Create and use your own customized playlists

Playlists are easy to create and edit. By creating your own playlists, you can group any combination of songs, videos, or pictures into a list that you can then quickly play, burn to a CD, or sync to a device. You can also use playlists created by other users or provided by online stores, and edit them to suit your own interests.

To create a playlist

1. Click the Library tab.

2. (Optional) If you need to clear the List pane, click the Clear List pane button .

3. Drag items from the Details pane in your library to the List pane to add them to the new playlist, as shown in the following screen shot.

   

4. To rearrange items, drag them up or down in the List pane.

5. To save the list, click Save Playlist at the bottom of the List pane, and then type a name for the playlist.

   By default, playlists are saved with a .wpl extension in the Playlists folder, which is usually located in the Music folder. You can also save playlists with the .m3u or .asx extension. To do so, click the List button at the top of the List pane, click Save Playlist As, and then change the extension in the Save As dialog box. Once you save the playlist, it's added to the Playlists category in the library.

   To play the playlist in the List pane, click the Play button .

   To access the playlist in the future, in the Navigation pane, click the Playlists view, as shown in the following screen shot.

   

To edit a playlist

1. Click the Library tab, and then click the Playlists view in the Navigation pane.

2. Click the playlist that you want to edit, and then click Edit in List Pane.

3. Do any of the following:

   • To remove an item, right-click the item to select it, and then click Remove from List.

     To select multiple adjacent items, press and hold the SHIFT key while selecting. To select nonadjacent items, press and hold the CTRL key while selecting.

   • To rearrange items in the playlist, in the List pane, drag them up or down.

   • To shuffle the entire list, at the top of the List pane, click the List button (showing the name of the playlist), and then click Shuffle List Now, as shown in the following screen shot.

     

   • To add items, browse to the items by using the Navigation and Details panes, and then drag the items to the List pane.

4. When you are finished editing the playlist, click Save Playlist at the bottom of the List pane.

You can quickly create playlists of your favorite items by turning on the Add Favorites to List When Dragging feature. When you do so, the next time you drag a category such as an album or genre from the Details pane to the List pane, only the songs with the highest user and auto ratings are added to the new playlist.

To create a playlist of favorite items

• Do one of the following:

  • To turn on this feature so that it works whenever you drag a category to the List pane, click the arrow below the Library tab, and then click Add Favorites to List When Dragging. A check mark next to the command indicates the feature is turned on, as shown in the following screen shot.

    

  • To add favorites one time only, right-click a category such as an album or genre in the Details pane, point to Add to, and then click "Untitled Playlist" (Favorites only), as shown in the following screen shot.

    

The Player tracks which songs you skip when playing a playlist. This gives you a quick way to revise a playlist so that it only contains your favorite items. This comes in handy with playlists that are created by a music subscription service or another person. When you save a playlist that contains skipped items, you will be prompted to either remove or keep the skipped items in the playlist.

You can turn off the prompt if you want. You can also set the Player to not play skipped items during repeat playback. When you do so, the skipped items appear dimmed in the List pane.

To skip an item while it is playing

• Click the Next button while the item is playing.

To set how items are skipped in a playlist

• Click the List button at the top of the List pane, point to Skipped Items, and then do one or both of the following:

  • To stop being prompted to remove skipped items when saving a playlist, clear the Prompt Me to Remove upon Save check mark, as shown in the following screen shot.

    

  • To prevent skipped items from playing when repeat play is turned on, click Skip During Playback. A check mark next to the command indicates the feature is turned on, and items that you skip will appear dimmed in the List pane. You can return an item to normal play by double-clicking it in the List pane.

To remove skipped items from a playlist

1. At the top of the List pane, click the List button, and then click Save Playlist As.

2. Type a name for the playlist, and then click Save.

3. When prompted, click Remove from the playlist, as shown in the following screen shot, and then click OK.