Duplicate MP3 Files On iTunes
Sometimes, you want to duplicate the mp3 files in your iTunes Library. Usually, this is because you want to edit the ID3 tags, album art or equalizer settings for the song but want to preserve an original copy. {easier method, need documenting, right click > show in finder> c-v, right click copy > Open ) } {easier method: (needs documenting) .. right click file to dup > show in finder> c-v, right click copy > Open ) }
Contents
Steps
- Create a new folder on your desktop.
- Create a playlist of all the songs you wish to duplicate. Double-click the playlists name to open it in a new window.
- Select All from the file menu and Drag-and-Drop all the songs into the new folder on your desktop (you should notice a [+] icon before you release the mouse button, indicating that files are being copied).
- Make whatever changes you want to each of the files in the playlist. This can be as simple as appending "copy" to the song title.
- Restore the original files by Dragging-and-Dropping the desktop folder back onto the iTunes Library window. This will re-import the exported files as duplicates, with the ID3 tags preserved.
Tips
- Sort your Library by Date Added. This will float the new imports to the top of the list, allowing you to find and modify them right away.
Warnings
- iTunes is clever enough to notice if an exact copy of a song file (ID3 tags and all) already exists in its Library, and in that case, will omit re-importing the file. This is why step 4 is important.
- Doing this with large numbers of files can take awhile and rapidly eat up hard drive space.
- You now have a copy of the files on your desktop. Better to copy them to a folder where you want them to stay, ie your music folder.
