But, if you get yourself into this situation you can easily find and remove the files that are no longer in your iTunes library (but which are still in your iTunes Media folder) with Music Folder Files Not Added. This app will list the files in your designated iTunes Media folder which are not in your current iTunes library so that you can Trash them (or add them, if you like).

Additionally, you can select a different parent folder and its contents will be compared to the iTunes library. Includes options to Add a selection of found files to iTunes, move them to the Trash, and—new in this version—export to a text file.

(An earlier version of this script, Music Folder Files Not Added v1.1, runs on pre-10.6 systems. Also, this script replaces the functionality available in List Music Folder Files Not Added.)

Works with importing selected CD tracks, too.

• Choose to delete and/or Trash the original tracks and/or files
• Copy all converted/imported tracks to a new playlist
• Optionally save AAC encoded tracks as M4B “bookmarkable” and re-add the converted files to the Books library

This latest version consolidates all options into a single window and displays progress during track processing.

Quick Convert v3.0 is for OS X 10.6 or 10.7 only. Previous universal version for PowerPC machines available at the entry page.

Regular visitors will already be aware of the “Add as PDF to iTunes” PDF Service that is part of my three-script PDF Adder collection. I’ve just updated these as Cocoa-AppleScripts (for OS X 10.6 and 10.7 only).

These three AppleScripts assist with adding PDF files to iTunes as “digital booklet” PDF tracks. Each provides a method for easily supplying Author (artist), Album, Category (genre), Year, Rating and Description tag data which is then applied to the newly-added PDF track:

• Add as PDF to iTunes is a PDF Service workflow that, when installed, will be available in the PDF pop-up menu of the Print Dialog. It allows you to save the current document as a PDF file (from any application that uses the Print Dialog) and add it to iTunes. I describe here how I use it with Safari Reader.
• PDF Adder is an applet that will let you choose an existing PDF file and add it to iTunes. It can be installed in iTunes’ Scripts folder for easy access from iTunes Script menu.
• PDF Dropper is a droplet that lets you add a PDF file to iTunes by drag-and-drop.

PDFs added to iTunes with these scripts will appear in the “Books” library and can sync with the iBooks app on iPhone or iPad.

This latest version is updated to be compatible with OS X 10.7.

For OS X 10.6 or 10.7 only. The previous universal version is available via direct download at the script’s entry page.

The latest scripts re-posted with quick updates are: Super Remove Dead Tracks v3.1, Remove n Characters From Front or Back v4.1, Save Album Art to Album Folder v4.1, Save Album Art as folder.jpg v2.1, and Re-Apply Downsized Artwork v2.1.

So, if you picked any of those up in the past couple of days, you may want to re-up to the latest versions.

But when I’m importing the files from the Finder I can only edit the tag info after the files are added. Thus, I have to find them in iTunes, select them, press Command-I to get the multi-edit window, and then I can start tag editing. Doesn’t feel right.

So I put together a droplet called Drop to Add and Give Info that launches a GUI for multi-editing after you drop files on it but before the files are added to iTunes:

That’s no AppleScript display dialog. The GUI is handled by a helper app in the droplet’s bundle. After tag info is entered and the screen’s dismissed, the droplet manages adding the files I dropped on it to iTunes and then applying the tag info I set in the window to the new tracks. The only thing I may still want to edit are the track numbers, but most of the other tags are already set. In fact, I don’t really need to work in iTunes at all since the bulk of the important tags for the new tracks are okay for now. I can fix-up track numbers some other time (Albumize and Albumize Selection are good for this).

Drop to Add and Give Info.

tell application "iTunes"
	set trackRef  to (get some file track of library playlist 1 whose location is "some/file/path.ext")
end tell

That will generate an error. But you can trick iTunes into giving you the track reference by using the add command–if you are certain the file is already in iTunes’ database. When you add the file iTunes will check its database for the the corresponding library track for you and if it exists will give up the reference–and it won’t re-add it:

set theFile to choose file
-- or however you get the file path

tell application "iTunes"
	try
		set trackRef to (add theFile as alias)
		tell trackRef
			log (get name)
			# and so on...
		end tell
	end try
end tell

But remember that if the file isn’t already in iTunes’ database then iTunes will add the file as a matter of course, which may not be what you want. So this trick may work best only when you know a file is currently in your library.

You will not want to use the open command instead of add, because open will compel iTunes to play the file in addition to any add-housekeeping.