Shuffling without Podcasts or long tracks

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    Q: I usually put my iPod in “Shuffle Songs” mode in the morning and just let it play at work all day, but I’ve been getting really annoyed because it insists on shuffling in my Podcasts. Is there some way to stop that from happening? In a related issue, is there a way to keep long songs from shuffling in as well?

    – Beth

    A: Absolutely. Create a Smart Playlist in iTunes (select “New Smart Playlist” from iTunes’ “File” menu), and give it this criteria:

    1. Select “Match the following rule”
    2. Change the rule to “Time” “is less than” “9:00” (time to your choosing)
    3. Click the plus sign to the right
    4. Make the second rule “Podcast” “is false”
    5. Leave the remaining options as they are

    Click OK, and name the playlist “Shuffle Nicely,” or whatever you’d like.
    This will ensure that the contents of this smart playlist are short songs and are not playlists. From here on out, play this playlist in shuffle mode (See “iPod—>Settings—>Shuffle”) rather than using the “Shuffle Songs” feature, and you’ll have exactly what you’ve asked for.

    Jerrod H. is an iLounge Contributing Editor, with frequent contributions to our iPod 101 and 201 tutorials, plus occasional hardware and software product reviews.
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    Jerrod was a contributing editor at iLounge. He mostly wrote articles about iTunes and iPod accessories. He was known for his in-depth knowledge of both topics and was often able to provide readers with unique insights into the world of Apple products.