Understanding and Configuring iPod Synchronization Options

After you know how much space you need to store all your music (the size of your iTunes Library) and how much space is available on your iPod (its disk capacity), you can choose how you want to build and manage your iPod's music library.

Understanding Your Synchronization Options

Three basic options are available for managing the library of music on your iPod:

• Automatically Update All Songs and PlaylistsWhen you use this method, the entire process is automatic; iTunes makes sure your iPod's music library is an exact copy of your iTunes Library each time you connect your iPod to your computer.

• Automatically Update Selected Playlists OnlyWhen you use this method, iTunes still manages the update process for you, but it updates only the specific playlists you select.

• Manually Manage Songs and PlaylistsWhen you use this method, you manually move songs and playlists onto your iPod.

Note

If you don't want iTunes to open automatically when you connect an iPod to your computer (why you might not want this to happen, I don't know), open the iPod Preferences dialog box and uncheck the "Open iTunes when attached" check box.

When you first connected your iPod to your computer, an automatic method was used to move songs onto your iPod. However, if there were more songs in your iTunes Library than could be stored on your iPod, some slight of hand was done by iTunes so that you wouldn't have to get into the details of this process before listening to music on your iPod. In that case, iTunes created a playlist containing a selection of your music that would fit on your iPod, and iTunes moved that music to your iPod so you can listen to it.

After the first time, you need to choose the synchronization method you want to use. Finding the right method for you is a matter of preference, but I can provide some general guidelines for you.

If all the music in your iTunes Library will fit onto your iPod (the space required for your iTunes Library is less than your iPod's disk capacity), I recommend you use the Automatically Update All Songs and Playlists option. This option is the easiest because it requires literally no work on your part. Each time you connect your iPod to your computer, the update process is performed automatically, and you will have your complete music collection available on your iPod.

Note

Even if you have enough space on your iPod for all your iTunes music, you can still choose one of the other update options if they suit your preferences better.

If the size of your iTunes Library is larger than the disk capacity of your iPod, managing the music library on your iPod is slightly more difficult.

Caution

If you use the same iPod with more than one computer, you need to be careful before selecting one of the automatic methods. When you use an automatic method, iTunes will copy its Library onto the iPod. When it does this, it will also remove any songs on the iPod that aren't in its Library so that the music on the iPod is an exact copy of the music in the iTunes Library. If you use the iPod on more than one computer, you should not use the Automatically Update All Songs and Playlists method if you have different music in the iTunes Library on each computer. Fortunately, iTunes warns you about this when you connect the iPod to a different computer than the one from which it was last updated.

If you take full advantage of iTunes playlists to create collections of music to which you listen, using the Automatically Update Selected Playlists Only option is a good choice. After you choose the playlists you want to be updated, iTunes handles the process of keeping them up to date for you so you don't have to think about it each time you connect your iPod to your computer. Of course, you need to make sure you create and can select playlists that contain the music you want to be able to listen to on your iPod. This can require some effort, but because playlists are so useful, you will likely do that work anyway so you can listen to them on your computer.

Finally, if you don't use a lot of playlists or you simply want to choose the specific music you want to place on your iPod, you can use the manual method to do so.

After you have determined how you want to manage your iPod's music library, you need to configure iTunes to implement your decision.

Understanding How iTunes Updates Playlists on the iPod

When iTunes updates a playlist on your iPod, it takes a "snapshot" of that playlist and places it on the iPod. If you change the playlist in some way, the next time you update your iPod, the previous "snapshot" is replaced by the new playlist.

For example, suppose you have a smart playlist that is dynamic and plays the 50 songs you have played most. As you listen to songs in iTunes, the contents of that playlist change to reflect the songs you have listened to. When that playlist is moved to the iPod, it contains the songs as they were in the playlist when you performed the update. The playlist on the iPod will remain unchanged until you perform the next update. At that time, if the contents of the playlist have changed, the revised playlist will replace the one currently stored on the iPod.

The same principle applies when you make changes to a playlist manually, too. For example, if you sort a playlist to change the order in which songs play, that order will be reflected in the playlist when you update it onto your iPod. If you change the order of the songs in the playlist again in iTunes, the next time you update the iPod, the songs will play in the new order on the iPod.

Tip

By default, when iTunes performs an update, it moves all the songs from each affected source onto the iPod. If you don't want specific songs to be moved onto an iPod, open the iPod Preferences dialog box and check the "Only update checked songs" check box. If a song's Selected check box is not checked, it won't be included in the music moved onto an iPod during an update.

When iTunes moves a playlist from its Library onto an iPod, it moves only the songs in that playlist onto the iPod. This can sometimes be confusing. For example, if you purchase an album by a specific artist and then include only some of the songs on that album in a playlist that gets moved to an iPod, only those songs by that artist in the playlist get moved onto the iPod. As an example, this can be confusing the first time you browse your iPod by artist and can't figure out why a song you know you have by that artist is not on your iPod.

