunes pick a song by David Russell and get info. Check to see if this box is clicked. If it is, that's why it won't show up in the "Artist" menu.

Organizing music on iPod Classic

Is there a way to organize music on an iPod classic? More specifically, I want albums sorted by artist and then year so they will be in the order of when they were released. I know how to do this in iTunes (just click the column header and choose the option I want), but even when I do that it will change back the next time I open iTunes.
Any help is appreciated!

It isn't really possible. If you put the year of release into the Sort Album field you can make things work for one artist, but as soon as you have two or more artists then that won't work. Adding both the album artist and then the year of release in the Sort Album might get the albums in the right order in say the iPod's cover flow, but then you'd find the main Albums list a complete jumble in both the iPod and iTunes.
tt2

Organizing music on iPod Touch

I don't seem to be able to organize my iPod Touch music via the iTunes window that opens on my iMac when I attach my Touch. I can open the Touch music window, but can only highlite a song, I can't reorder the categories, do a category search, erase a song(s), NADA!

first port of call when anything goes wrong
http://www.apple.com/support/ipodtouch/troubleshooting/ipodtouch/

Organizing music on iPod mini

My iTunes library is larger than my mini will hold, so iTunes created a "selection" for it, which I have been able to edit. However, I can't figure out how to move playlists to the mini - it seems as though the "selection" overrides playlists.
Also, suddenly "Spoken Word" content is showing under Audiobooks on the mini, although it is showing as "Spoken Word" in my library. This seems to have happened after the last software update to 6.0.2. Any fixes?

It isn't really possible. If you put the year of release into the Sort Album field you can make things work for one artist, but as soon as you have two or more artists then that won't work. Adding both the album artist and then the year of release in the Sort Album might get the albums in the right order in say the iPod's cover flow, but then you'd find the main Albums list a complete jumble in both the iPod and iTunes.
tt2

Organizing music in itunes and ipod touch

My ipod touch's music in "my top rated playlist" is not alphabetically organized even though in itunes the music in this playlist is alphabetically organize. How can I organize my music in ipod touch alphabetically just like in itunes?

try this:
select the playlist in iTunes.
right-click the playlist name and select +copy to play order+. sync the Touch.
JGG

Organizing Music. on my iPod

On my computer I have all my music in Folders & SubFolders:
Artist
-Album 1964
-Album 1965
-Album 1966
After I go into the Folder(Artist) I can then go into any SubFolder(Album).
Sounds simple enough and works really well on my computer.
When I load this same File Structure onto my 80GB Video iPod(Manual/using the iPod as a HardDrive-No Syncing w/iTunes) this File Structure is ignored. All of a sudden I have some Folders that are without the parent Artist Folder.
Also... sometimes they tend to break apart and look like:
Artist
Artist w/Artist 2
Artist feat/Artist3
Artist w/Artist 2 feat/Artist 3
I imagine that it has to do with the iPod trying to organize my files by using the ID tags of the files.
I do realize that I can choose to sort by Artist, Album, Genre, etc. I usually look for music based on the Artist. From there I then open the Album. Rarely do I ever Sort/Search using any of the other options.
I prefer my Folder/SubFolder Structure. I like my Music to stay organized the way I organize it. I do Not like for them to be automatically organized by my iPod.
How can I have my iPod display my Files/Music the way I load them onto it and stop reorganizing my shizzle?

The breaking apart thing with featured artists can be fixed by turning on compilations option.
This didn't work just by turning ON this option. Maybe I have to turn ON this option, then load my iPod?
How are you getting these files onto the iPod?
I am using the iPod like a HardDrive. (so I can connect to the many PC's & Mac's I use without Syncing to any of them)
I am Dragging & Dropping the files/folders from my Computer to my iPod in MAUNUAL Mode.
I have also tried XPlay by MediaFour.
On my computer they are organized by ARTIST then ALBUM.
It really gets screwy when the ARTIST does a song with another ARTIST.
- I want my music to stay the way I have it organized on my computer... regardless of the ID3 tags. <-- Is this possible?

