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TMO Quick Tip - Consolidating iTunes Libraries

by , 7:30 AM EDT, October 27th, 2006

Not everyone has the luxury of nearly limitless storage space for their iTunes library, and even if you do, it's kind of tough to cart around terabytes of storage when your primary computer is a laptop. Thanks to iTunes 7's Consolidate Library feature, you can add music and videos to iTunes even when your music library hard drive isn't available.

Let's say, for example, you use a MacBook Pro, and your iTunes library lives on a large external hard drive that stays behind when you travel. While you are out and about, you add a new CD you just bought to your iTunes library. Now you have two libraries: One on the hard drive that stays on your desk, and another on your MacBook Pro's built-in hard drive.

When you get back to your desk, here's what to do:

  • Reconnect your iTunes library hard drive to your Mac.
  • Launch iTunes 7.
  • Choose Advanced > Consolidate Library.


Putting your iTunes libraries back together.

iTunes 7 will move the library from your MacBook Pro and add it to the library on your external hard drive.

if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.

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Observer Comments

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Close Name:Guest
Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:41 pm Subject: If only we coulkd have just video on external drive

when is apple going to allow us to cart our music around on the macbook pro drive and have a legitimate video library we can consolidate to for video?

Edd


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Close Name:gslusher Posts: 2088 Joined: 13 Nov 2002
Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:32 pm Subject: iTunes Preferences

Quote
Guest wrote:
when is apple going to allow us to cart our music around on the macbook pro drive and have a legitimate video library we can consolidate to for video?

Edd


You can add songs or videos that are on an external disk (or in another folder on your internal disk) to the iTunes Library without moving them. In fact, you've been able to do that for a long time. In iTunes' preferences, click on Advanced->General, then unclick the box that says, "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library." If that's not what you mean, please be clearer, as it's confusing as to what a "legitimate video library" might be.


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Close Name:Guest
Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:14 am Subject: hold option

Or just drag video content in iTunes while holding "option". It then will not copy into the designated iTunes folder on your laptop (if that's what you chose as default in the iTunes prefs). It will leave the files where they are (on your external drive) while a normal import of music will still be copied to your normal iTunes Library on your laptop.

Hope I make sense here.


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Close Name:Guest
Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:56 pm Subject:

What he means, I think, is having two separate libraries, one for music and one for video, so that you could leave your HDspace-hogging video at home yet still bring your music along with you.

Personally, I think that's being pretty spoiled, to be mad at Apple for not making things even more complicated. Just don't click the box that says, "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library", put your music on the laptop and video on the external and then tell itunes where each is. Don't want to get too lazy now...


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