Configuring iTunes to Automatically Update All Songs and Playlists

Choosing the "fully automatic" method is automatic in itself in that this is the default option. However, should you ever need to choose this option, you can do so with the following steps:

1.	Connect your iPod to your computer (remember Chapter 2!). iTunes will open automatically and the iPod will appear on the Source List. Caution Whichever update method you choose, make sure that the "OK to disconnect" message is showing on your iPod's screen before you disconnect it from your computer. It is also safe to disconnect your iPod when the large battery charging icon or battery charged icon appears on the iPod's screen.
2.	Select the iPod on the Source List and click the iPod Options button (see Figure 5.3). You'll see the iPod Preferences dialog box. Figure 5.3. To choose an update method, select the iPod and click the iPod Options button.
3.	Click the Automatically update all songs and playlists radio button (see Figure 5.4). Figure 5.4. The iPod Preferences dialog box enables you to configure the update process for your iPod.
4.	Click OK. The dialog box will close, and the automatic update will be performed. The next time you connect your iPod to your computer, iTunes will attempt to update its library automatically. As long as there is enough space on your iPod, you won't need to do anything else. Caution If your iTunes Library is too large for your iPod's disk space, you will have to use one of the other methods to update it or live with the "Selection" playlist that iTunes creates for you. (More on this later in this chapter.)

Every time you connect your iPod to your computer, the update will be performed. You will see the update information in the Information area of the iTunes window, and the iPod icon will flash red. When the process is complete, you will see the "iPod update is complete" message in the Information area, and the "OK to disconnect" message will be displayed on the iPod's screen. Then, it is safe to disconnect your iPod from your computer.

If you use the "fully automatic" method when your iPod doesn't have enough space to store all your iTunes Library, iTunes creates a special playlist called nameofyouripod Selection, where nameofyouripod is the name you gave your iPod when you configured it. This playlist contains a selection of music from your iTunes Library that will fit on your iPod. If you don't change the update option, iTunes will update this playlist (and only this playlist) each time you connect your iPod to your computer. (It actually changes the update mode to "Automatically update selected playlists only" and chooses the nameofyouripod Selection playlist on the playlists list in the iPod Preferences dialog box.) You can use this playlist just like the others in your iTunes Source List, such as adding songs to it, removing songs from it, changing their order, and so on.

Caution

If you disconnect your iPod during the update process, you can damage its data.

Configuring iTunes to Automatically Update Selected Playlists

To have iTunes automatically update selected playlists only, use the following steps:

1.	In iTunes, create the playlists you want to place on your iPod. Note When you change the update method, you will see a warning prompt telling you that the current music on the iPod will be replaced by the new update method. This should be what you expect, so just click OK to clear the prompt.
2.	Connect your iPod to your computer. It will appear on the Source List and an update determined by the current update option (such as fully automatic) will be performed.
3.	Select the iPod for which you want to set an update option and click the iPod Options button. The iPod Preferences dialog box will appear.
4.	Click the Automatically update selected playlists only radio button (see Figure 5.5). Just below this button, you will see a list of all the playlists configured in your iTunes Library. Next to each is a check box. If that check box is checked, that playlist will be updated automatically. If that check box is not checked, that playlist will be ignored. Figure 5.5. You can choose the playlists that are updated automatically by checking their check boxes.
5.	Click OK. The dialog box will close and the playlists you selected will be updated on your iPod. The next time you connect your iPod to your computer, the playlists you selected will be updated automatically. Note If you use the Automatically update selected playlists only option, smart playlists are even more useful because their content can be dynamic (see Chapter 16). For example, you can create a playlist that automatically contains all the new music in your iTunes Library. If you choose to have this playlist updated automatically, each time you connect your iPod to your computer, that playlist will be updated, so your newest music will always be placed on your iPod.

Configuring iTunes So You Manually Manage Songs and Playlists

When you choose this option, you manually place songs and playlists on your iPod. To choose this option, do the following steps:

1.	Connect your iPod to your computer. It will appear on the Source List and an update determined by the current update option (such as fully automatic) will be performed.
2.	Select the iPod for which you want to set an update option and click the iPod Options button. The iPod Preferences dialog box will appear.
3.	Click the Manually manage songs and playlists radio button. You will see a prompt explaining that with this option, you must manually unmount the iPod before disconnecting it; read the information and click OK to close the prompt. (I'll explain what this means in a later section.)
4.	Click OK. The dialog box will close. An expansion triangle will appear next to the iPod on the Source List, and all the playlists stored on it will be shown under its icon. You can then manually add or remove songs or playlists (the steps to do this appear in a later section).