Laptop crashed and how to transfer music from ipod back to laptop and won't transfer new purchases to ipod?

My laptop crashed about 2 days ago. I got it fixed and had to reinstall it. I had to reinstall itunes all over again. How do I transfer all my songs from my ipod including the ones that were from hardcopies and by hardcopies I mean cds I bought in real life and is on a disc. All of the songs are still on my ipod so how do I upload all of the songs and videos (purchases, music/songs from hardcopies/cds uploaded not bought from itunes, etc...?) How would I upload all of that back to itunes on my laptop? Another question is for some reason when I hook up my ipod to my laptop, I recently bought 23 songs about a day ago and it won't upload those purchases to my ipod, is it because I have all the hardcopies and downloads on my ipod that the itunes library doesnt have? Also, how would I sync my newest purchases to my ipod efficiently without deleting any of the hardcopies I uploaded before my laptop crashed?

phonefans is a spammer, ignore his posts.
If you are using iTunes version 7 or later, then you can transfer purchased iTunes store music from the iPod to an authorized computer by using the "file/transfer purchases from iPod" menu. Note that the maximum of 5 authorized computers applies here.
For all other non purchased music (your own CDs etc) try this method which works on some Windows PCs.
Enable your iPod for disk use.
See: iPod Disk Use.
Open iTunes and select edit/preferences/advanced/general. Put a check mark in the box marked "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" and also "keep iTunes music folder organized", then click 'ok'.
Connect the iPod whilst holding down the shift/ctrl keys to prevent any auto sync, and if you see the dialogue window asking if you want to sync to this itunes library, click 'no'.
Then go to file/add folder, open 'my computer', select your iPod and click 'ok'.
The music files should transfer to your iTunes.
If this doesn't work (and it may not because officially it's not supposed to), check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer (using option 2). This a manual method using "hidden folders" and although it works, it can be messy.
Much easier ways are to use one of the many 3rd party programs that copy music from the iPod to the computer.
One of the most recommended is Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.

Can I move music from IPOD to new computer?

My old laptop died. So I have a new one. I have 30 GB of music on my IPOD classic right now. But I want to transfer the music to my ITUNES library on my new laptop.
Is there a way to do this? There should be. I don't want to have to copy all my CDs to my new laptop. Why can't I just transfer the IPOD content to a new computer?

For iTunes version 7 or later, then you can transfer purchased iTunes store music from the iPod to an authorized computer by using the "file/transfer purchases from iPod" menu. Note that the maximum of 5 authorized computers applies here.
Find out how to do that here.
How to copy iTunes purchases from an iPod to a computer.
For all other non purchased content (your own CDs etc) try this method which works on some Windows PCs.
Enable your iPod for disk use.
See: iPod Disk Use.
Open iTunes and select edit/preferences/advanced/general. Put a check mark in the box marked "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" and also "keep iTunes music folder organized", then click 'ok'.
Connect the iPod whilst holding down the shift/ctrl keys to prevent any auto sync, and if you see the dialogue window asking if you want to sync to this itunes library, click 'no'.
Then go to file/add folder, open 'my computer', select your iPod and click 'ok'.
The music files should transfer to your iTunes.
If this doesn't work (and it may not because officially it's not supposed to), check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer (using option 2). This a manual method using "hidden folders" and although it works, it is a little more involved than other methods.
Much easier ways are to use one of the many 3rd party programs that copy music from the iPod to the computer.
One of the most recommended is Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.
SharePod is also freeware.
If you want to recover just the structure of playlists from the iPod (and not the actual song files themselves), there's iRepo for Windows. which I understand has this feature along with all the standard features for these programs.
iPodRip also has the feature enabling you to reconstruct playlists.

