iTunes Track Order Sorts Incorrectly
Developed by Apple, iTunes is a free media management and playback application. The latest version is available to download at apple.com/itunes. The software uses a variety of tags and metadata stored with each track to make it easier to browse through a music library and sort songs into playlists. If you are experiencing problems with the track orders used by iTunes, there are several troubleshooting techniques to take and points to consider.
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Track Number and Playlists
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Each song stored in the iTunes library can have a track number associated with it. Typically, this is the song's position in the album it appears on -- track 1 of 10 for example. This information is automatically included when a song is downloaded from the iTunes Store or ripped from a CD, but it can also be added or modified manually by the user. When a new playlist is created, iTunes assigns a separate number to each song added which works independently of the track number stored with the file. For example, the first song added to the playlist is labeled with a 1, the second song with a 2, and so on. The playlist numbering is shown on the left-hand column and applies to the current playlist only. To view the embedded track number as well, right-click on the column headings at the top of the playlist and select "Track Number" from the menu.
Sorting by Column
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If your tracks are appearing in the incorrect order in the library or in a playlist, it's possible that iTunes is using a different criteria to order the songs onscreen, such as the date they were added to the library. Click on any column heading to sort songs based on that information. If the track number is not shown on screen, right-click on the column headings and choose it from the list. In some cases, clicking on the heading again applies a different sorting mechanism -- in the case of the Album name column, you can cycle between Album name, Album by Artist, and Album by Artist/Year. The sorting method used only applies to the current playlist.
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Editing Song Information
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Missing or incorrect track information can also lead to songs being ordered incorrectly. To edit the track number of a song, right-click on its title and choose "Get Info" from the menu. The track number field is on the right-hand side of the Info tab of the subsequent dialog. Click "OK" to confirm, once the changes have been made.
Further Resources
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Because iTunes is a complex application, there may be other reasons for incorrectly ordered tracks within your library or playlists. For further help, visit the iTunes Support section of the Apple website. Enter as much information as you can about the issue into the search box.
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Resources
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