I can't stand the iTunes interface

dano18dano18
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
I'm a recent switcher coming from Ubuntu/Windows to Leopard on my new MBP. I have found everything easy and great on OS X, except that I hate the iTunes interface.



I am used to media players with now playing lists that can be dynamically added to and changed on the fly. In addition to a now playing list I like to be able to view artists in a tree like heirarchy with artist>album>songs, similar to the way files are viewed in finder with the list view. Windows Media Player to some extent has these interface options, as well as my favorite media player, Amarok for Linux, if you are familiar with it you will know what kind of interface I prefer.



My question, I suppose, is are there any plug ins or otherwise for iTunes which allows it to have this functionality? I find the interface incredibly hard to navigate and downright disappointing compared to the other great interfaces in Mac software. Thanks in advance, dano.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Dynamic list: Party Shuffle.



    Tree list: Click on the eye in the top right, to enter Browse mode.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    dano18dano18 Posts: 2member
    Kickaha, the eye does help, and the party shuffle seems to kind of do what a now playing list does, but is there any way to get artist>album>song and the list on the same screen? This seems like such an obvious improvement over the current iTunes that I can't believe no one else thinks this is ridiculous?



    Edit: and what if I don't want the genre pane? Is there any way to turn it off?
  • Reply 3 of 7
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Use Command (aka, Apple key, aka, that funny Swedish squiggle symbol key) + J to change what columns you want to view in any particular playlist. You can reorder the columns as well simply by grabbing the header and dragging the column to wherever you like. Both of these behaviors are generally consistent in other apps with list views like iTunes, such as the Finder.



    You can resize the browse pane by grabbing the divider between the regions. you can turn off the genre browse pane by going into preferences (look under the application menu) and un-checking "show genre when browsing" under the General pane.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    dentondenton Posts: 725member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dano18 View Post


    I'm a recent switcher coming from Ubuntu/Windows to Leopard on my new MBP. I have found everything easy and great on OS X, except that I hate the iTunes interface.



    I can sympathise: I felt the same way coming to iTunes from WMP. Being able to browse in iTunes by Genre (good if you want to find audiobooks quickly), Artist, and Album helps, but here are a couple of hints that have made my life a lot easier:



    1. Make sure you have the "group compilations when browsing" preference option checked. This is very useful for soundtracks and other compilations. You will have to specify the songs that are part of a compilation as such (File -> Get Info). This can be done track-by-track or in batch. Once you have done the above, the albums will be in Artist = Compilations in the browser. This avoids having an album that ought to be collected in one place being spread over multiple locations due to having different artists.



    2. Be careful about browsing away from an album that you're listening to. For instance, suppose you have browsed to one album in your library: Wolf Parade -> At Mount Zoomer. You'll see only nine tracks listed on the screen. You start playing the first song, "Soldier's Grin" and you get restless and browse off to another point in your library, say Tokyo Police Club -> Elephant Shell. What you'll notice is that when "Soldier's Grin" gets to the end of the track, the music stops. With the "Now Playing" playlist that you're used to, this is probably not what you'd expect. Using the "Party Shuffle" playlist (or a manually created playlist) is the best way to avoid this annoyance. It's not as elegant a solution as the "Now Playing" playlist, but you'll get used to it.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    nobody specialnobody special Posts: 174member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dano18 View Post


    and what if I don't want the genre pane? Is there any way to turn it off?



    Go to the preferences (iTunes > Preferences?) and uncheck the option "Show genre when browsing" under the General tab.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dano18 View Post


    Kickaha, the eye does help, and the party shuffle seems to kind of do what a now playing list does, but is there any way to get artist>album>song and the list on the same screen? This seems like such an obvious improvement over the current iTunes that I can't believe no one else thinks this is ridiculous?



    The above brings to mind the question: why do you need to have two views into the same data on screen at the same time? What does that get you?
  • Reply 7 of 7
    nobody specialnobody special Posts: 174member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dano18 View Post


    Kickaha, the eye does help, and the party shuffle seems to kind of do what a now playing list does, but is there any way to get artist>album>song and the list on the same screen?



    What about clicking the middle icon from the views option to the left of the search bar in the iTunes window and sorting by artist?
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