No music on iPod after sync

I've been having a problem with syncing music to iPod gen4 and and iPod gen3 for some time now. There are similar issues reported in a variety of questions on this forum: after syncing, apparently successfully via iTunes, you disconnect the iPod and the iPod appears to have no music on it. However, I have not been able to find any that present to me a working solution, nor have a found a discussions which shares particular details of the situation that I am experiencing.
After a "no music on iPod after sync" experience, the iPod will no longer function properly after this, and you have to put it into disk mode in order to connect to the computer and "do a restore." The first time this happened, I didn't know about restoring, and actually discarded the iPod (a gen 3) and replaced it with my first gen 4. Now I have an additional gen 4 (my 2nd), plus I also purchased a used gen 3 to replace the one I threw away. Each of these three devices has experienced the problem, and I can get the device functioning again after restore. All the devices seem to be in good working shape and serve me fine; I do not believe that any of them has a hardware problem such as failing hard drive etc.
The problem of "no music on iPod after sync" can be created in a repeatable fashion by choosing the appropriate set of playlists to sync. I visited an Apple Store genius bar twice now to discuss the issue, and the conclusion was that there possibly was a "corrupt file" that was causing the problem. However, I can also reliably sync the music by splitting it into smaller pieces. For example, suppose I have a group of 20 playlist folders, and I choose to sync the first 10. This can be done without problem. If I then choose to sync the last 10 but without the first 10, this also can be done without problem. However, if I sync all 20 together, then I get the "no music" screen on the iPod after the sync. So I can load and play all the music files involved with my problem. What seems to be associated with the occurrence of a "no music" event is the volume of songs that I sync.
I am working with a large number of audio files organized into a large number of playlists arranged in a somewhat large number of playlist folders, some nested inside others. I suspect that a cause of the problem may be the large number of files and/or playlists and/or folders.
For instance, in my latest experience, I worked with a collection of files that I have sitting all together in one playlist folder, that itself sits inside a higher level playlist folder.. In this collection there are 4358 "songs" (the audio files aren't actually music) occupying 1.68 GB of memory. So I have one playlist folder (level 1, let's say) that contains within it a playlist (sub)folder (level 2) that has within it 36 playlist folders (level 3), each with a set of playlists inside that together account for all 4358 songs, without any repetitions of the songs between playlists. Some of the playlist folders contain as many as 206 playlists. The playlists vary in the number of songs they contain; I think there are some with just one or two, and I now there are some with at least 32 songs.
Anyway, with the above described collection, I can sync the first half of the set of level 3 playlist folders without problem. I can sync the second half of the level 3 playlist folders without problem. But if I sync all together, I have problems.
Any ideas as to what's going on here?

Verify you have the itunes/ipad music tab set to sync music and the correct playlists selected.

How do I Move Music from iPod Nano(2nd Gen) to Computer with Windows Vista?

I just got a new computer due to my old computer crashing so I'd like to transfer my music from my iPod Nano 2nd Generation to my new computer so I'll have a backup. I followed the directions listed below but they didn't work. Is it possible that it didn't work because I'm using Windows Vista? Is there anything else I can try?
1 - Open iTunes
2 - Edit=>Preferences=>’Advanced/General’ tab
2a --- Select ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’: checked
2b --- Select ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organized’: checked
2c --- Click OK to store changes
3 - Attach your iPod to the PC and hold down the ‘Shift+Ctrl’ keys until the iPod is fully recognized (this will defeat the auto-sync process)
4 - If you get a dialog box to link the Library, decline this option
5 - Within iTunes: Edit=>Preferences=>’iPod’ tab: switch iPod to ‘Manually manage songs & playlists’ – click ‘OK’
6 – Eject iPod
7 – Close iTunes, then reopen iTunes and attach the iPod (it’s in manual sync now)
8 – File=>Add Folder
9 - Browse to and open ‘My Computer’ (click on the ‘+’) and select the iPod (or the lower ‘\iPod_Control’ sub-folder)
10 - Click OK
Message was edited by: bethyanne
I just noticed this question is under the iPod Nano First Generation discussion but I have a 2nd Generation
Message was edited by: bethyanne

All of the following programs should work with Vista.
Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.
SharePod is also freeware.

