MacBook Pro, iTunes, iPhone and Syncing

[Pedro Pinto]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your time.

I've recently purchased my new MacBook Pro and since It's the first time I'm dealing with a MAC, I logically have some doubts

I would like to apologize if they're pretty newbie doubts and pretty easy for you, but everyone has a beginning on something and this is my turn on MacBook.

1. I am kind of new to iTunes and I actually don’t fully understand how it works in MAC (nor in windows, to be honest). Firstly because I don’t understand the concept of Library (Is it a folder? does that folder exist and we can access it? Is it virtual through a cloud system?). In addition, and if a folder exists, is it ok to move music files to other directory? How does that system actually work?

1.1. I have some problems with iBooks too. I use a lot of PDF files and I also don’t understand the process. Imagine I save a PDF file into my documents folder and I then want to have it in iBooks for further syncing on my iPhone too. On iTunes I click on iPhone (after being connected through USB and then I have (on my left) a menu of Definitions (which’s supposedly my Library) and down I have a menu called In my Device). The question is: How it actually works? I’m asking it since I somehow got it synced in my library and iphone but I actually don’t know how. Then I tried to move my PDF file to another folder and in Windows it was enough to lose the file in iTunes since it could find it. Here it seems it doesn’t happen. I even delete that file from my MAC and it’s still on my iTunes library.

Greetings from Portugal,

Pedro

 

[Pedro Pinto]

Can anyone give some help?

 

[snaky69]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your time.

I've recently purchased my new MacBook Pro and since It's the first time I'm dealing with a MAC, I logically have some doubts

I would like to apologize if they're pretty newbie doubts and pretty easy for you, but everyone has a beginning on something and this is my turn on MacBook.

1. I am kind of new to iTunes and I actually don’t fully understand how it works in MAC (nor in windows, to be honest). Firstly because I don’t understand the concept of Library (Is it a folder? does that folder exist and we can access it? Is it virtual through a cloud system?). In addition, and if a folder exists, is it ok to move music files to other directory? How does that system actually work?

1.1. I have some problems with iBooks too. I use a lot of PDF files and I also don’t understand the process. Imagine I save a PDF file into my documents folder and I then want to have it in iBooks for further syncing on my iPhone too. On iTunes I click on iPhone (after being connected through USB and then I have (on my left) a menu of Definitions (which’s supposedly my Library) and down I have a menu called In my Device). The question is: How it actually works? I’m asking it since I somehow got it synced in my library and iphone but I actually don’t know how. Then I tried to move my PDF file to another folder and in Windows it was enough to lose the file in iTunes since it could find it. Here it seems it doesn’t happen. I even delete that file from my MAC and it’s still on my iTunes library.

Greetings from Portugal,

Pedro

The following is accurate (to my knowledge) whether you're on Windows or OS X (minus the keyboard shorcuts).

1. A library is iTunes virtual way of managing your music. Library isn't too bad of a term, if you actually translate it to Portuguese. It contains all the files you've added to iTunes. Since it is a library that you own, you can do whatever you please with it, such as creating playlists for example. A playlist is a list of your songs that you'd like to play together, or shuffle through when you listen to music. I usually have playlists for each genre of music I listen to. I have one where I put all of my Jazz, another where I put all of my Rock, etc.

Yes, there is an actual folder where the files are stored. I won't get into that because the way the folder will look depends on how you let iTunes manage it. I personally dislike the default management system as it breaks down all your music in tons of sub folders which I hate going through. So I have mine setup that I can manually manage my files.

You can see where you files are by clicking any one of them, pressing cmd+I (or right click, get info) and going to the file tab of the menu that'll pop up. If you look at the bottom of that windows, you'll see the file's location. It is easily accessible and yes, you can move it if you like.

Unless you have to have your iTunes library on another computer, external hard drive, etc. I wouldn't bother moving it, it serves no practical purpose to do so.

1.1 I do not use iBooks, I find extensive reading on backlit LCD's to suck, I use an eReader instead.

As far as deleting your file from your Mac and still seeing it in your Library, it means that you have the default settings I spoke of earlier. By default, iTunes makes a copy of whatever it can open (m4a files, mp3 files, mp4 files, etc.) into its own Library folder, and it uses that copy for your library. Anything you do with the original file will not show up in your library, because it isn't the one iTunes is using. Use the trick I told of earlier to get to the file and truly delete it.

Or just delete from inside iTunes, both will work.

