From burning CDs to buying applications, everything you always wanted to know about iTunes.
Browse all features by category:
iTunes Player
iTunes Player
iTunes Window
Library
Your library contains everything you’ve imported into iTunes: music, podcasts, audiobooks, applications, lectures from iTunes U and ringtones.
Devices
Your iPod, iPhone and Apple TV appear under Devices when they’re connected to your computer. Any CDs you’re burning or importing appear there, too. Click your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV and iTunes shows you a summary of everything that’s on it. Click a CD to check the progress of an import or a burn.
Shared
Look under Shared to see music, video, podcasts, audiobooks and other media in the iTunes libraries of computers on your local network. With Home Sharing enabled, you can import music, apps and more from up to five authorised computers in your home.
Genius
Genius playlists and Genius Mixes appear under Genius. Whenever you create and save a Genius playlist, this is where you’ll find it. Genius Mixes automatically appear here, too. And you can play them all with a click.
Playlists
All the playlists you create appear here — standard playlists as well as your Smart Playlists. iTunes DJ also appears under Playlists.
Browse
Visual Browsing
Select Music in Grid View and iTunes displays your entire music library using cover art. Turn on the Grid View header to select Artists, Genres or Composers, and iTunes creates groups of albums based on your selection. Simply skim across a group to see the albums inside and start playing an album with a single click. Podcasts and audiobooks look great in Grid View, too.
Cover Flow
Cover Flow displays all the album art in your music collection in one easy-to-navigate interface that mimics a CD collection or jukebox selection. Move between covers using the forward and back arrows or use the slider to browse faster. When you find what you want, double-click the artwork to start playing the album.
Column Browser
View your entire music collection in columns: genres, artists, albums, groupings and composers. Choose as many columns as you like, then browse your music even more easily. You can view the column browser at the top of your iTunes window or along the side.
Unwatched Videos
In Grid View, you’ll know instantly podcast subscriptions have unwatched episodes. Look for a blue indicator next to the poster art. Or turn on the Grid View header and select New in Grid View. Then you’ll see only the podcasts and shows you have yet to enjoy.
Genius Mixes
The new Genius Mixes feature searches your iTunes library to find songs that go great together, then organises them into mixes you’ll love. iTunes creates up to 12 Genius Mixes automatically. You’ll find them all under Genius, where you can browse and play one with a click.
Search
The moment you start typing in the search field, iTunes returns results from your library. Your results narrow as your search term gets more specific.
Compilations
iTunes can keep your soundtracks and other compilations organised. You’ll find each compilation under Compilations (in Grid View) or Various Artists (in the column browser), instead of seeing a separate album for each song by a different artist. You can mark any album as a compilation by choosing Get Info.
Playlists
Create a Playlist
Make your own mix by creating a playlist of the exact songs you want, in the order you want them. Start by clicking the Add (+) button in the lower-left corner. Give your playlist a name. Then simply drag songs into it. Rearrange the order of songs in your playlist by dragging and dropping.
Smart Playlists
Have iTunes create a playlist for you based on your desired criteria — like all the rock songs you’ve added to your library in the past month or songs you’ve listened to more than 10 times. You can create many rules for a single Smart Playlist, based on media type, genre and more. iTunes finds the songs or podcasts that match your rules and creates a playlist that updates itself automatically.
Organise with Folders
As you accumulate more and more playlists, consider organising them in folders. To create a new folder, choose New Folder from the File menu. Double-click a folder to rename it.
Genius
Genius Mixes
The new Genius Mixes feature searches your iTunes library to find songs that go great together, then organises them into mixes you’ll love. These mixes are like channels programmed entirely with your music. Under Genius, click Genius Mixes. You’ll see up to 12 Genius Mixes that have been created for you. Click one to play.
Genius Playlists
Just select a song, click the Genius button, and iTunes makes a playlist of songs from your library that go great together. You decide how many songs appear in your Genius playlist — 25, 50 or 100. Refresh your Genius playlist to get new songs. Or save your Genius playlist so you always have it.
Managing
Syncing
iTunes is surprisingly flexible when it comes to syncing media from your computer to your iPhone or iPod and the other way around. You can sync automatically, manually or by setting simple rules. To sync manually, select the exact items you want to add or remove and drag them to and from your iPhone or iPod. Choose specific artists, genres and playlists. Or sync using simple rules. For example, sync your recent podcasts. Individual tabs for podcasts and iTunes U make syncing content a snap. And it’s even easier to manage apps on your iPhone or iPod touch because now you can do it in iTunes. Arrange, rearrange, add or delete apps and Home screens. iTunes automatically syncs your new Home screens with your iPhone or iPod touch.
