Smart Playlist
does anyone know how to do that??
[220 byte] By [feerlessleadr] at [2007-11-11 16:56:13] 
I want to make a smart playlist that has 4 songs. I dont know if this is possible but i want to have 3 of the songs stay the same but have the 4th song be random if possible.
does anyone know how to do that??
# 1 Re: Smart Playlist
Looking quickly, I don't even see an option for Song as a variable you can select in a smart playlist.Try making a normal playlist of the three songs you want to be the same, then create a smart playlist where the first rule is Playlist is Three Songs (the normal playlist you created), and then limit to 4 songs selected by random. That might work. You might have to select a second rule so iTunes knows where to look for the fourth song.
John
urbanlegend at 2007-11-15 16:11:42 >
# 2 Re: Smart Playlist
add a comment to the three songs you want then have the other selected at randomComment is whatever
mizzle at 2007-11-15 16:12:43 >
# 3 Re: Smart Playlist
how do i have that 4th song selected at random??feerlessleadr at 2007-11-15 16:13:41 >
# 4 Re: Smart Playlist
song 1song 2
song 3
Match All
Last played - is not in the last - 1 days
[X] Limit to - 1 items - selected at random
[X] Live Updating
Match ANY
Playlist - is - Three Songs
Playlist - is - Random
[X] Live Updating
The fourth (random) song won't change unless you listen to it. iTunes considers a track "listened to" when you play the very very last instant of the song. If you listen to 99% of a song and then skip the last instant because there's 6 seconds of silence, you didn't "listen" to the song. Likewise, if you scrub to the very end of the song and just let it play the last instant, it will count as a listen.
The Four Songs playlist is the one you'll want to play, but you'll have to put the other two on the iPod as well or else it won't live update. Smart playlists won't live update on the iPod unless every playlist they reference, and every playlist those playlists reference, all the way down the line, are present on the iPod. This means that if you try to further limit the selection of the random song by having it choose only from another specified playlist, you can do this but you have to put THAT playlist on the iPod as well, and if THAT playlist is a smart playlist that references another playlist, you have to put that other one on also.
The simplest solution is to either let it just choose a completely random song from your library, or else limit it to songs from a standard playlist which you keep on the iPod, or from a smart playlist in which none of the rules reference another playlist.
bwh79 at 2007-11-15 16:14:48 >
# 5 Re: Smart Playlist
That's a very elegant solution, and I learned something just reading your post. :) Thanks for the playlist lesson, bwh!derring do at 2007-11-15 16:15:46 >
# 6 Re: Smart Playlist
The fourth (random) song won't change unless you listen to it. iTunes considers a track "listened to" when you play the very very last instant of the song. If you listen to 99% of a song and then skip the last instant because there's 6 seconds of silence, you didn't "listen" to the song. Likewise, if you scrub to the very end of the song and just let it play the last instant, it will count as a listen.The Four Songs playlist is the one you'll want to play, but you'll have to put the other two on the iPod as well or else it won't live update. Smart playlists won't live update on the iPod unless every playlist they reference, and every playlist those playlists reference, all the way down the line, are present on the iPod. This means that if you try to further limit the selection of the random song by having it choose only from another specified playlist, you can do this but you have to put THAT playlist on the iPod as well, and if THAT playlist is a smart playlist that references another playlist, you have to put that other one on also.
The simplest solution is to either let it just choose a completely random song from your library, or else limit it to songs from a standard playlist which you keep on the iPod, or from a smart playlist in which none of the rules reference another playlist.
worked perfectly
thanks for all the help everyone i appreciate it
feerlessleadr at 2007-11-15 16:16:46 >
# 7 Re: Smart Playlist
...forgot to include a rule in the playlist "Random". You want to include the rule "Playlist - is not - Three Songs" to prevent it from picking one of those three as the random fourth song. So you'll actually want "Random" to say:Match All
Playlist - is not - Three Songs
Last played - is not in the last - 1 days
[X] Limit to - 1 items - selected at random
[X] Live Updating
bwh79 at 2007-11-15 16:17:50 >
[an error occurred while processing this directive]