iTunes CD Burning Does Not Keep Correct Playlist Order

[SkyOtter]

I found that SkyOtter's message below to be useful. However, I also have a work around. If you edit the title in the playlist of each track and add a number (01_, 02_, 03_ etc. ) this will cause even the alphabetic sort to give you the desired sequence. Of course this change will persist and could be a nuisance in other playlists.

Hayden Wayne reposted my 4/4/201 post on "How To" — which is correct.
But, I want to add this: To make sure your playlist burns in the correct order, MAKE SURE you do not have "Shuffle" enabled. The "Shuffle" control is found in the Main Menu > Controls.

 

[Tech198]

I am relatively new to iTunes, and have burned dozens of CDs before. However, all of those CDs have been complete albums. I tried to burn my first mix recently, and found that the CD had been burned with the songs in the wrong order.

I must be doing something wrong, but there doesn't seem to be too many areas where iTunes makes it even possible to mess something this simple up, so I pretty confused.

I make a playlist, hit burn CD, select Audio CD, and go. The songs make it, but like I said, in the wrong order. They get organized by album, but I just want the CD to look like the playlist on the computer.

Has anyone run into something like this? It is iTunes 8.0.2.

do what i do and after import all songs, right click the song and add to playlist "New playlist"... second song same way, but your new playlist name will appear in context menu...

This should all songs as u add them... at least, i've never had issues with this, and is all i need for CD audio burning.. I've switfhed away from Toast, and free products like Burn, since it never works as u expect it to.

 

[OBrien Gal]

Here is how to keep iTunes Playlist order when burning CD

1) First, insert the blank CD. When (if) you're asked what you want to do with it, tell it to "Ignore" (for now). That will place the blank CD on your Desktop, and ready to be burned.

2) In iTunes, select the Playlist's column heading that you want -- to define the order of the songs.
NOTE: If you have the Playlist's "Controls" (main menu) set so that "Shuffle" is turned OFF, you will be able to manually drag the song titles to be in any order you choose. In that case, after you have arranged them in your preferred order, you would then select the first column heading on the left (it shows the numbering). THAT is the column that will define the order your Playlist's tracks will play.

3) Right-click (on Mac, Control-click) on the Playlist title and select "Copy to Play Order."

4) Again, Right-click (on Mac, Control-click) on the Playlist title and select "Burn Playlist to Disc."

THAT'S HOW TO DO IT. And I just figured it out today -- thanks to an excellent November 3, 2005 post by one Rachel Wolan on CNET Australia, in her Steps 6, 7 and 8: http://www.cnet.com.au/diy-how-to-create-an-mp3-cd-240057881.htm

I found that it is essential that you do NOT select "Copy to Play Order" BEFORE inserting the blank disc.

FYI: Just yesterday, I updated iTunes to 9.1.
Today, I successfully burned an MP3 CD that retained the Playlist order.
NOTE: The burned CD does not appear to retain the order when you look at it on your computer. But when it's played on a separate CD player (e.g., as part of my stereo system), the order is retained. Actually, what I mean to say is this: If you eject the burned CD and then insert it back into your computer, the play order defaults to one of the column headings other than the one on the left (with the numbering). And that will lead you to believe that the burned CD also switched the play order from your desired column heading to one of the other column headings . . . such as "Artist" (arranged alphabetically by artist) or "Album" (arranged alphabetically by album title). If you did want to play the newly-burned CD on your computer, in iTunes, all you have to do is click on the left column to play the tracks in your preferred order.

BE NOT DISMAYED! Like I said, the play order "defaults" to a different column ONLY on your computer (at least, it does on my computer).
But it does not switch the order when the CD is played on a CD player elsewhere than your computer.

Best wishes,
--David Purnell (skyotter@aol.com), 4/4/2010
============================

[doublepost=1510204061][/doublepost]Years later this information has saved my bottom! Thanks Sky Otter!

 

[emcarnahan]

You seem to be narrowly focused, and missing the point.

Today, I wanted to learn why my MP3 CD burns were not retaining my iTunes Playlist order.

So, I Googled, "itunes will not burn cd in playlist order" and I found my way -- today -- to this particular thread on MacRumors. As a result of reading other posts here (where -- from the first post on 12/7/08 to the most recent post (9/22/09) prior to mine . . . no satisfactory answer was posted), I went a step further and found an answer by one Rachel Wolan (as I described) at http://www.cnet.com.au/diy-how-to-cr...-240057881.htm
posted a LONG time ago -- on November 3, 2005!

Even though that 11/3/05 post was THAT old, it provided the key to my understanding, i.e., about selecting "Copy to Play Order." I didn't, previously, know about that. And, apparently, other iTunes users, also, do not know about that. Regardless of the version of iTunes, apparently this valuable information pertained to the older version as well as to my current 9.1 version.

And so, I wanted to share it on this thread.
If I found my way to this thread today, why would you assume that others -- in the future -- will not also Google their way to it . . . and benefit?

That, to me, just seems reasonable. I don't understand why you're making an issue of it, and implying that it is wasted energy.

Respectfully,
David Purnell

Thank you SkyOtter!
For the record (no pun intended), yes this thread IS old, and iTunes isn't available on Mac anymore. But it is still available for Windows, AND I had the same issue yesterday, burning an "mp3 CD" for my car, which I then discovered played out of my intended (hand-picked, crafted, numbered, non-shuffled) order when played in the factory-installed player. Hence the sleuthing that led me to this old but still very useful thread.

The link you shared ^^ no longer works out of the box, but I found the archived page on Archive.org's Wayback machine at https://web.archive.org/web/2011083....au/diy-how-to-create-an-mp3-cd-240057881.htm.

Here is the pertinent text from that archive (Step 7):
"You can sort by desired criteria (song name, artist, album, and the like) by clicking the column heading, or you can manually order your playlist to your liking. Next, right-click your playlist's name. Select "Copy to play order" to correctly order your playlist when burning the CD. The program will burn songs in the order they appear in the list."

That right-click option ^^ is still available on iTunes v12.11.3.17 for Windows, and I've just returned from my car to test my second attempt. That right-click was the only difference, and it now plays in the proper order.

Ha, maybe nobody will need this reassurance, it being 2023, but just in case...
And thanks again
Ellen