cblaisd

This seems the closest thread to ask this on....

I have my music on my laptop set up the way I want it: which is in various folders for artists (not albums). I don't have any "playlists." When I want to play music on my computer, I navigate to where I have my music, select the artist folder, select songs.

I moved everything out of the iTunes library folder because iTunes made a complete hash of my carefully set up system and replaced it with albums.

So, I don't keep my music in "My Music" folder (Windows 7) anymore because I once experienced iTunes somehow grabbing it and doing the re-hash again.

I want a way to sync MY folder structure to my iPhone so that I can do on my iPhone what I do on my computer: have a music folder (which contains several one-off songs by artists for which that's the only song) which I can navigate to and then select the artist folder.

Is there a program (for Windows? App for the iPhone) that will let me do it like Frank Sinatra?

And that's free

gfunkdave

I moved this to its own threads because you're worth it, cblaisd!

I think it's Apple's way or the highway. Sorry, Sinatra.

WilcoRoger

iTunes does all that - just set it up correctly, ie untick "keep itunes folder organized" and point "iTunes Media Folder location" to your directory.

Then change the view to "Artists" or "Songs" and you're set.

cblaisd

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I've tried what you describe multiple times and nothing gets added to my phone's music from the computer.

gwade

I just use playlists.

cblaisd

Sorry, I don't know what means.

ETA: It occurs to me that maybe what I'm looking for is more like some sort of file manager program, so that I can go somewhere on my iPhone/iPad and see the exact music folders I have uploaded from from my computer to the device.

But I'm clearly at sea....

I tried CopyTrans but it still wants to know about my "playlists"

I just want to access my folders in the way I've set them up exactly on the computer.

gfunkdave

You can't see the filesystem on an Apple device unless it's jailbroken.

You can set playlists and view all your music by album/artist/song/playlist. PLaylists can be created on your phone or imported from iTunes. Playlists can also be "smart" - that is, they dynamically add/lose songs based on preferences you set.

Why do you need to navigate by directory structure instead of just browsing by playlist/artist/album/song or typing the item you want in the search bar? It seems that a switch to Android is in your future...or perhaps a good old fashioned MP3 player.

WIRunner

Amazon Music or Google Play Music would be my suggestions. They don't seem to muck anything up.

WilcoRoger

Have you found the "Sync" button yet in iTunes?

WilcoRoger

If you uploaded some files manually, your ipod/iphone/etc won't see it, neither will itunes. Itunes copies the music in a seemingly random logic to your player and in the process renames the files on the player (but not in the original location) and keeps a database of it all. Both the player and itunes reads that database.

Let itunes handle the heavy lifting for you. It's a breeze once you un-learn your PC-ways

tanglin

I think MediaMonkey does this. I don't use this functionality myself but the basic level is free.

cblaisd

Thanks for the helpful comment.

I don't want the files re-named on my iphone, thank you.

I want to be able to see the music folder with its sub-folders exactly has I have it on my computer.

I'll take a look. Appreciate the help.

gfunkdave

This is flat-out not possible with an iDevice.

When you sync music to your iPhone, it DOES rename the files with gibberish names. It does copy them to its own directory structure. YOu cannot view any of this unless you get a program to run on your computer that lets you view the directory structure. This used to be pretty easy in older versions of iOS but I haven't done it in a long time (no need) and don't see any easy way to do it in iOS 7/8 (but haven't tried).

You search/browse your music through the Music app on the phone, or through iTunes.

If you require the ability to see/modify how your phone stores music (and again, why does it matter?), then you should switch to Android or get an old-fashioned MP3 player.

cblaisd

Looking at a couple of apps that turn the iPhone into a virtual USB drive....

gfunkdave

I mean, it does that by itself. I'd assumed you wanted to be able to play the music you put on your phone, using your phone. But if that's not your goal, you can just plug it into a computer and copy stuff to it.