Hi Jessi, Simon, and others, >>> I'm wondering if there's a way in >>> itunes to delete all the rest and just keep maybe the two most >>> recent >>> episodes but then have it download future episodes? I saw it in >>> podcast settings, and I changed my default setting to keep only the >>> two most recent episodes of each, but all the other ones are still >>> there even though I've gone to the contextual menu on them and >>> clicked >>> update podcast. what am I doing wrong?
To let iTunes automatically manage your podcasts, such as only keeping the two most recent episodes, you need to check "Allow Auto Delete" in the contextual menu. Any podcasts you manually download, such as by selecting "Download Podcast Episode" in the contextual menu or by pressing the "Free" button for the podcast to download it from the songs outline of its podcast page in the iTunes Store, will automatically be marked "Do Not Auto Delete" since iTunes assumes you want to keep such podcasts. You can change these settings at the level of individual podcasts or for all podcasts in a subscription if you use the contextual menu at the folder level. You can also select multiple episodes and/or folders and use the contextual menu to change settings. For example, to delete all but the two most recent episodes of a specific podcast, interact in the songs table and select the podcast at the folder level, then use item chooser menu (VO-I) to select the "Settings" button and press (VO-space). Uncheck the box for "use default settings" and navigate to the pop up button to the right of "Episodes to Keep" and change this (VO-Space) from "All Episodes" to "Last 2 Episodes". Press return, or else navigate to the "OK" button and press it (VO-Space) to log your changes and close the settings menu. Then bring up the contextual menu (VO-Shift-M) and select "Allow Auto Delete". Now when you use "Update Podcast" in the contextual menu, all but the last 2 episodes will be cleared from your library. An easier way to do what you want is to (temporarily) change the default settings for all your podcasts (rather than an individual podcast subscription) to have "Episodes to Keep" be "Last 2 episodes". 1. In your podcasts songs table, use item chooser (VO-I) to navigate to the "Settings" button and press (VO-Space) to bring up the "Podcast Settings" window 2. VO-right arrow past "Settings for:" to the pop up button and press (VO-Space) to change this from your specific podcast to "Podcast Defaults" 3. VO-right arrow past the pop up button for "Episodes to Keep" and press (VO-Space), then set this to "Last 2 episodes". (This is temporarily your default setting.) Press return to accept these settings or escape to cancel (or navigate to the buttons for "Cancel" and "OK" and press your selections.) 4. Now, make your contextual menu changes for all or for a block of your podcasts in the Songs outline. You can hold down the shift key and arrow down to make multiple selections. Use VO-Shift-M and select "Allow Auto Delete". If there are particular episodes or subscription series you want to keep, select these and choose "Do Not Auto Delete" in the contextual menu. (If you have mixed entries you'll need to use the contextual menu at the individual episode level; selecting "Do Not Auto Delete" at the folder level applies your choice to everything in the podcast subscription folder). 5. Select a block of entries, use the contextual menu (VO-Shift-M), and choose "Update Podcast". All but the last 2 episodes (and any episodes marked "Do Not Auto Delete" in the block) should be removed. (You can also select all with Command-A after interacting, or make non- contiguous selections instead of using the shift and arrow keys, but I would experiment until you feel confident about how to use this. For example, you can check that the mixed "Do Not Auto Delete" and "Allow Auto Delete" menu selections are present when your selection block includes both types of settings.) 6. After deleting all but the latest 2 episodes, go back to the "Settings" button via the item chooser menu (VO-I), and change your default settings back to keep "All Episodes". Navigate (VO-Right arrow) past "Settings for" to the pop up button, press (VO-Space) and change this to "Podcast Defaults", then make your selections (e.g., set the pop up buttons to when new episodes are available "Download the most recent one" and for episodes to keep choose "All episodes" or whatever you want). To summarize: • You can have iTunes automatically control which podcast episodes are kept in your library, but it will only remove episodes flagged "Allow Auto Delete", and any episodes you manually download are automatically flagged "Do Not Auto Delete" unless you change this. You set your preferences for what episodes to keep with the "Settings" button either for a specific podcast subscription or by using your default podcast settings. • You can make multiple selections and use the contextual menu. The options you see will reflect the items you've selected (e.g. if all podcasts were manually downloaded you'll see "Allow Auto Delete"; if all podcasts were downloaded by automated subscription you'll see "Do Not Auto Delete"; if you have a mixture in the selected tracks, you'll see both options.) • You can select and use contextual menu at both the subscription folder and individual podcast level. (Be aware that issuing the "Download Podcast" at the folder level can retrieve every podcast on the feed, and that can be sizeable). You can also delete podcasts (and other tracks) in multi-item selections (in blocks, or non- contiguously, although it's easiest to set up these selections by the block --- you can use your search text field to modify the selections displayed in the songs outline). • The settings for what podcasts are kept in your iTunes library are unrelated to the settings for what podcasts you want to keep on your iPod -- you could keep all episodes in your iTunes library, but only keep the last 2 unplayed podcast episodes on your iPod. HTH Cheers, Esther --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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