Unsung features in iTunes 9

Jake Widman
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 02:17

Your IT - Entertainment

The new folder appears inside your iTunes Music folder (or directory), among all the band folders.

Any compatible song file you drop into that folder will be added to the iTunes Library.

This may seem of limited usefulness -- why not just add the files to the Library directly? One answer is that you can place files in the folder when iTunes isn't running. The next time you open iTunes, your files will be added immediately.

Another benefit is that the original song file is actually moved, not copied, into the iTunes Library. Usually (with my import settings, anyway) iTunes copies the song file into its library but leaves the original copy in place, requiring an extra step to delete it. With the Automatically Add folder, the original file gets moved, leaving no cleanup.

The primary limitation is the inconvenient location of the folder, buried in the iTunes Music folder. But making an alias to the folder and putting it in a more convenient place works fine.

Update: I have since discoverd that according to the Apple support page for this feature, you're not supposed to use an alias folder. I can report that using one works for me, but it may not for others.

The final unsung feature I've discovered (so far) is the potential for reorganizing your iTunes Music folder.

Left over from the time when iTunes was only a song file manager, the iTunes Music folder has been the repository for everything in the iTunes Library.

Over time, though, as iTunes has become the catch-all manager for podcasts, TV shows, movies, and other media, that organization has made less and less sense.

iTunes 9 tour concludes on Page 4.