| In this tutorial we are going to look at three basic features of iTunes. Play Count, Track Rating and Smart Playlists.
How Many Times Have I Listened to 'Ice Ice Baby'? : I'll be honest with you. When iTunes first came out (original iTunes) I told my wife that I would love to be able to see how many times I have played a song, and then rank them based on that ( my own personal Top 40!). With iTunes 3 and later, Apple has added a Play Count feature. Using Smart Playlist, you can now use your Play Count as a parameter for creating playlists (more on how to do that later).
To view the Play Count column (if it is not already visible), simply go to the Edit Menu and click on View Options. In the View Options window you can set the columns that you want to be able to see in iTunes. Here you will put a check next to Play Count (or any other columns that you want to be able to see). You can also uncheck any that you don't want to be to see. Click OK and then go back to iTunes and it should reflect the changes that you have made.
Note - A song is not Played unless it has actually finished. If you switch to another song in the middle, then that song was not officially played and the play count does not increase. (I wish that there was a 10 sec. buffer zone at the end that allowed the song to be counted if it was played up until the last 10 sec.)
Track Rating : I love the track rating feature (although it has caused a few small arguments - In my mind a five star song has to have longevity, not just be a flash in the pan that you listen to for a month - i.e. Hootie and the Blowfish). But I digress. Adjusting the track rating is easy. A track can be given a rating of one to five stars. Or, if you really hated a song, you could not rate it at all and that would be a rating of zero. There are two ways to change a songs rating. The first and easiest way is to look for the column labeled My Rating. In this column you will see five small dots. To adjust the rating, click on the dot corresponding with the rating you want to give the song.
The other way to change the song rating is to control click on the song and  then select, My Rating. You will see a menu with one to five stars (see right). Now, select the rating.
Smart Playlists : Anyone who has used the previous versions of iTunes is familiar with the playlists that you can make. In iTunes 3, you can make Smart Playlists. Smart Playlists allow you to specify criteria for your playlists and then iTunes automatically makes playlists based on those criteria. To make a Smart Playlist, go up to the File Menu and click on New Smart Playlist. You can now choose to make a simple Smart Playlist or an Advanced Smart Playlist.
Simple, Smart Playlists : A simple Smart Playlist uses one set of criteria to make your playlist. To create a simple Smart Playlist, first check the box next to Artist. You can now select Artist, Genre or Composer and then type the name of an Artist (genre or composer) for iTunes to use to create your playlist. You can stop here and iTunes will make a Playlist based on that. If you would like, you can also specify how much information you want included in the playlist. Check the box next to Limit To and then select a number (25 is the default setting). Next, select whether you want that number to represent songs, minutes, hours, MB, or GB. Finally, decide how you want iTunes to select the music. Choices include Random, Artist, Last Played, Most Played or Song Name (if you want to use song rating you will have to used the Advanced Tab). Click OK and a new smart playlist (represented by a purple icon - see right) will be in your list of playlists, ready for you to give it your own name.
- Advanced, Smart Playlists : Advanced, Smart Playlists can use multiple criteria to create playlists. Click on the Advanced Tab (once you are in the Smart Playlist Settings Window). Click on Match check box and then select whether you want iTunes to match All or Any of the conditions that you are about to set. Now the fun begins. You can be as specific as you want, using multiple criteria to create playlists. By default, iTunes uses only one criteria, but you can add to that by hitting the button with the Plus (+) sign. Beyond that, the advanced playlist feature is used the same way as the simple. If Live updating is checked, then iTunes will continually update the playlist as songs are added or removed. (See the Advanced Smart Playlist Window Below)
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