iTunes "Info" Editing....

[Togglehead]

How can i edit the ID3 tags in iTunes?

On the old version for OS 9, i could without issues....now it wont let me edit track titles or anything.....how do i do it?

[WildCowboy]

Can't you just use Command-I on highlighted tracks and go to the Info pane to change all of the details?

[quigleybc]

How can i edit the ID3 tags in iTunes?

On the old version for OS 9, i could without issues....now it wont let me edit track titles or anything.....how do i do it?



Highlight the track you want to edit

Hold down Apple+I or right click>get info

Go nuts

[Togglehead]

yeah yeah..i DID that....thats whats the weird thing.....

Do i have to make them playlists or something?

Added q: Now, am i correct in saying that once i import a load of tunes into iTunes, it renames all of my music and puts in the folder heirarchy based on tags...right? Now, when i edit tags, will it rename my music again, and therefore keep the folders organized? If not, how can i make iTunes reload my library, and re-organzie everything?

UPDATE: I just imported a new album i bought into iTunes. When it listed all the tracks in the window, after importing them, i renamed all the files....it LET ME. Then i rebooted....and all the new titles were gone....heh? What am i missing? Certain file types?

[Togglehead]

anyone on this?

[mad jew]

In iTunes Preferences, under the Advanced tag, ensure that Keep iTunes Music Folder Organised is checked. This should have no effect on whether the tacks remember their tag information, but I think it is still part of what you were asking for.

As for the tags being forgotten, are you having trouble with the computer forgetting changes you make to other files after restarts? Do you have much free hard drive space? What ID3 tag version are you using? :)

[decksnap]

Added q: Now, am i correct in saying that once i import a load of tunes into iTunes, it renames all of my music and puts in the folder heirarchy based on tags...right? Now, when i edit tags, will it rename my music again, and therefore keep the folders organized? If not, how can i make iTunes reload my library, and re-organzie everything?


When you edit the tags, it renames the real files and organizes them appropriately in the finder. So the better titled your tracks are in iTunes, the more organized they are in the finder.

[Togglehead]

In iTunes Preferences, under the Advanced tag, ensure that Keep iTunes Music Folder Organised is checked. This should have no effect on whether the tacks remember their tag information, but I think it is still part of what you were asking for.

As for the tags being forgotten, are you having trouble with the computer forgetting changes you make to other files after restarts? Do you have much free hard drive space? What ID3 tag version are you using? :)
i have ENOUGH free HDD space....about 3 gigs....this enough?

brand new PRAM....nothing wrong there. all other settings remembered.

ID3 tag version....heh? i dont know....whats the difference?

I DID do a convert ID3 tag option in iTunes, but it didnt change anything....maybe i did something wrong? Please help...this is killing me.....


And Deck snap...yes that is what i was talking about....

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

i have ENOUGH free HDD space....about 3 gigs....this enough?Don't know how to fix your iTunes id3 tag problems... but 3 GB is not enough free space on your boot drive... not nearly enough... you should have at least 6 GB (and preferably 8 GB if you're in Tiger) free to run OS X...

[Togglehead]

Don't know how to fix your iTunes id3 tag problems... but 3 GB is not enough free space on your boot drive... not nearly enough... you should have at least 6 GB (and preferably 8 GB if you're in Tiger) free to run OS X...
REALLY?!?!? Even on panther?

well the drive is only 8gigs in totall.....i have an external enclosure...ready for a new drive....but i need a USB/Firewire PCMCIA card first....no cash currently....

why that much free space?

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

REALLY?!?!? Even on panther?

well the drive is only 8gigs in totall.....i have an external enclosure...ready for a new drive....but i need a USB/Firewire PCMCIA card first....no cash currently....

why that much free space?Wow... I don't think I've ever heard of installing Panther on such a small disk... Not sure if ordinary rules apply to such small disks (there are a school of thought that says you should have ~20% free, and according to that you're "safe").

The thing is that OS X uses a lot of virtual memory and likes to have a fair amount of space on the boot drive for this purpose... if OS X needs to rearrange things and go "look" for free HD space, then things start to slow down... a lot... and worst case is that some applications starts misbehaving...

Get a bigger drive as soon as possible... ;)

From earlier:
I just imported a new album i bought into iTunes. When it listed all the tracks in the window, after importing them, i renamed all the files....it LET ME. Then i rebooted....and all the new titles were gone....heh? What am i missing? Certain file types?This has bothered me a bit... two things I have to ask: How did you rename the files? Through Finder or iTunes? If iTunes: Did you rename the songs from the CD playlist or the Library (or another local playlist)?

