Removing Tunes from the Music Library

Not all that glitters is gold, nor are all tunes that are digital good. Sometimes, a song is so bad that it just isn't worth the hard disk space it consumes.

tip

Remember that you can stop a song from playing by unchecking its Song check box in the Content pane. If you aren't sure you want to dump a song permanently, use that method instead so you can always use the song again should you change your mind.

To remove songs from your Library, ditch them with the following steps:

1.	Find the songs you want to delete by browsing or searching.
2.	Select the songs you want to trash. They will become highlighted to show you they are selected (see Figure 16.15). Figure 16.15. If I press the Delete key now, "Shot To Hell" will be removed from my Library.
3.	Press the Delete or Backspace key. You will be prompted to confirm that you really want to delete the song you have selected.
4.	If you see the warning prompt, click Remove to confirm the deletion. You will see another prompt asking whether you want the selected files to be moved to your Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) or you want to keep the files on your computer. (If you have disabled the warning prompt, you'll move directly to the second dialog box. tip In many of the prompts iTunes presents to you, you have the option of telling the application not to present those prompts again. Just look for the appropriate Do not ask me again check boxes in such prompts and check them to hide those prompts in the future.
5.	Click Move to Recycle Bin (Windows) or Move to Trash (Mac) to move the files so you can get rid of them entirely. The selected songs will be deleted from your Library, and their song files will be moved to the appropriate trash receptacle on your computer. The next time you empty that receptacle, they will be gone forever. If you just want to remove the references to files from the iTunes Library but not delete the song files, click Keep Files. The songs will be removed from the Library, but the song files will remain in their current locations.