iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Playlists

A playlist is a list of songs that you’ve decided should go together. It can be made up of pretty much any group of songs arranged in any order. For example, if you’re having a party, you can make a playlist from the current Top 40 and dance music in your music library. If you’re in a 1960s Brit Girl Pop mood, you can make a playlist that alternates the hits of Dusty Springfield, Lulu, and Petula Clark. Some people may question your taste if you, say, alternate tracks from La Bohème with Queen’s A Night at the Opera, but hey—it’s your playlist.

Making a New Playlist

To create a playlist, press ⌘-N (Mac) or Ctrl+N (Windows). You can also choose File → New Playlist or click the + button below the Source area of the iTunes window.

All freshly minted playlists start out with the impersonal name “untitled playlist.” Fortunately, its renaming rectangle is open and highlighted—just type a better name. As you add them, your playlists alphabetize themselves in the Source window.

Once you’ve created and named this spanking new playlist, you’re ready to add your songs. You can do this in several different ways.

If this is your first playlist, opening the playlist into its own window might make it easier for you to see what’s going on. To do so, double-click the new playlist’s icon in the Source list, which opens a window next to your main iTunes window. From here, drag the song titles you want over to the new playlist window. (You can also open the iTunes Music Store into its own window ...