[WildCowboy]

Wow... I don't think I've ever heard of installing Panther on such a small disk... Not sure if ordinary rules apply to such small disks (there are a school of thought that says you should have ~20% free, and according to that you're "safe").

Meh...my iBook Dual USB has a 10 GB drive and I ran Panther on it forever with under 2 GB free with no problems. It's now running Tiger, but I've stripped it down so that I have 5 GB free.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

When I ran Panther on our Pismos (with 20 and 40 GB HDs respectively), Panther started struggling when free HD space dipped under 6 GB and was acting up severely when I had between 4 and 6 GB left (one time I even got down to under 2 GB free and then the system just stopped responding, every click took like 30 seconds to execute). When I changed to my current iBook, with 60 GB disk, the same thing happened, and the "threshold" seemed to stay put at around 5-6 GB on that, too (and increased to round 8 GB after upgrading to Tiger, which seems to want some more resources for memory, real and virtual alike).

Of course, OS X (Panther and Tiger) will work almost until it runs out of HD space altogether, but it will not run well... :(

Anyhow, I suspect the iTunes id3 tag problem is unrelated to the HD space issue... and that's the real mystery here... ;)

[mad jew]

i have ENOUGH free HDD space....about 3 gigs....this enough?


Not really...


ID3 tag version....heh? i dont know....whats the difference?


Well, they should all be remembering your changes and since you've converted them to something new, I don't think this is the problem.


Wow... I don't think I've ever heard of installing Panther on such a small disk... Not sure if ordinary rules apply to such small disks (there are a school of thought that says you should have ~20% free, and according to that you're "safe").


It's not really a percentage issue in OSX, it's an actual volume issue. Ordinary rules still apply, unfortunately. :(


Anyhow, I suspect the iTunes id3 tag problem is unrelated to the HD space issue... and that's the real mystery here... ;)


Actually, one of the symptoms of low hard drive space is that information is lost on restarts. Usually it's user preferences but theoretically it can be anything that was being stored in the Virtual RAM before shut down. I guess it's a bit of a flaw in OSX, although to be fair Apple recommend having plenty of free space available at all times.

Togglehead, assuming you're not changing the data through Finder and your Music folder isn't locked or doesn't have read only permissions, then look into getting more free space, even if it means buying a new drive. :)

[Togglehead]

Ok, advice on space heeded....as soon as i get the firewire card....all will be fire

I have never been able to get the filenames to change through iTunes. I had Library selected, then would click a song and hit command + I. I cant edit the tag info there.

This is a bunch of file on my machine named Track 01, 02 etc.... and i want this changed.

I have yet to try changing filenames through finder, but how will that affect my tags? Should i update to the "newest" tag? Nothing is locked, and all permissions seem to be correct....

[WildCowboy]

Do not try to change things through Finder...that's a sure way to screw things up.

What exactly happens when you click on a song in your iTunes Library and hit Command-I? Does the pop-up window appear? Can you navigate to the Info pane? Is there information in the fields on the Info pane? Where exactly do things go wrong?

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

It's not really a percentage issue in OSX, it's an actual volume issue. Ordinary rules still apply, unfortunately. :( Never said I was a fan of that "school of thought", just felt the parenthesis was worth mentioning... ;)

Actually, one of the symptoms of low hard drive space is that information is lost on restarts. Usually it's user preferences but theoretically it can be anything that was being stored in the Virtual RAM before shut down. I guess it's a bit of a flaw in OSX, although to be fair Apple recommend having plenty of free space available at all times.I know, but there's something about the explanation that bothers me... and makes me think it's something else... I just cannot put my finger on exactly what... so a bit more info from Togglehead would be nice... :)

Togglehead, assuming you're not changing the data through Finder and your Music folder isn't locked or doesn't have read only permissions, then look into getting more free space, even if it means buying a new drive. :)Ooh... that's as close to telling someone to repair permissions you can get without actually telling them to... :D ...which actually makes me wonder why that hasn't been suggested so far... :confused:

But, Togglehead, I wholeheartedly agree that you need a new and bigger hard disk... Which Mac do you have? A new drive doesn't necessarily need to be to expensive... and most of the Macs that had as small HD as 8GB should be fairly easy to upgrade yourself...

