iTunes Tips
by Doug Anger, Technology Columnist

Without a doubt, iTunes is the most popular program Apple has ever created. It stores, organizes, and plays music, movies, audiobooks, and TV shows. It works with the iPod, the most popular media player on the market. Despite it's appearance of simplicity, iTunes is a very powerful program with a lot of features you can use to keep your media organized and safe from catastrophes. This week's column contains a few useful tips to help you make iTunes do what you want.

These tips assume you are using iTunes 7.1.0, currently the latest version, available for free at http://www.iTunes.com/. 

Multiple Libraries in iTunes
Did you have files on an external hard drive that you want to use in iTunes, but you also want to use other files without that hard drive? There is a solution. Simply hold down the Shift key (Option on a Macintosh) while loading iTunes and you will get a screen that allows you to create another library file or run iTunes with an existing one. The file that you choose (or create) will be the one iTunes uses until next time you run it while holding down whichever key does this on your system.

Using Too Many Playlists?
If you use playlists to keep track of things like which song came from which CD, there is an easier way. Simply click the Browse button (the one that looks like a little eyeball) in the lower right corner of the screen. This will call up a browser similar to the one in the iTunes store that lets you limit what your screen is showing by genre, artist, and/or album.

Adding Things to iTunes
If you have files you want to add to iTunes or your iPod, but they are in the wrong format, there is a simple solution. First, download the VLC Media Player free from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. Open VLC and choose File > Open. At the bottom of the following screen, check the box that says Streaming/Saving. Then click the settings button. iTunes supports several formats natively, including MP3 and MPEG 4, so choose your formats accordingly. I suggest H.264 if you are encoding video that you want to play on an iPod.

Note: VLC can also be used to copy files illegally. Don't do it. Respect copyrights.
Make Backups
It has been said that there are two types of people when it comes to backups: those who back things up regularly, and those who will. I suggest joining the first category before you have some tragic story to tell about why you did so. With iTunes, backups are easy, so there's no excuse. Choose File > Back Up to Disc... to call up the iTunes Backup screen.
If you are short on CDs or DVDs, check the box next to Only back up items added or changed since last backup. Back up your files regularly. It will be worth all the time when something bad happens to your computer.
