Hi Jed,
On Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007, at 08:47AM, Jed Barton wrote:
> OK, i'm a little confused. So i can bring up the folder in finder.
> Then how do i select all the files in a particular folder to be played?
> Then, where is the option so they don't get added to the library?
>
> Thanks,
> Jed
Normally, when you add a file or folder to iTunes, you start from
the iTunes application and use command-o, the shortcut
for "Add to Library", and then a finder-like window gets brought
up that you can navigate. At least under Tiger and the iTunes
7.3 and 7.4 versions (not the latest), this window is a bit clunky
and is not as easy to use with VoiceOver as the real finder is.
Once these files are in your iTunes Music Library you can search
them, assemble them into playlists, etc.
With the Automator action, you can do a finder search and then
pass the results of that search to a playlist in iTunes. Automator
runs "automatically" so after you put a folder name or directory
to search into the Automator action, you don't actually have to
find individual files or know their names. For example, I tested this
on my Downloads directory. I could have the action search an
entire subdirectory for mp3 files that are in different folders and
pass them all to a playlist. The second step passes the results
of the finder search into a playlist that you've named. At the
same time it adds everything in the playlist to the iTunes library,
so that you can play these files from iTunes.
In order to actually play the files, you'd have to start iTunes.
Then you would find the playlist you created in the source list.
Once you select it, you could go to the songs outline and play
any of these songs consecutively. You can also tag all these
files in a way that identifies their origin. For example, in the
songs outline, select all with command-a, then get info with
command-i. Put a keyword into the comment field. Then,
you can always identifiy these batch of files by their source.
Now, say you want to delete files that you're not interested in.
Select the Music library in the source outline, and type that
special keyword in the search text field. In the songs outline
go down and listen to and then delete any tunes you don't
want to keep. You're always asked two questions: do
you want to delete the song from your iTunes library?
(Yes). Do you want to move it to the trash? (No).
At the end, you'll have the tracks you want in the iTunes library
and the other tracks will still be on the external hard drive.
Does this make sense? In order for the tracks to remain
unmodified on your external hard drive, and for copies
of the file not to be made to your iTunes Music folder,
you need to uncheck the iTunes preference for
"Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to
library" BEFORE you run the Automator action. iTunes
knows the locations of the external hard drive music that
you want to keep in its library -- it just hasn't copied the
actual file to the iTunes Music folder. So you can
continue to play them from iTunes as long as the external
hard drive is connected. Of course, this might not be
what you want! (smile).
Alternatively, you can delete all the songs you just imported,
go back and check "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to
library", and just add the ones that you've listened to and liked.
You can change the Automator action to write the selections
out to a TextEdit text file, and you could pass a modified set
of file names to the step that creates an import playlist in
another Automator action that imports songs into iTunes.
This could have the songs you don't want to keep deleted.
Hope this makes some kind of sense! You're adding all the
songs to the iTunes library, but only in the sense that the
library knows where to find them; you're not making physical
copies in the iTunes Music folder. That way you can play
all the files in iTunes to preview.
Cheers,
Esther
> On Nov 21, 2007, at 1:39 PM, Esther wrote:
>
> > Hi Jed,
> >
> > On Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007, at 06:11AM, Jed Barton wrote:
> > > Hey guys,
> > > Alright, i wanna load up a folder of tunes to go through, and see
> > > what i have. However, i don't want to load them in to the library.
> > > How do i find the folder, and how do i tell it not to load them in to
> > > the library?
> > >
> > I'd probably do this with a variant of the Automator action I posted
> > yesterday to the list, which lets you find items in a folder and
> > pass them into a playlist in iTunes. (This was the itunes not showing
> > editing fields for info thread.) If you uncheck the preference
> > option for "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library"
> > then any files you add to iTunes that are outside of the iTunes Music
> > folder and get added to the library remain in their original location
> > and don't get reorganized or renamed when you edit the tags.
> > That's usually the major gotcha for Windows users or for people
> > who use other music player apps. This is the reason that iTunes
> > makes a copy of files added to the library, and I think it was mainly
> > for users of the Windows version of iTunes.
> >
> > As long as you're not modifying the original file names and directory
> > structure of the folder you add, and you can keep separate track of
> > the new files and are not making duplicate copies, I don't see any
> > problem with adding them to the iTunes library to try playing them.
> > You have to make sure that you change the preference option
> > so you do NOT "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to
> > library".
> >
> > I'm not sure what you mean by "How do I find the folder"? When you
> > connect an external drive, it shows up in finder, and you can
> > use finder the same way you do for files on your main hard drive.
> >
> > If you use Automator with:
> >
> > 1. Finder: Find Finder Items
> > a) Where: <set folder to check>
> > b) Whose: Kind is Audio and Extension Ends With mp3
> > 2. iTunes: Add Files to Playlist: <playlist name>
> >
> > you can specify the folder name that you want to check. You can
> > even have the system search for files that are audio files of a
> > specific type. The advantage of using the Automator
> > iTunes; Add Files to Playlist: <playlist name> is that it
> > add these files to your iTunes library automatically, and
> > puts them into a separately identifiable playlist. In iTunes
> > you can use "Add to Library" (command-o), but navigating
> > the finder-like window with VoiceOver is not as easy, at
> > least in Tiger, which I still have.
> >
> > You'll probably have to get help from people who have Leopard
> > installed, along with the latest version of iTunes, since I can't
> > give the steps for your setup. (I also haven't played much with
> > Automator, but I was able to test this). I'd actually run some
> > tests first, like having a step Automator: View Results instead
> > of passing to Playlist. There are also probably folks who
> > have played with Automator a lot more than I have, and it
> > may be easier to use in Leopard.
> >
> > The location of the preference to uncheck, "Copy files to iTunes
> > Music folder when adding to library", should be under the
> > general tab of the Advanced menu under iTunes preferences.
> > Try command-comma then command-6 to bring up the
> > Advanced menu and look at the general tab entries. Uncheck
> > that checkbox before adding the folder to iTunes. You can
> > change it back after your experiment and before you add other
> > files. There really are advantages to having your iTunes files
> > together in one place in the Music Library, especially when you
> > start using smart playlists and/or have large libraries and want
> > your performance to stay snappy.
> >
> > Hope this helps.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Esther
> >
>
>
>
>