Get Info
The Get Info window offers many ways to view and edit the information about your music and video. Select any track in your library, then choose Get Info from the File menu. Or select multiple tracks to edit information for all the tracks at once. Get at-a-glance information in the Summary pane. Change file information and enter comments in Info. Set sort options in Sorting. Adjust playback settings in Options. Enter song lyrics in Lyrics. Add, delete and resize cover art in Artwork.
Set Media Kind
iTunes lets you properly categorise tracks in your library. Say you’re importing a set of language learning discs. If you want iTunes to categorise tracks on those discs as audiobooks, just select the tracks and choose Audiobooks from the Media Kind pop-up menu in the Options pane of Get Info. Now, instead of appearing in your music library, your imported tracks appear in your audiobooks library. You can assign music, audiobooks, iTunes U or podcasts categories to any audio file. And video files can be categorised as films, TV programmes, music videos, podcasts or iTunes U.
Back Up to Disc
Back up your iTunes library to CDs or DVDs right in iTunes. From the File menu, choose Library, then Back Up to Disc. You can back up your entire library and playlists, or items you haven't yet backed up.
Join CD Tracks
Some CDs have tracks that play best without any breaks in between — audiobooks on CD and DJ mixes, for example. iTunes lets you combine tracks so they’re imported as one continuous track that suffers no disruption, even in shuffle mode. Just insert the audio CD, select the tracks you want to join (hold down the Shift key to select multiple items) and choose Join CD Tracks from the Advanced menu.
Back Up with Time Capsule
Time Capsule is the ideal peace-of-mind backup solution for your growing iTunes library. Available in 2TB and 3TB capacities,1 Time Capsule works with Time Machine in Mac OS X. Designate Time Capsule as the backup drive for Time Machine on all your Mac computers and take comfort in knowing that your iTunes data is backed up automatically and wirelessly.
Organise Your Library
iTunes gives you the option to reorganise the files in your iTunes Music folder into folders for Music, Podcasts and more. To organise your library, choose Library from the File menu, then choose Organise Library.
Importing
CD Options
iTunes gives you choices when you insert a CD. You can either show the CD or begin playing it. You can also choose to import the CD right away, then eject it automatically.
Importing from CDs
To import songs from a CD into iTunes, insert the disc in your computer and click Import CD. iTunes saves music from your CDs as high-quality iTunes Plus files (256-Kbps AAC format). If your songs already exist in digital form on your computer, just drag them into your iTunes library. iTunes also converts unprotected WMA files on your Windows computer to AAC files.
Automatically Adding to iTunes
If you ever need to add new songs or videos to iTunes from another application, you can save them to your Automatically Add to iTunes folder.
Retrieving CD Information
iTunes searches a database to automatically fill in information about each of your CD albums when you import them — song names, album name, artist, genre and so on. All you need is an Internet connection. You can also look up the information later by choosing Get CD Track Names from the Advanced menu. If you want to enter the information yourself, choose Get Info from the File menu.
Encoding Imported Music
When you’re importing songs from a CD into iTunes, you can choose whether music is imported in AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3 or WAV format. Access your import settings in the Advanced section of iTunes preferences and choose your audio format, along with bit rates up to 320 Kbps. To get twice as many songs in the same amount of space, import to HE-AAC format. It’s the same quality as AAC, but half the size.
Burning
Burning a CD
Select a playlist in your library and insert a blank CD or DVD. The Burn Disc button at the bottom right of the iTunes window lets you know it’s time to burn. A quick click and iTunes burns your disc in as little as two minutes.
Burning Audio and MP3 CDs
Create audio CDs for your car or home stereo. Or make MP3 CDs to play on Mac and Windows computers and in MP3-compatible car stereos and CD players.
Burning a Backup
Use iTunes to archive your entire music and video library on CDs or DVDs for safekeeping. Choose Library from the File menu, then choose Back Up to Disc. Tell iTunes what you want to back up and insert a disc. iTunes does the thinking for you — just keep feeding it discs till it’s done.
Sharing
Sharing over a Network
Enable sharing in iTunes preferences and users on your network can play media from your library through your local network. Choose whether they have access to everything in your library or just specific playlists. Add a password to your shared library for limited access.
Home Sharing
With Home Sharing, you can share music, apps and more among up to five authorised computers in your house. To set up your Home Sharing network, just sign in to your iTunes account from each computer you want to add. Then browse all the iTunes libraries on the network and import your favourites.
Music Playback
Crossfade Playback
Decide how smoothly your songs fade in and out from one track to the next by adjusting Crossfade Playback, located in the Playback pane of iTunes preferences. Choose a fade time between 1 and 12 seconds.
Visualizer
Visualizer is a dynamic and mesmerising visual light show that accompanies your music. It’s located in the View menu. Turn it on and watch light and 3D shapes move to the beat of your music.
Sound Check
Some songs and videos in your iTunes library may play louder than others. Enable Sound Check in the Playback pane of iTunes preferences, and everything in your library plays at the same volume.
