So you got iTunes 11,
launched it for the first time, and now you’re wondering where
everything is and why it looks so different? You’re not alone, any time
an apps user interface is redesigned it’s sure to leave some people
confused as things are switched around, hidden, and adjusted. If you’re a
creature of habit like me, you’ll want to make iTunes look “normal”
again, that is, more familiar to what we’ve long become accustomed to
with the past versions, and here are five simple tricks to do just that. Show All Your Music Again by Sorting by “Songs” Instead of Albums The new album view looks cool and all, but it can make
it harder to browse music because it shows less music on screen. This
is a super easy one to change, just click the “Songs” tab across the
top and you’ll see a familiar list of music again. Phew!
Show Sidebar to See Playlists, iPhones, iPads, and the iTunes Store This is probably the most important thing to change
immediately, because for whatever reason Apple hid the sidebar by
default and if you’re accustomed to seeing it all the time, that’s
really silly. Showing the iTunes sidebar again is simple, and you’ll
immediately be able to see all your playlists, iOS devices, and other
stuff again:
From iTunes, pull down the “View” menu and select “Show Sidebar”
Show Status Bar & How Many Songs in iTunes Library Again The status bar in iTunes tells you how many songs are
in a library, what the playtime is, and how much space it takes up.
This is useful knowledge particularly if you’re trying to stuff an
album or two onto a pretty full iPod or iPhone. Showing the status bar
again is easy:
Pull down the “View” menu and select “Show Status Bar”
Show Podcasts Again If you subscribe to podcasts in iTunes and listen to
them frequently, you probably want quick and easy access to them from
the sidebar. You’ll have to check this option in the preferences:
Open iTunes Preferences and click on the “General” tab
Check the box next to “Podcasts” under Library
Lose the Color Scheming in Album View iTunes 11 changes the background color of the display
window depending on album artwork. If you prefer your UI’s to be nice
and simple, disabling that feature is easy:
Open iTunes Preferences and choose on the “General” tab
Uncheck the box next to “Use custom colors for open albums, movies, etc”
Got any other tricks to make iTunes 11 look familiar again? Let us know!