How to index your iTunes library
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 8:14 pm
If you use iTunes, you can use My Media to play your iTunes library through your Alexa compatible device.
There are two ways of doing this:
1. Create a Watch Folder over your music library folder.
This will index your media files just like any other folder on your computer. This is really simple to set up as no changes are made within iTunes, however this method will not index your iTunes playlists so they will not be available on your Alexa device.
2. Index your iTunes Library XML file
iTunes has its own database file that stores metadata about all the tracks and playlists within your iTunes library. You can configure iTunes to publish an XML version of this file that can be read by third party software such as My Media for Alexa. This is switched off by default in iTunes, so to do this, please follow these steps:
1. Open iTunes
2. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose iTunes > Preferences
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Select "Share iTunes Library XML with other applications.":
This will create a file called 'iTunes Music Library.xml' in your profile's iTunes folder. Now, you need to go into My Media and tell it where this file is. Follow these steps:
1. Open the My Media Web Console
2. Click the 'iTunes Library' tab
3. Click 'Index iTunes Library'
4. My Media may autodetect the location of your iTunes library - note this functionality is limited to Mac installations at the moment.
5. If My Media can't autodetect the iTunes library XML file, use the folder picker to navigate through your directories to find the file.
For Windows, this is usually at c:\Users\[username]\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml
For Mac, this is usually at /Users/[username]/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml
Once you have confirmed where the iTunes library xml file is, click 'OK' and My Media will index your library so that it can be played from your Alexa device through voice commands. Your playlists will also be indexed, allowing you to say, for example, "Alexa, ask My Media to play 'My Top Rated' playlist"
Important Note
If your iTunes library references tracks stored on a NAS or other external drive, you must recreate the same drive mapping within My Media so that the paths resolve. eg if your iTunes library refers to a M:\ for your music, you must create the M: within the Settings / Network Drives tab of the My Media web console so that the files can be found.
There are two ways of doing this:
1. Create a Watch Folder over your music library folder.
This will index your media files just like any other folder on your computer. This is really simple to set up as no changes are made within iTunes, however this method will not index your iTunes playlists so they will not be available on your Alexa device.
2. Index your iTunes Library XML file
iTunes has its own database file that stores metadata about all the tracks and playlists within your iTunes library. You can configure iTunes to publish an XML version of this file that can be read by third party software such as My Media for Alexa. This is switched off by default in iTunes, so to do this, please follow these steps:
1. Open iTunes
2. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose iTunes > Preferences
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Select "Share iTunes Library XML with other applications.":
- Screenshot 2019-01-03 at 21.41.02.png (93.44 KiB) Viewed 20102 times
1. Open the My Media Web Console
2. Click the 'iTunes Library' tab
3. Click 'Index iTunes Library'
4. My Media may autodetect the location of your iTunes library - note this functionality is limited to Mac installations at the moment.
5. If My Media can't autodetect the iTunes library XML file, use the folder picker to navigate through your directories to find the file.
For Windows, this is usually at c:\Users\[username]\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml
For Mac, this is usually at /Users/[username]/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml
Once you have confirmed where the iTunes library xml file is, click 'OK' and My Media will index your library so that it can be played from your Alexa device through voice commands. Your playlists will also be indexed, allowing you to say, for example, "Alexa, ask My Media to play 'My Top Rated' playlist"
Important Note
If your iTunes library references tracks stored on a NAS or other external drive, you must recreate the same drive mapping within My Media so that the paths resolve. eg if your iTunes library refers to a M:\ for your music, you must create the M: within the Settings / Network Drives tab of the My Media web console so that the files can be found.