Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center®

Working with Playlists

We discussed how to use the Auto Playlist feature

in Chapter 14, “Playback Time: Sorting, Viewing,

and Controlling Your Music.” You may not have

realized it at the time, but creating on-the-fly

playlists based on what tunes you play, and

when, is a capability that Media Center borrows

from its sister application in Windows XP, the

Windows Media Player.

Playlists are a powerful feature that allow you to

play the role of Big-Time Music Producer, decid-

ing which tracks make it into the final mix, and

which ones don’t. You can also pick the order in

which songs are played, and create new “compi-

lation albums” that mix and match songs from

any combination of artists that happens to suit

your musical fancy.

There are two ways to work with playlists on your

Media Center PC: by using Windows Media Player

outside of the Media Center Interface, and by

working within Media Center using the Media

Center Playlist Editor.

Creating Playlists with Windows Media Player

To create a playlist using Windows Media Player, launch the player from the

Windows XP desktop, and do the following:

1. Click on Media Library, and then click on File, New Playlist, or use the key-

board shortcut Ctrl+N.

2. In the blank provided, type the new playlist name, and click OK.

3. Your new playlist has been added to the My Playlists folder. Select it in the

left pane, and the empty playlist will be displayed on the right.

4. To add items to the playlist, click on All Music in the left pane to display a

complete list of the available audio tracks.

5. Right-click each item you want to add, and select Add to Playlist. Choose the

new playlist from the drop-down menu. (You can also just drag and drop the

tune directly onto the selected playlist, if you prefer.)

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

tip

As an alternative method

to creating a playlist from

Windows Media Player, you

can open the My Music

folder from the Windows XP

Start menu, and right-click

on the songs you want to

add. Choose Add to Playlist, and

then choose an existing playlist

from the drop-down box, or select

New (see Figure 16.1).

If you want to add multiple songs

at once, hold down the Ctrl key

while you click on them, and then

right-click on one of the selected

files to complete the procedure.

After you’ve completed the playlist creation process, you’ll be able to launch Media

Center and choose the new playlist from within the My Music interface. (For details

on playing playlists in My Music, see Chapter 14. )

Creating Playlists with Media Center Playlist Editor

If the idea of setting down your precious remote control and exiting Media Center to

the Windows XP desktop is utterly abhorrent to you, take heart: There is a way to

create and manage playlists without leaving the Media Center interface.

To make use of this capability, however, you’ll have to download the Playlist Editor

PowerToy from Microsoft’s Web site, as described in the “Special Media Center

Downloads” section of Chapter 24, “Downloads and Enhancements.” Admittedly,

you will have to wander outside of Media Center to actually get the PowerToy file,

but as soon as it’s installed, you can put your mouse safely back on the shelf.

Here’s how to create a playlist using the Media Center Playlist editor:

1. From the More Programs menu in Media Center, select Playlist Editor.

2. Choose Create Playlist.

3. Choose how you want your songs to be sorted, by selecting Albums, Artists,

Songs, or Genres.

4. Select the items you want added to the new playlist by pressing the OK but-

ton on each item. This will place a check mark in the item listing (see

Figure 16.2).

CHAPTER 16 CUSTOMIZING THE MEDIA CENTER AUDIO EXPERIENCE

219

FIGURE 16.1

In this view of

the My Music

folder, multiple

tracks have

been selected,

using the Ctrl

key, for adding

to a new

playlist.