How to Work with ITunes

Using iTunes
Apple created the software iTunes for use with their mp3 player, the ever so popular iPod. Even if you don't have an iPod, iTunes can be very useful for organizing and playing your music using other music players or just plain listening on it. Nonetheless, all the variety and options for iTunes can be very daunting for a novice user, especially for those not extremely computer literate.

Getting iTunes

Prerequisites
Make sure your sound card and drivers are updated, and that your computer meets the minimum requirements for the program. You'll need at least 256 MB of RAM and a 534 MHz processor, more if you want to use iTunes to play videos.

Go to the iTunes download page.
Uncheck both boxes (unless you want weekly emails from Apple) and click "Download iTunes - Free." You don't have to enter your email.
Hit "Save" on the dialog box that pops up. Save the file somewhere you will remember, such as on the desktop.
After it finishes downloading, install iTunes.
The first time you open iTunes, it will ask you if you want all the music files on your computer added to iTunes. Click "Yes" and it will add and organize all the music that is already on your computer.

Importing Music from Your Computer
Locate the folder containing the files you want added to your iTunes Library.
Open iTunes.
Click on "File," then "Add Folder to Library."
Find the folder in the browsing window that pops up, and click "OK."
Wait for iTunes to finish importing the files.
Check that only one copy is in your Library by clicking "View" then "Show Duplicates." Make sure to leave at least one copy in the duplicate view when deleting duplicates! If you delete everything in the duplicate view, you'll lose all copies of that song in your Library.

Importing Music from a CD
Open iTunes and wait till the page loads properly.
Put the CD in your CD drive and wait for iTunes to recognize it before clicking on it.
Click on the new icon that should have just showed up in the left-hand frame. This will allow you to view and play the music on the CD.
Click on "Import CD" in the top right corner. This will take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your CD drive. Voila! You should have all the tracks from your CD into your personal music maker.

Creating a Playlist
Click "File" and then "New Playlist," which is the very first option under File.
Name your playlist.
Drag songs from your Library into your new playlist. Alternatively, you can right-click a song, roll your cursor over "Add to Playlist" and click the playlist you want to add your song to.

Creating a "Smart" Playlist
Click "File" and the "New Smart Playlist," which is the fourth option down.
There will be a drop down list which has a default of artist. You can make this anything you like, for exmple "my Rating."
In the next drop down list you chose the operator. The options you have will be different depending on wat you've chosen in the first drop down list, but for "My Rating" your options will be: is, is not, is greater than, is less than and is in the range of.
The last section is not a drop down list but a text field or a rating picker box. Here you choose what the thing you chose in the first drop down list and the operator have to comply with. For example, if you have chosen the following: My Rating | is greater than | 3 stars, the playlist will only add songs that are above three stars.
You can now add as many other rules as you like.
If you want to add limits to the size of your playlist then check the first box and enter what you want the playlist to be limited to and how it should select which songs to keep.
Press OK. There are certainly many advantages to keeping a smart playlist.
Name your playlist whatever your heart desires. .

Using iTunes with an iPod
Open iTunes.
Plug the iPod into any of the several USB 2.0 port on your computer or laptop. The end of the cord that goes into the computer has a picture of a three-pronged wire on it, while the iPod end has a rectangle with a line through it.
Wait for iTunes to recognize the iPod.
Click on the iPod under "Devices."
iTunes and iPod can automatically sync up every time you plug in an iPod, but it is easier to manually manage an iPod by clicking "Manually Manage Music" while viewing the iPod screen.
To add music, simply click on them and drag them to the iPod icon.
To delete music from your iPod in manual mode, click on "Music" under "iPod" and select the song you wish to delete. Press the delete key and click "Yes" to the dialog box that pops up.
To add a playlist to your iPod, you can use a previously created playlist by clicking and dragging it to the iPod icon. Use the same steps as for iTunes to create a new playlist on your iPod.

How to get your music onto your iPod from iTunes.

Steps

One of the most important steps: make sure iPod/iPod Mini Sync Options in iTunesMake sure your iPod is set to "Manual Update" in iTunes before connecting it to a new install of iTunes. Otherwise, iTunes will begin "syncing" the two (deleting the music from your iPod).

iPod Shuffle Sync Options in iTunesMake sure your iPod is configured for disk usage by putting it in "Disk Mode". You can use the "Enable disk usage" checkbox in iTunes or do it manually: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93631, which does take considerably more time but is extremely effective if you have no other means.
Set iTunes to also copy songs added to your library.
Set iTunes to organize your library if you want (suggested).
Next, change your Windows Explorer in Windows XP options so that you are able to view hidden files and folders.
Note: This step works for a variety of different operating systems, however, I do not have a different system to give instructions for. Just change your File Browser's view settings to show hidden files.
1. On the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
Make sure your iPod is connected to your computer. Navigate to the drive letter that is assigned to your iPod (i.e. X:).
Goto: X:\iPod_Control\Music\iTunes
Press {CTRL+A} to select all of the folders that you see here.
Click and drag the selection and drop it into iTunes. iTunes will then begin copying your music into your music library and renaming them according to the ID3 tags that they hold.
That's it! In the end you get your music from your iPod properly named and organized in your new iTunes installation. Enjoy.

Tips
If you would like to use a third party application, see the related how-to below. Third party applications have been known to corrupt the iPod music database, however. Use at your own risk, and it is advisable not to do more work without knowledge, as many horror stories of losing all music from technical difficulties have surfaced. Have fun managing your iTunes and iPod or any other musical players for hours of musical enjoyment!