A few iTunes questions from a newb.

[sporkubus]

Hi there :) new here!

I have just purchased a new iPod photo 30gb and have some questions.

#1. Will iTunes automatically recognize that I have added new files to my library directory? I have my own directory setup and I rip/tag with a different program than iTunes, plus I download mp3's from other sites than iTunes.

#2. If I delete MP3's from outside of iTunes, how can I get iTunes to recognize that they have been deleted automatically?

#3. If I delete files from my iPod, will they automatically get deleted from my computer when I sync with iTunes?

#4. If I delete MP3's within iTunes, is there some sort of tool or utility (plugin or standalone) that will allow me to scan my whole MP3 collection directory and pick out the folders with no MP3's, and delete them so I don't have loads of empty subdirectories?

#5. Are there any decent iTunes alternatives at the moment that support album cover art synching?

#6. I've looked at the iPod Agent website and it sounds like a pretty interesting piece of software. Does it offer any solutions to the problems I listed above, if there is no way to do them with iTunes alone?

Thanks in advance!

[dgstinner]

#1 No, it will not. You will have to import the songs manually.
#2 You can't unless you have iTunes managing your tracks
#3 You can't delete the tracks on the iPod itself. You would have to uncheck the box next to the track in iTunes to remove it from the iPod. If you remove a track in iTunes it'll get removed if you're auto-syncing.
#4 An empty subdirectory doesn't take up any hard drive space
#5 Not that I'm aware of
#6 iPod Agent is more for getting songs from the iPod to the PC

[sporkubus]

How can I import songs manually that are already in my iTunes library folder?

I know that an empty subdirectory doesn't take up any space, but I use a different media player than iTunes to listen to music and it makes it very difficult to find music when there are so many directories.