Classical Music Playlist
If you’re a fan of classical music, you know that certain works — whether symphonies, concertos, operas or oratorios — should be played together. iTunes features a Smart Playlist that’s specifically designed for classical music. You’ll see the Composer and Groupings columns for this playlist in the column browser. You can also use iTunes Groupings to specify Works. Choose Get Info from the File menu. Enter the name of the work in the Grouping field and click OK.
iTunes DJ
The iTunes DJ feature automatically picks songs from your entire library or from a specific playlist to create an endless mix of music. Review upcoming songs to reorder or remove on the fly, or add songs to the playlist at any time.
Repeat Track or Playlist
The Repeat button is located in the lower-left corner of the iTunes window. Click it once to repeat playback of a playlist. Click twice to repeat playback of a specific track.
Equaliser
Enhance the sound of your music with the iTunes Equaliser. Located in the Window menu, Equaliser includes 22 presets — Rock, R&B and Pop, to name a few. Drag the frequency sliders up and down to adjust a preset or to create your own.
Song Options
Select a song in your library and choose Get Info from the File menu. In the Options pane, you’ll find a handful of settings you can apply to just that song. Adjust its volume, assign an equaliser preset, rate it, set the start and stop time. Even tell iTunes to remember the playback position, skip the song in shuffle mode or include the song as part of a gapless album.
iTunes Mini Player
Transform your iTunes window into a mini player. From the View menu, you can switch to Mini Player and also return the iTunes window to its full size.
iTunes Taskbar for Windows
Minimise your iTunes window to your taskbar on a PC. You can navigate your music, adjust the volume and more. Just right-click on your taskbar. Choose Toolbars > iTunes > Minimize iTunes.
Control Playback from the Dock
You don’t need to be in the iTunes window to use simple playback commands. Right-click or Control-click the iTunes icon in the Dock on a Mac to bring up a contextual menu that lets you pause, skip, mute and more.
Convert a Song to MP3
When you import unprotected WMA files or music from CDs, iTunes saves them as higher-quality AAC files. You can convert them to MP3 format in a few clicks: Select the song you want converted, then choose Create MP3 Version from the Advanced menu.
Radio
Listen to Streaming Radio
Click Radio in your iTunes library and access hundreds of streaming radio stations from 26 different genres. Just double-click a station that interests you and it begins streaming. iTunes now includes stations in MP3 and high-quality HE-AAC formats.
Add a Station
Say there’s an Internet radio station you love, but it’s not included with iTunes. Choose Open Audio Stream from the Advanced menu to add the station to your library. Paste or enter the station’s URL in the dialog that appears and click OK.
Video Playback
Playing Video
iTunes plays videos downloaded from the iTunes Store, such as your video podcasts. iTunes also plays QuickTime-compatible files (labelled “.mov” and “.mp4”). In iTunes preferences, you can designate whether your videos play full screen or in the iTunes window.
Onscreen Controls
While a film or video is playing, move the pointer to bring up onscreen controls. You can play, pause, scan backward or forward and adjust volume. iTunes lets you navigate through chapters if this option is included in the video or film.
Alternative Audio
Some videos feature alternative audio in other languages. Change the default audio language in the Playback pane of iTunes preferences. Quickly switch the language while your video plays by using the onscreen controls.
Accessibility
Enhanced Screen Reader Support
iTunes includes enhanced screen reader accessibility. With VoiceOver in Mac OS X or Window-Eyes 7.1 or later for Windows XP and Windows Vista, you can browse and play everything in your iTunes library.
Closed Captioning
Show closed captioning in videos by changing playback settings in iTunes preferences. Select “Show closed captioning when available”.
App Store
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Searching
Search
The App Store makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. It uses a find-as-you-type search function that returns results in a list that changes as you type. If the iTunes Sidebar is open in iTunes, you can see App Store search results from there.
Power Search
Search for items in the App Store as though you were using a fine-toothed comb. Power Search lets you search using multiple criteria.
Podcasts
One-Click Subscriptions
Browse podcasts in dozens of categories, complete with descriptive summaries, ratings and reviews, and the podcast equivalent of album art. Preview a podcast and if you like it, just click Subscribe.
Automatic Episode Downloads
Once you subscribe to a podcast, you get the most recent episode — and all future episodes — delivered directly to your iTunes podcast playlist. Download past episodes by clicking the Get button.
Add Podcasts
Subscribe to any podcast by dragging its URL into your podcast playlist or by choosing “Subscribe to Podcast” from the Advanced menu and typing the URL.
Podcast Settings
When you find a podcast you like, you can choose specific settings to download it. Check for new podcast episodes hourly, daily, weekly or manually. Automatically download every episode or just the most recent ones. Keep all your episodes, delete them after you play them, or keep a specific number based on release date. To customise your podcast settings, go to the Podcasts source and click the Settings button.