 

[Pedro Pinto]

The following is accurate (to my knowledge) whether you're on Windows or OS X (minus the keyboard shorcuts).

1. A library is iTunes virtual way of managing your music. Library isn't too bad of a term, if you actually translate it to Portuguese. It contains all the files you've added to iTunes. Since it is a library that you own, you can do whatever you please with it, such as creating playlists for example. A playlist is a list of your songs that you'd like to play together, or shuffle through when you listen to music. I usually have playlists for each genre of music I listen to. I have one where I put all of my Jazz, another where I put all of my Rock, etc.

Yes, there is an actual folder where the files are stored. I won't get into that because the way the folder will look depends on how you let iTunes manage it. I personally dislike the default management system as it breaks down all your music in tons of sub folders which I hate going through. So I have mine setup that I can manually manage my files.

You can see where you files are by clicking any one of them, pressing cmd+I (or right click, get info) and going to the file tab of the menu that'll pop up. If you look at the bottom of that windows, you'll see the file's location. It is easily accessible and yes, you can move it if you like.

Unless you have to have your iTunes library on another computer, external hard drive, etc. I wouldn't bother moving it, it serves no practical purpose to do so.

1.1 I do not use iBooks, I find extensive reading on backlit LCD's to suck, I use an eReader instead.

As far as deleting your file from your Mac and still seeing it in your Library, it means that you have the default settings I spoke of earlier. By default, iTunes makes a copy of whatever it can open (m4a files, mp3 files, mp4 files, etc.) into its own Library folder, and it uses that copy for your library. Anything you do with the original file will not show up in your library, because it isn't the one iTunes is using. Use the trick I told of earlier to get to the file and truly delete it.

Or just delete from inside iTunes, both will work.

Hello @snaky69. I truly appreciate your help! Big big thank you.

1. Although I've understood everything you explained I would like to get a little bit dipper (hoping you don't get bothered).
In fact, all the iTunes files are in the computer where it firstly got synced with. The folder does exist and by the time we erase the files from that folder (assuming there are no other copies around), we will lose the content in the iTunes library. Am I right? (P.S.: I guess the default folder is in Music/iTunes/iTunes Media.

2. Imagine that I create a folder - let's say: Workout Music (inside "Documents" folder) and I add some songs there. Then, I'll get them (songs) synced in iTunes and they'll be ready to go through iTunes Library. After that, lets suppose I don't want that music folder on my "Documents" folder anymore, and I move it to "Images" folder (it's just a supposition in order to be clear in my explanation).

2.1. Will everything be functional through iTunes or I have to put the songs back on the folder I've initially created in order to let them be found by iTunes?

3. I've tried what you've said about the PDF file. In fact, when I click on it while in the "In my Device" tab, it obviously say it's stored in my iPhone. However, when I do the CMD+I on the Library Tab (which's named Definitions now) it still says it's stored on my iPhone.

3.1. I've deleted the file on my iPhone so that information should change. I then made the CMD+I shortcut on the file on the Library Tab and it kept saying It was on my iPhone. I can't actually find it it my MacBook. Any ideas?

Thank you, one more time, for your patience.

 

[snaky69]

Hello @snaky69. I truly appreciate your help! Big big thank you.

1. Although I've understood everything you explained I would like to get a little bit dipper (hoping you don't get bothered).
In fact, all the iTunes files are in the computer where it firstly got synced with. The folder does exist and by the time we erase the files from that folder (assuming there are no other copies around), we will lose the content in the iTunes library. Am I right? (P.S.: I guess the default folder is in Music/iTunes/iTunes Media.

2. Imagine that I create a folder - let's say: Workout Music (inside "Documents" folder) and I add some songs there. Then, I'll get them (songs) synced in iTunes and they'll be ready to go through iTunes Library. After that, lets suppose I don't want that music folder on my "Documents" folder anymore, and I move it to "Images" folder (it's just a supposition in order to be clear in my explanation).

2.1. Will everything be functional through iTunes or I have to put the songs back on the folder I've initially created in order to let them be found by iTunes?

3. I've tried what you've said about the PDF file. In fact, when I click on it while in the "In my Device" tab, it obviously say it's stored in my iPhone. However, when I do the CMD+I on the Library Tab (which's named Definitions now) it still says it's stored on my iPhone.

3.1. I've deleted the file on my iPhone so that information should change. I then made the CMD+I shortcut on the file on the Library Tab and it kept saying It was on my iPhone. I can't actually find it it my MacBook. Any ideas?

