Beatmixed

If you’re anything like me, you often find yourself with a large pile of MP3 files scattered about in your download directory that need to be moved into the iTunes library. Normally this involves highlighting and manually dragging these files into iTunes. Read on for my quick tip on how to automate this repetitive task.

With a little help from Mac OS X’s Automator, however, you can do all this with a simple right click. Here’s what you need to do:

• Download my Automator Workflow and place it into /Users/username/Library/Workflows/Applications/Finder. You will likely need to create this directory. Also, don’t forget to uncompress the Workflow archive.
• Create a playlist in iTunes called “Just Added.” Any new files you add with this Workflow will automatically appear in this playlist. If the playlist doesn’t exist, the Workflow will not execute properly.

Here’s what the Workflow looks like if you open it in the Automator application:

Now every time you want to add a new file (or multiple files) into iTunes, just right click and choose “Automator -> Add to iTunes.” If you are feeling especially brave, you can modify the Workflow to do fun things like automatically fix the case of song titles or remove garbage from the comments ID3 tag as you add them into iTunes. Don’t be afraid to experiment — Automator is your friend!