Dec 13, 2006
Geek to Live: iTunes power tips
by Gina Trapani
Apple's free digital music software iTunes has been through three major versions since Lifehacker launched, and each new release just gets better. At this point iTunes is much more than just a music manager. While no piece of software is perfect - and iTunes could certainly stand a few more revisions - more than once I've wished my file manager handled all the data on my hard drive as well as iTunes deals with my 80 gigs or so of MP3's.
We've posted boatloads of iTunes hacks, workarounds, features, screenshots and tips over the past 2 years. But today I'd like to highlight some of the lesser-known but super-useful iTunes features available in the latest version.
Manage separate music libraries. (since v. 7)
Want to separate your speed metal collection from your spouse's Broadway tunes fetish? How about your, ahem, grownup movies from your regular collection? Used to be that you had to maintain separate playlists, or log onto the same machine under different usernames to do so. But with iTunes 7, just hold down the Shift key (Option on the Mac) when you launch iTunes to create or choose a separate iTunes library. Get detailed instructions over at Lifehacker reader BostonMark's HOWTO: Manage multiple libraries in iTunes 7 post.
Incrementally back up your library to CD or DVD. (since v. 7)
Want to archive your digital music collection? iTunes 7 offers a handy "Back up to Disc" function (in the File menu) that will burn your entire library to CD or DVD. If your collection's larger than one CD or DVD, it will prompt you to insert more discs to complete the backup. You have the choice to just backup your iTunes Store purchases or your entire collection; also, you can backup only the new songs from your last backup (that's the incremental part.) Keep in mind backed up discs can't be played in a CD or DVD player; they're only meant to restore your library onto your computer.
See Apple's official backup HOWTO to get started backing up your library.
Automatically download album artwork from the iTunes Store. (since v. 7)
I've got a love/hate relationship with the iTunes Store - specifically, I love to hate it. I resisted signing up for an account (which requires your credit card number before you buy anything!) until iTunes version 7, which can automatically download album artwork for your tracks from the iTunes Store. Now, album artwork wasn't a big deal to me, until v. 7's Cover Flow view, which looks like a jukebox flipping album covers while it's playing.
To grab your album art, you must be signed into the iTunes Store (and it turns out you can register using a PayPal account). From the Advanced menu, choose "Get Album Artwork."
P.S. There are a few non-iTunes Store ways to download album art for your library. LH reader Craig recommends Corripo for Mac and Mambo for Windows, both free.
Display duplicate songs in your library. (since v. 4.7.1)
Perhaps one of the most useful iTunes features for pruning down your music collection that has all these duplicates from 
As your playlist collection in iTunes blossoms out of control, you can start grouping them into folders that represent emotions, events, or times in your life - like "Rainy day music" or "College tunes." Playlist folders really come in handy when you want to hear songs from several playlists on shuffle; simply choose the folder name as the source in the Party Shuffle area.
Tweak your Party Shuffle. (since v. 5)
Speaking of shuffle, you can adjust the way the randomizing algorithm works in iTunes to your liking. Set iTunes to shuffle songs, albums or artists, and also tweak the likelihood that songs from the same artist will come up more often during a shuffle session. In iTunes preferences, under the Playback tab, use the Smart Shuffle slider and radio buttons to do so.
Dynamic, search criteria-based Smart Playlists. (since... always?)
By far the best feature in iTunes, Smart Playlists are dynamic lists of music based on search criteria you define. From the File menu, choose "New Smart Playlist..." then enter the rules you want the music in that playlist to follow. The possibilities are limitless, but two particularly useful Smart Playlists include:
- Not Recently Played. Make sure you don't keep hearing that same Bon Jovi tune twice in one week. Set the Last Played field to "Not in the last week." (This might be my favorite playlist ever.)
- Music only. Merlin breaks down how to keep Audiobooks, podcasts and other speechy-type items out of your music only playlist.
- Holiday playlists. Manage holiday songs of different genres, so that Nat King Cole and Run DMC don't play back to back at your fancy office holiday soiree.
One of iTunes' lesser-known - and most unexpected - capabilities is PDF file support. The feature exists for album liner notes that apparently come with certain purchases from the iTunes Store, but it can be used for any type of PDF document. Drag and drop any PDF into iTunes, and it will appear the way a song or video does with a little booklet icon next to it as pictured. To create a Smart Playlist of just PDF's, set the Kind field to contain the word PDF. Here's more on organizing PDF's in iTunes. You can also use the "tagging" technique discussed above to slice and dice your PDF collection by keywords using Smart Playlists.
Using podcast subscriptions to automatically download free music and videos. (since v 4.9)
You may rarely use iTunes' podcast subscription feature to download episodes of amateur radio personalities blathering about their cats. What you can do with iTunes media feeds subscriptions is automatically download music and video to iTunes, like all the MP3's on del.icio.us tagged "mashup" (a personal favorite). Here's more on how to find and add media to your iTunes library with del.icio.us (or any site that offers a feed of music or video.)
What are your favorite iTunes tricks or tips? Do tell in the comments.
Gina Trapani, the editor of Lifehacker, is still waiting for a better, open source version of iTunes. Her semi-weekly feature, Geek to Live, appears every Wednesday and Friday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Geek to Live feed to get new installments in your newsreader.
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