Some questions on Itunes match

Question

Hello,
I just purchased Itunes match and have a few questions. I have rarely used Itunes before and so just started with a (literally) empty library. I decided to pull a folder into itunes, edit the tags and then try the upload. Here a few questions issues:
1) does the File size or lenghth matter. For example Itunes sayed that there are 60 Files to upload. After the first 2 files were uploaded it sayed 30 files have been uploaded! The files are each mp3's which are about 30min long and i was wondering if Itunes counts those longer files as more than one against my upload limit? This is very important because i have a lot of very long files and it would then not work with my upload limit.
2) I am wondering if i change something on a file (whether matched or uploaded) it also changes on the cloud (e.g. Tags).
3) Is there a way i can temporary stop Itunes match, import more files into itunes edit the tags and then upload them? When Itunes match is on it automatically uploads them before i can edit them. And if i turn off itunes match and back on it starts the complete process (identifying files etc.) over again? As i start with an empty Itunes and all files having no tags ( alot of them are long recordings from classes, University etc.) i want to import them year by year, edit them upload them check them before moving on.
Thank you for your help

Answer 1

Love_infinitam wrote:
1) does the File size or lenghth matter.
I don't think so.  However, if you haven't enabled in your View Options, Icloud status, you might want to do it.  If there are additional files that were uploaded, you can do a sort and see them all.
2) I am wondering if i change something on a file (whether matched or uploaded) it also changes on the cloud (e.g. Tags).
If you're asking whether the already uploaded file will have its ID3 tags automatically changed during a later matching session, so they are the same as ones you altered on your local copy, I'm unsure, but I'd say no.  To be absolutely certain, you might need to go through a process that purges the uploaded copy, then re-upload.  This is time-consuming, but the process has been discussed in the forums. 
if i turn off itunes match and back on it starts the complete process (identifying files etc.) over again?
Yes it does start over.  However it's a cumulative process.  If it sees files in your library that it has already uploaded, it doesn't upload another copy. As mentioned above, in order to get a fresh copy uploaded (with new ID3 tags), you need to remove it from the cloud, which also requires you to remove it from you iTunes library, then reimport it.
For what it's worth, there is also a contextual menu item that allows you to "Add To iTunes Match" those items you've highlighted in iTunes.  However it seems to do the same thing as selecting "Update iTunes Match" in the Store menu, meaning when I've done it, I haven't seen any change in the steps taken, nor the time it takes to go through the process.
I gather what you are hoping to do is to get all of your University recordings organized in a manner that works for you.  No matter how you get them organized in iTunes, they may not automatically appear that way in the cloud.  However if your file naming gives you the basic organization, I imagine setting  up smart playlists will do the trick.  You'll have access to those playlists on any device that has your iTunes Match account turned on.