OS X Mountain Lion For Dummies

All about Playlists

Playlists are a big deal in iTunes. Playlists let you manage otherwise- unmanageable amounts of media, such as the 12,000+ songs I have in my iTunes library. Playlists let you create subsets of a large collection, so it’s easier to enjoy exactly the kind of music you want in iTunes or on your iPod. Two types of playlists exist:

Regular playlists contain the songs (or videos, podcasts, or radio stations) that you specify by dragging them to the playlist.

Smart playlists, on the other hand, select songs from your library based on criteria you specify. Furthermore, smart playlists are updated automatically if you add new items to your library that meet the criteria.

All playlists appear in the Source List on the left side of the iTunes window.

Creating a regular playlist

To create a regular playlist, follow these steps:

1. Either click the + button in the bottom-left corner of the iTunes window or choose File⇒New Playlist (shortcut: +N).

A new playlist named “untitled playlist” appears in the Source List.

2. (Optional) As long as the playlist’s name, “untitled playlist,” is selected and ready to be edited, you probably want to rename it something meaningful by typing ...