Q: In the latest version of iTunes (6.0.2) on my Mac, I’m having some odd issues with Smart Playlist creation. If I create a Smart Playlist that uses “My Rating,” I can’t seem to select the right number of stars.
If I click one star, I get two. If I click two, I get four.
If I click three or four, I get five. Not only is this annoying, but I’ve completely lost the ability to select three stars. I’ve tried reinstalling iTunes, but that doesn’t help.
– Will
A: This is a known issue with iTunes 6.0.2, and as such, Apple will almost surely have it fixed by the next release.
In the meantime, there is a roundabout way to select 3-star songs; simply create the following Smart Playlist:
Since this uses the “Match All” methodology, you can easily add another criteria in order to, for example, extract 3-star “Alternative”-genre tracks.
If you need to use the “Match Any” option with 3-star songs, then this workaround won’t return only 3-star songs. Instead, you’ll get songs from all rating levels. How could you get around this? Create the Smart Playlist pictured above and call it “3-Star Songs.” Then, create this one with your “Match Any” logic:
The example above will return 3-star songs AND songs tagged with “Relaxed” in the Comment field.