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iTunes - Where's the Sidebar?

Hustler1337

Hustler1337

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 23, 2010
1,856
1,612
London, UK
Hi,

Trying to enable the Sidebar on the new iTunes but can't find it. I'm guessing Apple removed it?

Absolutely hate the non-sidebar look of iTunes. :(
 
Sort of. Select "Playlists" from any view and it comes back, at least wile you're in that view.
 
I think you need to be in playlists now.

iTunes 12 is so ****ing bad. I thought 11 was garbage but this is truly horrid.

10.7 was the best, really with it would work with ios8.

Really sad that I might have to move away from mac and iphone because how badly they **** up a simple media player and remove our customization options.
 
Lord Hamsa said:
Sort of. Select "Playlists" from any view and it comes back, at least wile you're in that view.
Click to expand...

Yoshi Yogurt said:
I think you need to be in playlists now.

iTunes 12 is so ****ing bad. I thought 11 was garbage but this is truly horrid.

10.7 was the best, really with it would work with ios8.

Really sad that I might have to move away from mac and iphone because how badly they **** up a simple media player and remove our customization options.
Click to expand...

Thanks, seems like they've got rid of it. I half-knew this was coming soon based on their previous iTunes releases excluding the Sidebar view by default.

Now we have to use this small mingy icons to navigate through iTunes. :(
 
Seems there might be a marketing hole opening up for people who:
A) Have a large music library
B) Actually listen to vast chunks of it semi-regularly
C) Use a variety of different playlist/search/sorting techniques to get the particular sort of mix they want at a given time.

I tried Clementine, but it seems to suffer from the usual ills of open source ware: inconsistent interface, feature holes etc. Perhaps now something better will come along, but I suspect we're stuck with a slowly declining musical experience here in Mac-land.
 
I totally agree - I lost track of when iTunes hit its peak design-wise (probably around version 9 or 10), but iTunes 11 was terrible, and iTunes 12 is just making everything even worse.

I would love to find a third-party solution at this point, but that's still a challenge when I'm so tied into the iTunes ecosystem (Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, AppleTV).

I've already ditched iTunes for podcasts since iTunes completely bungled that simple task.

I've tried a few music players, but they either seem buggy or poorly designed. It really shouldn't be that hard... earlier versions of iTunes actually worked great for playing music. Go figure.
 
Crap I always backup the previously version first when I update iTunes, and wouldn't you know it the one time I forget to do so and it's the worst update ever :mad:

I got the idea that Apple's been wanting to rid the sidebar for the longest time, and they finally did it :(

Can anyone tell me how to make Apps stick, without having to click the ... drop down menu? This is horrible.
 

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iosuser said:
Crap I always backup the previously version first when I update iTunes, and wouldn't you know it the one time I forget to do so and it's the worst update ever :mad:

I got the idea that Apple's been wanting to rid the sidebar for the longest time, and they finally did it :(

Can anyone tell me how to make Apps stick, without having to click the ... drop down menu? This is horrible.
Click to expand...

Click the 3 dots and select edit. Tick the apps box with a checkmark.
 
mikef07 said:
Click the 3 dots and select edit. Tick the apps box with a checkmark.
Click to expand...

smorris said:
Click "Edit" in the dropdown, and then check what you want to show all the time (or uncheck what you don't.)
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. I was stuck in duh mode and completely didn't see EDIT lol, still in awe at the horrible new interface and mourning the total loss of the sidebar :(
 
iosuser said:
Thanks guys. I was stuck in duh mode and completely didn't see EDIT lol, still in awe at the horrible new interface and mourning the total loss of the sidebar :(
Click to expand...


I miss the sidebar also. One other annoyance although I think it has never been available. When I select my iPad and then movies (meaning I am ready to tick what movies I want to sync) it is only in thumbnail format. Why can't they make it so it could be in list format ? It is so much easier to read in list format.
 
Guys,

I think i've found a workaround. It's not a full proper sidebar as we've seen in previous iTunes versions, but it's the closest we'll get.

1. Click on the Playlists tab on the top of the screen.
2. Click Songs for a full list of your songs.


Screen_Shot_2014_10_17_at_20_44_41.png


My main reason for disliking the no-sidebar look is because it makes it less easier to navigate quickly and I hate the simplistic, album-art or iPad style look.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
mikef07 said:
When I select my iPad and then movies (meaning I am ready to tick what movies I want to sync) it is only in thumbnail format. Why can't they make it so it could be in list format ? It is so much easier to read in list format.
Click to expand...