Edit:

Ok, advice on space heeded....as soon as i get the firewire card....all will be fireSee right above, what I answered befor I started editing... ;)

I have never been able to get the filenames to change through iTunes. I had Library selected, then would click a song and hit command + I. I cant edit the tag info there.Can you post a screen shot of what your song Info Window looks like (after you've hit cmd-I on a song)?

This is a bunch of file on my machine named Track 01, 02 etc.... and i want this changed.This happens when you rip CDs without being online... what you can do is to get online, mark the songs named Track something and then choose Advanced -> Get CD Track Names. iTunes will then look them up in CDDB...

Should i update to the "newest" tag? That often helps with old mp3s, but freshly ripped ones should have the latest tag...

[mad jew]

Ooh... that's as close to telling someone to repair permissions you can get without actually telling them to... :D ...which actually makes me wonder why that hasn't been suggested so far... :confused:


I just didn't wanna get bullied by the other kids. :(

I wanna see this screen shot too because things aren't adding up in here. :confused:

[Togglehead]

Ok guys, i'll try to answer many of your questions before posting a screen shot, since, im at work, im slammed, my laptop is in the car, and i dont know how to capture screen shots yet...=P

First of all....someone asked what Mac im using....its the Wallstreet in the signature. =]

All the HDD talk, i do agree. To not hijack my own thread TOO much....if i just add an external drive and install apps and such there, will that help?

Now, iTunes. Ok i'll ignore the finder. And as for CDDB, a lot of these files came from my PC (already ripped, and cds long since destroyed) so i dont have much choice.

Yes the "popup" box happens, and yes i can navigate the tabs....however, on the tag tab, the info fields litterally just dont let me click in them. I just cant edit the names there at all.

I'll post screen shots if someone can tell me how...=P

[decksnap]

My friend had this problem on his PC and it turned out the files were marked as read-only.

[Togglehead]

My friend had this problem on his PC and it turned out the files were marked as read-only.
thats checked by "getting info" on the files through finder right?

im pretty sure i did that....

[mad jew]

You can get a screen shot by holding COMMAND-SHIFT-3 or if you want to capture just a selection, hold COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and select an area with your cursor. Take a screen shot of the Get Info window on one of the music files that isn't letting you rename.

Now, Mitthrawnuruodo mentioned repairing permissions (http://guides.macrumors.com/Repairing_Permissions). I guess you should give this a shot since it's so simple to do.

An external drive will definitely help with your space problems however I would still try to keep actual applications in the Applications folder on your internal drive, but maybe move other files such as documents and perhaps your music onto the external. :)

[Togglehead]

You can get a screen shot by holding COMMAND-SHIFT-3 or if you want to capture just a selection, hold COMMAND-SHIFT-4 and select an area with your cursor. Take a screen shot of the Get Info window on one of the music files that isn't letting you rename.

Now, Mitthrawnuruodo mentioned repairing permissions (http://guides.macrumors.com/Repairing_Permissions). I guess you should give this a shot since it's so simple to do.

An external drive will definitely help with your space problems however I would still try to keep actual applications in the Applications folder on your internal drive, but maybe move other files such as documents and perhaps your music onto the external. :)
then what....where do i paste the screenshot on the Mac? Preview just tells me it cant create a new doc from the clipboard....

permissions repaired....some stuff needed it.....didnt help the iTunes issue

another issue i have come across in these searches....it seems some of the files in my ITunes library is doubled....as in there are multiple copies of the file in the library window....named the same.......but in the finder, they are named differently...related?

[mad jew]

It should just make a new file on your Desktop. :)

[Togglehead]

It should just make a new file on your Desktop. :)
yeah it did....damn that was easy...i love this thing

this is what i get...i just cant click on anything to edit.....

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Thanks.

It definitively looks like that file is locked. I did an experiment and when I open a locked file I get the same as you...

Locked 47108 vs unlocked 47109

If you right-click that track and choose "show song file" is the file (or its parent folder or even somewhere higher in the hierarchy) locked?

[bokdol]

ok there is a few thing you need to check. first try draggin one song out of your itunes library and putting it on the desktop. then with the song on the desktop do a comand i. or get info. (edit. or do a search like the above guy) a small window pops up. down at the bottom there is a permissions sections. expand that view. see who has permissions. (edit. in the pictures on the above post you can see read write options forownership. expand the details. and there are more. if the others say read only you need to change them to read write) set all of them to read write. then rename the file and import it back into itunes to see if you can change the name.


if that does not work try try converting each file to aac files, in itunes. it's in your importing otions under prefs. i had the same problem with a downloaded file. from the song writers website. (it was a free download) it went into itunes fine but the mp3 would not retain the name. so i converted it to aac. then i was able to change everything.

