iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

File Menu

As its name implies, the File menu in iTunes (and any other computer program, for that matter) is where you go to do things with files: open them, export them, create new ones, and so on.

New Playlist

The iTunes program was made for music, and the first item on the menu creates a new, empty playlist file that you can fill with the songs of your choice from your music collection (Section 5.10). Now that iTunes is video-friendly, you can also fill a playlist with music videos and TV shows. Keyboard shortcut: ⌘-N (Mac); Ctrl+N (Windows).

New Playlist From Selection

When strolling through your library, you can quickly make instant playlists by selecting an artist or album and selecting New Playlist From Selection on the File menu (Section 5.10.2). To select only certain songs from the artist or album shown in the song details window, press ⌘(on the Mac), or Ctrl (Windows), while clicking song titles. (Pressing Shift highlights all the songs between your first and second selection clicks.) Keyboard shortcut: With the desired songs highlighted, Shift-⌘-N (Mac), or just Shift-click the Add button; Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows).

New Smart Playlist

As described in Chapter 5, Smart Playlists work like this: You give iTunes a set of rules, like the bands you want to hear or the genre you’re in the mood for (”No Air Supply or other ’80s Lite on this one, iTunes!”) and the program goes shopping through your music library to create a customized playlist. The list even updates itself when you ...