Old Computer crash. How can I transfer my music from Ipod to new Computer?

Lightning struck my old computer, how can I transfer my music from the Ipod to the new computer (Windows XP) Itunes library?

You don't need to buy anything from the spammers that infect these forums. There are plenty of free options.
If you are using iTunes version 7 or later, then you can transfer purchased iTunes store music from the iPod to an authorized computer by using the "file/transfer purchases from iPod" menu. Note that the maximum of 5 authorized computers applies here.
For all other non purchased music (your own CDs etc) try this method which works on some Windows PCs.
Enable your iPod for disk use.
See: iPod Disk Use.
Open iTunes and select edit/preferences/advanced/general. Put a check mark in the box marked "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" and also "keep iTunes music folder organized", then click 'ok'.
Connect the iPod whilst holding down the shift/ctrl keys to prevent any auto sync, and if you see the dialogue window asking if you want to sync to this itunes library, click 'no'.
Then go to file/add folder, open 'my computer', select your iPod and click 'ok'.
The music files should transfer to your iTunes.
If this doesn't work (and it may not because officially it's not supposed to), check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer (using option 2). This a manual method using "hidden folders" and although it works, it can be messy.
Much easier ways are to use one of the many 3rd party programs that copy music from the iPod to the computer.
One of the most recommended is Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.

How do i transfer photos and music from ipod to computer?

Hi everyone,
a couple of weeks ago my computer crashed and i lost everything, i don't know how to put the music and photos that are on my ipod back onto my computer, can anyone help me? i am especially bothered about the photos, as they are the only copy of them that i have (the other copy was on my computer) and they are quite sentimental, i really don't want to lose them! I have seen other people say to plug in the ipod, go to my computer and unhide the music and photos, i think i have found the music but it's all under weird names and my computer won't let me open it. With the photos, all that i can find is two folders called 'photo database' and 'thumbs', but again, i can't open them, i just get a message up saying 'windows cannot open this file' and 'windows needs to know where this file was made before it can open it.' if anybody can help me then it would be much appriciated, i really don't want to lose my stuff. many thanks in advance x

These links will give you several methods of recovering whatever songs remain on your iPod; some free, some third-party software, some more comprehensive for restoring Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, etc. Read them and their associated links before deciding on a strategy that works for you. There are many various third-party software programs that will offer a more robust process, or an easier GUI. Do a Google search for them if the links below leave you wanting…
Don King Resurrected: Deleted files from hard drive (free user steps – music recovery only)
MacMuse: Computer Crashed (free user steps – music recovery only)
Copying music from iPod to computer (a primer on various methods and software)
Copying Songs from Your iPod to a Mac or PC (resource for 3rd party software)
iPodRip Software
PodUtil Software
YamiPod Software (Mac & Windows)
PodPlus Software (Windows)
TuneJack Software (Windows)
Senuti (Mac OS X v10.3 or higher Recovery Utility)
XPlay (Windows software For Music Recovery &/or Cross-Platform Functionality)
XPlay Photo Browser (For recovering Photos)
Extremely Simple Method: (just to recover the song files – may not work on a Mac)
1 - Open iTunes
2 - Edit=>Preferences=>’Advanced/General’ tab
2a --- Select ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’: checked
2b --- Select ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organized’: checked
2c --- Click OK to store changes
3 - Attach your iPod to the PC and hold down the ‘Shift+Ctrl’ keys until the iPod is fully recognized (this will defeat the auto-sync process)
4 - If you get a dialog box to link the Library, decline this option
5 - Within iTunes: Edit=>Preferences=>’iPod’ tab: switch iPod to manual transfer – click ‘OK’
6 – File=>Add Folder
7 - Browse to and open ‘My Computer’ (click on the ‘+’) and select the iPod
8 - Click OK
9 - The music files should start to transfer back into iTunes
9a –- This will take some time depending on your PC and the amount of songs on the iPod
No Playlists, or Ratings, Last Played, & Play Count attributes will be transferred from the iPod to iTunes using this method.
If you have problems with seeing the iPod within 'My Computer', try switching your update method to 'manual' , detach the iPod, then reconnect the iPod to the PC.
After recovering your song files, strongly consider developing a thorough backup strategy for just this type of situation (and many other potential disasters).
You need at least two full sets of your music, not including what is on the iPod:
-- One full set on the PC within iTunes (on internal HD or ExHD)
-- One full set on an separate external backup medium (CD/DVD/ExHD/other)
-- One (full or partial) set on the iPod
Music files on just the iPod and only one other medium is not considered having any backup.
If you cannot store your complete music files on the computer’s internal HD, then create and maintain at least two external sets (any multiple combinations of ExHDs, DVDs, CDs).
Backup both the music files and the Library database file (iTunes Library.itl). What are the iTunes Library files?
Here is a post on developing a thorough backup strategy:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1583994#1583994