[Togglehead]

ok guys i see where your going with this....i'll get on that

I dont understand much about reimporting.....can someone explain how the dir works?

If i manually put all of my songs (in artist based folders) in the iTunes Music folder with the finder...how does iTunes treat those files?

What about if i import them from a DATA cd....and choose copy songs to folder.

What if i DONT choose copy songs to folder....

Also, i have noticed that many of my files permissions are "Read Only" However, after i change them, and reopen iTunes, i still cant change em.....how can i delete my whole library, and start over....lol

UPDATE: I moved the library to a differen folder, and tries to import to iTunes on artist at a time. All was going well for a time....but i got to one artist and could edit one album, but not the other. When looking in the Finder, they were named differently, so i attempted to change the name in Finder....it wouldnt let me. I was locked out in Finder, and iTunes.....now what?!?!...lol the permissions were set apparantly correctly. i guess these two are related too...lol

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I think this might be a good time to read through the iTunes Fast Start (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303635), to learn the basics of iTunes... :)

[Togglehead]

I think this might be a good time to read through the iTunes Fast Start (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303635), to learn the basics of iTunes... :)
RTFM...of COURSE. Silly me.....ill be back...lol

[decksnap]

ok there is a few thing you need to check. first try draggin one song out of your itunes library and putting it on the desktop. then with the song on the desktop do a comand i. or get info. (edit. or do a search like the above guy) a small window pops up. down at the bottom there is a permissions sections. expand that view. see who has permissions. (edit. in the pictures on the above post you can see read write options forownership. expand the details. and there are more. if the others say read only you need to change them to read write) set all of them to read write. then rename the file and import it back into itunes to see if you can change the name.


if that does not work try try converting each file to aac files, in itunes. it's in your importing otions under prefs. i had the same problem with a downloaded file. from the song writers website. (it was a free download) it went into itunes fine but the mp3 would not retain the name. so i converted it to aac. then i was able to change everything.

There's a couple things wrong with these comments- one, dragging a song out of iTunes will generate a new copy, which may or may not have the same permissions as the one in the library. Two, converting songs that are already ripped as mp3s into AACs will damage the quality and probably be a lot of work. definitely not recommended.


MY ADVICE: Try selecting the iTunes music folder in the finder, doing a 'get info' (Apple+i) changing all your settings there to read/write, (yes, including the ones under 'details') then select 'apply to enclosed items'. This should change read/write for all the songs at once.

But as to your question:
If your iTunes is set to 'keep files organized' and to 'copy music to iTunes folder when importing', you do not want to edit, rename, add or remove anything in the Finder. Do it all through iTunes, regardless of your current issue, because messing with them in the Finder won't help.

To start over, make sure both the options above are checked. Then:

go in the finder
move all your artists folders out of the iTunes music folder into another location
Open iTunes
Select your main Library
Select all (Apple+A)
Delete

Now go get all the music you moved and drag it back onto the iTunes window.
This will copy all your music into your iTunes music folder again.
Delete the originals.

[Togglehead]

GOT IT!

It was the permissions!!! I had to get to details of all of them and blah blah....i then started the library all over agian and imported album by album, renaming along the way, and all worked GREAT!!!!!

thanks you guys SO much for your help!!!!

[bokdol]

There's a couple things wrong with these comments- one, dragging a song out of iTunes will generate a new copy, which may or may not have the same permissions as the one in the library. Two, converting songs that are already ripped as mp3s into AACs will damage the quality and probably be a lot of work. definitely not recommended.


will the point of dragging it out is to make a new copy of the song. this way you can do whatever you want to it with out messing with the library. you can always throw it in the trash.

point 2 yes there will be loss of quality. but depending on how picky the guy is. it might not be that bad. and the conversion will take care of any permission issues... but he seem to solve it so i guess it does not matter. i converted for a high quailty download and did not notice any differece in the song. but that was to figure out why i was getting these issues. any how it was just a suggestion that worked for me. :)

[Togglehead]

yeah i DID figure it out....but this was ALL good info i must say....

and yes...im SUPER picky about quality....id have all true wav files if i could....theyre just too huge....=]