Downloads Help for Mac | ||||
This page contains instructions for using a Mac to download and listen to MP3 albums. For help with accessing the links in your order confirmation to download your purchases, refer to the Downloads Help Overview page. For help with downloads on a PC, visit Downloads help for Windows computers Table of Contents
Music Downloads Overview for MacWhen the albums and songs are first downloaded, they are in a compressed form called a "zip file" that makes the download process easier. Before the music can be played, the zip file has to be uncompressed, or "unzipped", to extract the folder and music files that are inside it. After unzipping, each album will be in the form of a folder with the same name as the album. Inside the folder there will be one MP3 audio file for each song. (If you downloaded an individual song instead of an album, the process is the same, except after unzipping there will be an individual MP3 file without a folder). The MP3 files can be played in iTunes and can be transferred to any MP3 player device, including iPods and others. The steps for accessing your new music are as follows:
Detailed instructions for each step follows on this page, and can be accessed from the Table of Contents above. How to contact us for help with your downloadsFor fastest results, please review the instructions on this page and try the steps that apply to your situation. If that doesn't solve the problem, to email us for assistance, use our Downloads Help Request Form. Step by Step InstructionsWhere are the downloaded zip files located?When your browser downloads the files, they will be placed in the browser's assigned downloads folder. Usually, in Mac OS X the default downloads location is set to the "Downloads" folder inside the user's main "Documents" folder. But your computer could have a different setting. If your download does not appear in the "Downloads" folder, you can find out where your browser is saving downloaded files as follows:
How to unzip a zip fileTo unzip your download files, do these steps for each of the albums you downloaded:
What are the files and folders inside the unzipped album folder?After you unzip the file, there will be new folder for each album, and with the mp3 songs inside. Each song will have one file with the .mp3 extension after the song title. How to play the MP3 files in iTunesSimply double-click the MP3 files to launch iTunes and play the songs. If double-clicking does not work as expected, then use these steps:
How to add your downloaded albums to your iTunes music library
The above instructions were adapted from an article on Apple's iTunes support website. For more information, view the original article here. Finding where iTunes for stores your audio filesBy default, items you import into iTunes from CDs are stored in this folder: [Home Directory]/Music/iTunes Depending on how you’ve imported items into iTunes, your library might include items located elsewhere. Here are ways to locate where your iTunes files are stored:
To reveal the file in the Finder:
The iTunes Library file is a database of your library’s contents. If you move or delete this file, iTunes creates a new one the next time you open iTunes, but it doesn’t contain playlists, song ratings, comments, and other information you created. For best results, don’t move the iTunes folder or folders inside it. These instructions are based on an iTunes for Mac help page on Apple's website. For more information, view the original article here. How to burn your MP3 album to a CD using iTunes1) Tell iTunes That You Want an Audio CD
2) Create a New Playlist of Songs
3) Burn Your Disc
The above instructions were adapted from an article on Apple's iTunes support website. For more information, view the original article here. How to View Album Art in iTunesTo show or hide the album cover in the Artwork Viewer section of the main iTunes Window:
To display artwork in its own window:
To show or hide artwork next to each item in a playlist in the music browser:
To visually browse your iTunes library:
The above instructions were adapted from an article on Apple's iTunes support website. For more information, view the original article here. Make backups of your downloaded MP3 albumsMake a backup copy of your new songs: copy them to an external disk drive, or burn them to a CDR. That way if you erase them by accident later you have a way to get them back. | ||||
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