iTunes playlist naming bug?

[NateP]

I'm running iT 6.0.1 on os X 10.4.3.

When I create a new playlist (regular or smart) and go to give it a name, the software does not want to let me type in the name. As I type, it reverts to "untitled playlist". if I then click again to try to change the name, as I begin typing, I can get a few letters in, and then iT reverts to "untitled playlist." I can only change the names if I work really fast (type FAST) and get a bit lucky. Still takes two or three tries to get it usually....

Any ideas?

 

[mad jew]

Repair permissions maybe (Disk Utility)? It's always a good first step.

 

[NateP]

Tried that. Still seems not to want to allow easy playlist re-naming....

 

[mad jew]

Okay, there's a file called com.apple.iTunes.plist that is in your Preferences folder and holds all the information about windows sizes and various other settings for iTunes. Removing this from that folder whilst iTunes is closed (place on Desktop or somewhere) means that next time you start it up, a new default file is created. There's a chance this file has become corrupted so remove it from the folder and see how things go. The good news is that if it doesn't work, you can quit iTunes and put the file back (replacing the newer version) to keep your old settings.

In other words, ditch the preference file.

 

[NateP]

Should have followed this up sooner.

Ditched the pref file. Still having this naming problem. Half to two-thirds of the time, when I click so I can change the name, iT quickly reverts to "untitled" or whatever it was called before the change.

Anybody have any other ideas?

THX.

 

[mad jew]

There should be three other preference files. Maybe try removing them too.

Just out of interest, does it happen in different accounts on the same machine?

 

[decksnap]

Quasi-hijack: OK mad jew- what do you think if this scenario is happening in Windows 2000? My brother is running all of his music off an external Porshe firewire drive in Windows 2000. For some reason, trying to edit the track names does not 'stick'. I thought maybe it had something to do with the drive itself... I don't know.

 

[mad jew]

This applies to OSX and Windows:

Well at a guess, something seems to be preventing iTunes from writing to the iTunes Library data file. Is the file locked?

If it's not locked, I have no idea why this is happening but if losing all current play counts and playlists doesn't matter, then I'd try removing the iTunes Library data file (should be in an iTunes folder within My Music or Music on Windows or Macs by default, even if you're using an external drive) while iTunes is closed. This'll mean everything has to be reimported but that's not terribly difficult and if it doesn't work then you should be able to simply replace the new data file with the old, just as we do with preference files. It might be worth a try if it's not too much trouble.