Video:Customize iTunes Settings

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Transcript:Customize iTunes Settings

Hi, I'm Don Schechter for About.com Computing. Today I'll show you how to customize the iTunes window.

Change iTunes Parental Control Settings

You might not know that iTunes has parental controls. If you have administrator access to your computer, you can disable podcasts, the radio, music store, and shared music.

To do this, go to 'Edit' on a PC or go to the iTunes drop down-menu on a Mac, and in both cases click on 'Preferences.' Now click the 'Parental Control' tab. Here you can click on any of the items to disable them. If you disable an item by clicking the box, that item will no longer appear in the source list. See, podcasts are now gone.

Set a Password for iTunes Parental Control

Let's go back to the parental controls. If you're using Windows XP or a MAC you can lock these settings and require a user to enter an administrator password to re-enable them.

If you're using Windows 2000, you can hide an item, but not password protect it. You can also to restrict access to explicit content in the iTunes Music Store by clicking this box.

Change iTunes Column Settings

Now, let's move on to customizing the actual iTunes Window. To choose which columns appear for items in your library or a playlist, click 'View,' then 'View Options,' and click or unclick the information you want to show or hide.

Adjust iTunes Text Settings

Let's go back to edit preferences. If you have difficulty reading any of the small text on the screen, iTunes gives you the option to enlarge the source text and the ong text. The source text refers to everything on the left side of the screen.

Hide Library Items in iTunes

To hide items in your library, deselect an item to hide it, such as 'movies.' Click 'OK' to make the changes.

Change Main iTunes Window Settings

The main iTunes window can also be customized by clicking on parts of the player itself. You can adjust the size of the various boxes by clicking and dragging the separators.

Sort Files in iTunes

Sorting is really easy. Simply click on the column heading you want to sort and a small triangle will appear. To reverse the sort order, click the column again. Here, I'm sorting alphabetically by name.

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