Sorting a compilation folder by artist

[dan|d|man]

Hi, i have had a look around the forum and done several searches in order to find the possible solution to my question. But have had not luck! Sorry if this is already out there.

I have set up a "Singles" folder within itunes, where by naming all the songs album name "Singles". But when i come to scroll down the list on my mini iPod they appear in random order and not alphabatically by artist. Is there any way to set the "Singles" folder to, sort by artist?

Also i have read several posts about setting up a "Compilation" folder on iTunes. Is this anymore beneficial to me then naming it "Singles."

Thanks for you help, Danny

[dcmacnut]

You need to click the "Artist" header at the top of iTunes to get it to sort by artist.

The Compilation feature is only for Soundtracks and other albums with more than one artist, and it doesn't change the appearance of songs in iTunes. All it does is simplify storage of the song files themselves on your hard drive (in a Compilations folder rather than several individual artist folders).

[dan|d|man]

Originally posted by dcmacnut
You need to click the "Artist" header at the top of iTunes to get it to sort by artist.

Ok i have manged to get them to sort by artist but now all my songs which are in the "Singles" folder are all over the place. Do i now have to select them individually and then transferr onto the ipod?

Also if this is the case, which i have just tried and they still transfered onto the ipod in a random order, what about if i want to add a song to the "Singles" folder? Will i have to transfer all the songs again so that they will be sorted by artist/Song name or whatever?

There has to be an easier way of arranging song by artist or song name, within a specific album folder. Ok you can do so by numbers but in this scenario i do not want them grouped by number but by artist or song name.

Thanks for your help.

Edit: When i refer to "SIngles" folder i mean the songs which i have given the same album name to in this case the album name is "Singles".

[dcmacnut]

OK. It would probably be easier if you don't think of iTunes as having "folders." Everything is determined by the artist, song, and album tags. To do what you want in iTunes, the easiest thing for you to do is create a smart playlist with the criteria "Album is Singles." The playlist will contain all of your singles, and you can sort it by Artist or Song as you choose. The playlist on the iPod will retain whatever order you have selected in iTunes. Anytime you add a song with the Album name "Singles" it will automatically be added to the playlist in the appropriate order.

In iTunes, you can also click on the "Browse" function (the eye in the upper right corner) to view just your Singles album. Navigate to that album, and everything will be sorted by artist or song title, as long as you have the appropriate header at the top selected.

However, on the iPod albums are always sorted by track number when viewing a specific album (Browse>Albums). In that case, use your playlist.

I hope this helps.