What does iTunes read to display song information?

[blumpkin]

Does iTunes read directly from the ID3 tags to display song info? I'm a new Mac user and I'm asking because on my previous Windows machine, I had to maintain two things, (1) the file name (Artist - Song Title) and then (2) that same information in the ID3 tag. Because I like my music library neat and organized, I kept the two in sync, which made things kind of a pain in the ass sometimes.

However with iTunes, I notice that whatever changes I make in the ID3 tag (via right-click > "Get Info") show up immediately in the list. Does it read straight from the tag? That would be quite nice.

 

[GGJstudios]

Does it read straight from the tag? That would be quite nice.

Yes, it does. It doesn't matter what the file name is. The info displayed in iTunes comes from the tags.

Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes is a great resource for managing your iTunes tags and files.

This script will rename files, based on information in the tags: File Renamer
This one will populate the song name with the file name: Filenames to Song Names

 

[blumpkin]

Yes, it does.

Thanks. I see that the actual file names are updated immediately in Finder too.

 

[blumpkin]

So is there a Windows equivalent of a "file name" that remains static and unchanged somewhere on my machine as I edit ID3 tags directly in iTunes? I tried searching the web to no avail - just found a bunch of people complaining that their "file names" got screwed up when importing songs into iTunes because it reads from the ID3 tag. To me this is perfect, as I only have to manage the ID3 info and don't have to bother with a file name anywhere.

 

[GGJstudios]

So is there a Windows equivalent of a "file name" that remains static and unchanged somewhere on my machine as I edit ID3 tags directly in iTunes? I tried searching the web to no avail - just found a bunch of people complaining that their "file names" got screwed up when importing songs into iTunes because it reads from the ID3 tag. To me this is perfect, as I only have to manage the ID3 info and don't have to bother with a file name anywhere.

If you have iTunes manage your files, you don't need to worry about what file names are. If you care about your music file names and folder structure (as I do), you can manage them yourself. Go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced and uncheck the top box indicated.

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I keep both boxes unchecked. Then I just choose my existing music folder as the iTunes Media folder (above those checkboxes). Now I can name and organize my files any way I choose, without iTunes interfering with file names.