Click "Movies" at the right hand side of the bar, then select "Movies List".
 
iTunes 12 Horrible

I can't believe how bad this is.
The only button I want to find now is the roll back button.
 
Partron22 said:
Seems there might be a marketing hole opening up for people who:
A) Have a large music library
B) Actually listen to vast chunks of it semi-regularly
C) Use a variety of different playlist/search/sorting techniques to get the particular sort of mix they want at a given time.

I tried Clementine, but it seems to suffer from the usual ills of open source ware: inconsistent interface, feature holes etc. Perhaps now something better will come along, but I suspect we're stuck with a slowly declining musical experience here in Mac-land.
Click to expand...

Having a giant library of Drum and Bass (80+ Gb) and have been using smart playlists for a while to try and tackle it. For the past year I have been incorporating Beatunes 3.5 for my organization and its nice because it integrates with the iTunes library and adds BPM, Key, color, mood, etc.

Using the following tool I have been able to enhance my playlists and create setlists for DJing at house parties with friends. Check it out:

https://www.beatunes.com/
 
Won't go to Yosemite

I won't be upgrading if the rest of the apps look like iTunes. The sidebar is the best way to navigate through the app, now I have the album art and a lot of useless scrolling.

OSX is not the interface to an iPhone. Stop trying to make that happen!
 
After several upgrade mishaps, I made a promise to myself to read comments BEFORE blindly upgrading my Apple products.
This morning, I noted that iTunes had an upgrade. Instead of hitting INSTALL, I decided to see what others are saying first. Glad I did!
The sidebar in iTunes is the only thing that keeps me sane. I am lost without it.
Hoping if enough people express their displeasure with its removal, it will some how come back. :confused:
 
Definitely will not be downloading v12….

Until forced to, of course, but will keep Yosemite at bay for a while. Downloaded a copy of the OS X and Windows installer for 11.4 the day before Mavericks rollout as I'd heard the rumors of Apple getting rid of the Sidebar.
 
scottwaugh said:
Definitely will not be downloading v12….

Until forced to, of course, but will keep Yosemite at bay for a while. Downloaded a copy of the OS X and Windows installer for 11.4 the day before Mavericks rollout as I'd heard the rumors of Apple getting rid of the Sidebar.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that the iBooks section has disappeared completely; to be replaced by a separate app thats even worse than the old version as part of iTunes ... why o why ...

:eek:
 
I don't see the problem - I use the sidebar with list view 100% of the time, I'd be lost without it. In the 'playlist' tab you can still have all the other views as before with the album artwork etc but the sidebar is always there when in this mode, so what's missing? Or am I missing something here?
 
I've been an iTunes apologist for years but after updating to v12 I can't defend it any longer. I honestly believe no-one on at Apple uses iTunes, especially not as a media library manager.

From now on I'm canceling my Match account and using Spotify for music.
For video I'm sticking to the Beamer app from my MBP to the AppleTV.
Less hassle on both counts.
 
Yeah the new design sucks big time.
Before when using iTunes, everything went so snap, now you have to press a small icon, then chose from the list, then make a new click, and first then your on your device.

Apple what the hell are you thinking??!
 
No you don't, it's still one click, only the icons are arranged across the top left.

----------
jayes said:
After several upgrade mishaps, I made a promise to myself to read comments BEFORE blindly upgrading my Apple products.
This morning, I noted that iTunes had an upgrade. Instead of hitting INSTALL, I decided to see what others are saying first. Glad I did!
The sidebar in iTunes is the only thing that keeps me sane. I am lost without it.
Hoping if enough people express their displeasure with its removal, it will some how come back. :confused:
Click to expand...

It is still there. I use it all the time.

----------
desertfool said:
I won't be upgrading if the rest of the apps look like iTunes. The sidebar is the best way to navigate through the app, now I have the album art and a lot of useless scrolling.

OSX is not the interface to an iPhone. Stop trying to make that happen!
Click to expand...

It is the best way to navigate through the app you're right. That's why they didn't get rid of it. In 'playlists' mode it is there all the time, regardless of the view you prefer, whether it's list, (my preferred) column, or album artwork view - the sidebar remains!

I don't really see how realistically Apple can get rid of the sidebar - how else would you be able to drop tracks on a playlist without there being a 'source' - your library, and a 'destination' - your playlist, so to speak. If they get rid of the sidebar altogether I'll drop itunes in a heartbeat, as it stands I think it's an excellent update, stripped back and simple.
 
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