Where in folder is itunes music stored
- #Where in folder is itunes music stored how to
- #Where in folder is itunes music stored for mac
- #Where in folder is itunes music stored manual
- #Where in folder is itunes music stored mac
To set a custom location, click Change and choose a folder for imports.
#Where in folder is itunes music stored mac
This may take a while depending on the number of the source files being consolidated, their size, the speed of your computer, available storage space and other factors.īy default, the iTunes Media folder lives in your account’s Music folder on Mac and in My Documents/My Music/iTunes on Windows. To see where your iTunes Media folder is currently located, access iTunes’ preferences, click the Advanced tab and look for the location under the section labeled “iTunes Media folder location.” TIP: To have your media files organized into sub-folders (like Music, Movies, Podcasts and so forth), tick the option labeled “Reorganize files in the folder iTunes Media”.Īny referenced items will be copied into appropriate sub-folders in your iTunes Media folder.
#Where in folder is itunes music stored how to
Here’s how to consolidate your iTunes libraryĢ) Click the File menu, then choose Library → Organize Library.ģ) Tick the option labeled “Consolidate files”. This lets you safely move your iTunes folder to a new computer or external disk without losing anything. Thankfully, that’s what the library consolidation feature was designed for.Ĭonsolidating your library keeps the originals in their original location and creates copies placed in the iTunes Media folder. This is a major issue when moving your library to a new computer or an external drive. If you use a referenced library, it’s easy to forget that moving the original files to another folder or disk will confuse iTunes because it expects them in the old locations. This mode should be indispensable to those of you who prefer to keep multi-gigabyte video files on an external disk rather than in the iTunes Media folder on your computer. TUTORIAL: How to move iTunes library to an external drive I find it easier to manage, copy, share and back up my media this way, so I’m using iTunes in referenced library mode. I like to meticulously nest my music and other media manually into multiple sub-folders.
#Where in folder is itunes music stored manual
Referenced library mode is great if you prefer manual file management and organization without worrying about duplicates. Now when you import an item to iTunes, a reference (or pointer) to the item is created rather than a copy of the item itself. TIP: Hold down the Option (⌥) key while you drag files to the iTunes window to temporarily override this setting. How to use iTunes in referenced library modeįollow these steps to put your iTunes in referenced library mode:ġ) Open iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC.Ģ) Choose Preferences from the iTunes menu (Mac) or the Edit menu (Windows).Ĥ) Untick the box next to “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.” Here’s how to switch to a referenced iTunes library that doesn’t create duplicates when importing stuff that’s already stored somewhere on your computer. Thankfully, you can reclaim your precious storage space lost to these duplicates with a few clicks. Some users are unaware that for each imported item iTunes may create a copy. TUTORIAL: Where are the media files from the Photos app saved on my Mac?
You can even delete any imported files in their original locations because iTunes now has copies.
If it’s set to copy imports in the media folder, iTunes keeps your originals intact. choosing the Add to Library option from the File menu or by dragging them into iTunes-iTunes may or may not create copies of your source files. When importing music from a CD, the files get automatically added to the iTunes Media folder.
#Where in folder is itunes music stored for mac
TUTORIAL: Using Photos for Mac in referenced library mode ITL file in your iTunes folder that the computer uses to keep track of your imported media and meta data such as play counts, ratings and more. As you know, iTunes doesn’t automagically know about your media unless you import the items so they appear in your library. It isn’t uncommon for some people to have a vast music/video collection spanning multiple volumes or external disks. I have a ton of music on my computer that I ripped from my personal CD collection. When importing songs into desktop iTunes, check your settings to ensure the media-management app is not set to create copies of any imported items in your library.