Moving Music FROM iPod to Computer...

My computer crashed, dammit. Fortunately, had my music backed up on my iPod.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like iTunes wants to allow me move it onto my new computer. Is this some crazy iTunes security feature, or am I doing something wrong?? Any workarounds??? Aargh!!!!
Help, please?

Check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer.
There's also another method. I've successfully tested this across several different Windows PCs.
Open iTunes and select edit/preferences/advanced/general. Put a check mark in the box marked "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" and also "keep iTunes music folder organized", then click 'ok'.
Connect the iPod whilst holding down the shift/ctrl keys to prevent any auto sync, and if you see the dialogue window asking if you want to sync to this itunes library, click 'no'.
Then go to file/add folder, open 'my computer', select your iPod and click 'ok'.
The music files should transfer to your iTunes.
If this doesn't work (and it may not because officially it's not supposed to), there's Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music and playlists etc from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
The above methods may depend on what version of iTunes you are running.
If none of these methods work, try CopyPod which also supports the transfer of videos from iPod to computer.

Getting music from Ipod after formatting hard drive

I had to format my hard drive recently...
The music is still on my ipod how do i get it off and into the reinstalled program... music from ipod -> ipod program
I'm not happy about the prospect of losing my music and all of my pictures

For iTunes version 7 or later, then you can transfer purchased iTunes store music from the iPod to an authorized computer by using the "file/transfer purchases from iPod" menu. Note that the maximum of 5 authorized computers applies here.
For all other non purchased music (your own CDs etc) try this method which works on some Windows PCs.
Enable your iPod for disk use.
See: iPod Disk Use.
Open iTunes and select edit/preferences/advanced/general. Put a check mark in the box marked "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" and also "keep iTunes music folder organized", then click 'ok'.
Connect the iPod whilst holding down the shift/ctrl keys to prevent any auto sync, and if you see the dialogue window asking if you want to sync to this itunes library, click 'no'.
Then go to file/add folder, open 'my computer', select your iPod and click 'ok'.
The music files should transfer to your iTunes.
If this doesn't work (and it may not because officially it's not supposed to), check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer (using option 2). This a manual method using "hidden folders" and although it works, it can be messy.
Much easier ways are to use one of the many 3rd party programs that copy music from the iPod to the computer.
One of the most recommended is Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.
SharePod is also freeware.
If you copied photos to your iPod using the full resolution option, enable disk use, open your iPod in "my computer" in Windows or Finder on a Mac, open the photos folder then open the "full resolution" folder and drag the photos out of that folder to your desktop. For enabling disk use look here.
Disk Use.
If you only copied the photos as thumbnails, you can't do this so you'll need a program such as this one.
CopyTrans Photo

Organizing music in ipod

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