Thank you, one more time, for your patience.

1. Sounds right to me if nothing got lost in translation hehe.

2. I would advise you to use playlist for that purpose, it's a lot easier that way. You can ask you iPhone/iPod to sync specific playlists too. See the image I added.

You can click at the bottom left there on the + sign and create a playlist. Name it how you like, say Workout Music. Drag all songs you want to be in that playlist from your library to the playlist. This does not create a copy of the file. It only tells iTunes it should be displayed there. Removing a file from your playlist will not remove it from the Library nor your computer, which I believe does what you want. So if you get tired of your workout music, you can just remove any song you want from that playlist and replace it, or add more to it as needed.

3. Have you synced again before checking? Like I said I don't use the books function all that much so I'm probably not the best person for answering that.

 

[Pedro Pinto]

So, in order to test it, I moved a folder with songs from my external disc to my MBP. I let it stay on the desktop.

I found that when I clicked on a song to reproduce, It automatically created a copy of it on: Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/nameofalbum/song. It then got in my iTunes account.

Then, I deleted that song from the folder I've copied to my desktop and it kept functioning (because there was still the copy on iTunes Media folder).

Then, I deleted it from the iTunes Media folder and it still worked... (because it was on the trash).

It finally stopped working when I deleted it from the trash and then, iTunes couldn't find it anymore.

Conclusion: Everytime a song plays on the MBP, it creates a copy of it in iTunes Media folder and unless you definitely remove it, it will always work.

I know it might be some kind of "newbieness" but I had to test in order to confirm the mechanism. I guess it works like that isn't it snaky69?

 

[snaky69]

So, in order to test it, I moved a folder with songs from my external disc to my MBP. I let it stay on the desktop.

I found that when I clicked on a song to reproduce, It automatically created a copy of it on: Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/nameofalbum/song. It then got in my iTunes account.

Then, I deleted that song from the folder I've copied to my desktop and it kept functioning (because there was still the copy on iTunes Media folder).

Then, I deleted it from the iTunes Media folder and it still worked... (because it was on the trash).

It finally stopped working when I deleted it from the trash and then, iTunes couldn't find it anymore.

Conclusion: Everytime a song plays on the MBP, it creates a copy of it in iTunes Media folder and unless you definitely remove it, it will always work.

I know it might be some kind of "newbieness" but I had to test in order to confirm the mechanism. I guess it works like that isn't it snaky69?

It does unless you have this option unchecked "Keep iTunes Media folder organized".

 

[Pedro Pinto]

It means that if I uncheck it it doesn't store it on that folder?

 

[snaky69]

It means that if I uncheck it it doesn't store it on that folder?

I forgot you also have to uncheck the next one (Copy files to...). If both of those are unchecked iTunes will not do any automatic copying of anything, nor create folders and subfolders for each album.

I personally leave mine unchecked because I like having all of my music in 1 flat folder. But that's just how I like mine.

I download my music, usually add a few touches to the metadata (album artwork, year, etc.) using a separate program, rename them as Artist - Song Name, then manually copy them over to the media folder.

If you like the way iTunes works, then leave it like that. There is nothing wrong with it. They way I keep my library is just a habit I have from back in my Windows days.

 

[Pedro Pinto]

I actually enjoy your way and its definitely my way. I usually like to see all names displayed on a proper way with the right info inserted on songs.

Can you please tell me what's the 3rd party software you use?

P.S.: You have to move them manually to that iTunes folder either way?

 

[snaky69]

I actually enjoy your way and its definitely my way. I usually like to see all names displayed on a proper way with the right info inserted on songs.

Can you please tell me what's the 3rd party software you use?

P.S.: You have to move them manually to that iTunes folder either way?

I really like Metadatics.

It works with all audio files and does everything, tags, artwork, batch file renaming etc.

Once I'm done I usually select all my new files, in finder, press cmd-O to open them in iTunes (this adds them to the library automatically) and then move them to my iTunes folder. The file link still works even if the file has moved.

 

[Pedro Pinto]

I've tested Tag Editor Free and I guess I'm on the right way Thank you very much for your effort!

Still trying to discover the iBooks situation though... :/

EDIT: After some "make-and-see-for-yourself" tests I realized that I do complicate a lot, sometimes. I just had to go to Finder and write iBooks in it (on the Search box - Upper right corner). Then I've to go into Books and there they are