For tips on creating and publishing podcasts, visit Podcast Resources
App Store
Shop the App Store
From managing your finances to updating your social network profile to defeating the bad guy, the App Store in iTunes has an app for just about anything. Apps are exclusive to iPhone and iPod touch. To download apps, visit the App Store in iTunes or download directly from your iPhone or iPod touch.
Genius Recommendations
for Apps
Looking for new apps? Use Genius recommendations for apps in the App Store on your iPhone or iPod touch. Genius helps you discover more apps you’ll love based on the ones you already have.
Download All Free Updates
You can update your apps in iTunes one by one or all at once. Click Download All Free Updates to update all your apps at once, or click Get Update for just the apps you want to update at the moment.
iTunes U
Download Free Educational Content
Find lectures, language lessons, audiobooks and podcasts and download them for free. iTunes U is available to everyone, student or not.
Browse Distinguished Institutions
Explore over 200,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, famous museums, public radio stations and other cultural institutions around the world.
Learn on the Go
Download iTunes U audio and video files one at a time. Or subscribe to an ongoing course or series so your items download as soon as they’re available. iTunes creates a folder with the provider’s name and places your items inside. When you want to listen to a lecture, you can find it under iTunes U in the iTunes window, where they’re all collected. To learn on the go, connect your iPod or iPhone to your computer, then go to the iTunes U tab in iTunes to choose and sync your lectures. You can also browse and download items directly to your iPhone or iPod touch over Wi-Fi or the mobile network.2 Or watch video lectures on your TV with Apple TV.
Devices
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iTunes at Home
AirTunes
AirTunes — built into the AirPort Express Base Station — takes the music from the iTunes library on your computer and sends it wirelessly to any compatible stereo or speakers in your home. Plug AirPort Express into an electrical outlet near your speakers, then connect your speakers to AirPort Express with an audio cable. In iTunes, you can choose which speakers you want your music to play on — in your den, living room or bedroom. If you have more than one AirPort Express connected to speakers, you can play the same music on all your speakers at the same time.
Apple TV
Apple TV connects to your widescreen TV, then talks to iTunes over a fast wireless connection. Pair Apple TV with iTunes on your Mac or PC, and your videos, podcasts and photos sync automatically.
Remote
With the Remote app, you can control the iTunes music on your computer or Apple TV from your iPod touch or iPhone. Play, pause, skip, shuffle. See your songs, playlists and album art. Update to iTunes 9 and you can create a Genius playlist or edit an existing playlist. And do it all on your iPod touch or iPhone as if you were in front of your computer. Available on the App Store, Remote is free and works with your Wi-Fi network, so you can control playback from anywhere in and around your home.
Home Sharing
Home Sharing enables you to share music, apps and more among up to five authorised computers in your house. Your shared computers appear in iTunes under Shared, where you can browse all the iTunes libraries and import your favourites.
iTunes Syncing
Sync with iPod
To transfer music and more from iTunes to your iPod, just connect iPod to your computer. Get at-a-glance information about what’s on your iPod, update iPod software and control syncing from the iPod Summary screen. Even sync iTunes ratings and playlists from your iPod back to your Mac or PC.
Sync with iPhone
iTunes syncs everything to your iPhone — ringtones, music, video, photos, apps, contacts, calendars, email accounts, even bookmarks — and lets you manage it all from the iPhone Summary screen.
Flexible Syncing Preferences
Sync exactly what you want from your library to your iPhone or iPod. Choose specific artists, genres and playlists. You can also use simple rules for syncing. For example, sync the two most recent podcasts. Individual tabs for podcasts and iTunes U make syncing content even easier.
Organise Your Home Screens
Organise all the apps on your iPhone or iPod touch in iTunes, right on your computer. Connect your iPhone or iPod touch, then go to the Applications tab in iTunes. Arrange, rearrange, add or delete your apps and Home screens. iTunes automatically syncs your new Home screens with your iPhone or iPod touch.
Filling Space on Your iPod
Let iTunes choose what goes on your iPod for you. When you sync your iPod, select “Automatically fill remaining space with songs”. If you have space left, iTunes will choose a perfect mix of songs and sync them to your iPod. iTunes can fill it using songs from your entire music library or from a specific playlist. You can also tell iTunes to choose songs randomly or to choose higher-rated songs more often. And you can have iTunes replace all items on your iPod.
iTunes on the Go
App Store
Search and browse apps on the iTunes Store — just as you would with music or video — and download them with a click. When you connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer, iTunes syncs the apps automatically. You can also download apps from the App Store directly to your iPhone or iPod touch.
Genius Recommendations
for Apps
Looking for new apps? Use Genius recommendations for apps in the App Store on your iPhone or iPod touch. Genius helps you find great apps based on the ones you already have. And you can download and start using them right away.
- 1TB = 1 trillion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.
