SPMUG 621 Deleting Music From an iPod
Q. Recently I was given an iPod, and to help
me get started, a lot of music was already loaded on it. Now I want to
purge it and make my own choices - how do I do this? A. You have a
number of options for managing the music on an iPod. But you can't
delete songs directly from the portable player; you need to connect the
iPod to the computer. The iTunes program is Apple's own software for
loading music and other files into an iPod; you can download the latest
version at www.apple.com/itunes if you don't have it already installed
on your PC or Macintosh. (Programs like Anapod Explorer and XPlay can
also move music between PC and iPod.) Within iTunes and the iPod's
preferences, you can choose to have the iPod automatically update itself
with whatever happens to be in your iTunes library. This automatic
synchronization feature keeps the songs on the iPod current with the
songs in the computer's iTunes library - and deletes tracks from the
iPod if they do not also exist in iTunes. When you install iTunes and
connect an iPod for the first time, the iPod Setup Assistant program
offers to synchronize your songs automatically, but you can choose not
to do this. A more hands-on approach to organizing your music is the
option of manually updating your iPod. (If you choose not to synchronize
the iPod automatically when you install iTunes, the iPod will be set to
manage music manually anyway.) Manually managing your music means you
have to drag new tracks from the iTunes library over to the iPod icon to
add them to the player. But you can also delete unwanted tracks from the
selected iPod by clicking on a song and pressing the Delete key. Using
the manual option also lets you load music from more than one computer.
(The iPod Shuffle model, however, will allow synchronization with only
one iTunes library.) You can change your synchronization settings by
selecting the iPod icon in iTunes when it is connected to the computer,
clicking the Summary tab and checking (or unchecking) the "Manually
manage music" option. Apple's guide for new iPod users can be found at
tinyurl.com/y6q3wx. The iLounge Web site (www.ilounge.com) also has
news, tutorials and iPod user forums.