How-to: Export a song list from iTunes

November 7th, 2007 by Donald Bell

playlist.pngEver wanted to export a list of songs you own to a spreadsheet for bragging rights or insurance purposes? Don't spend time typing them out one at a time and follow this quick tip.


iTunes natively allows users to export song lists from their music library or specific playlists as either Text or XML files. To do this, open up iTunes and select Music in the iTunes source pane on the left side of the window. Once Music is highlighted as a source, select the "Export..." option in the iTunes File menu.

iTunes gives you a Save As window with the option to save your music library list as either a Text file or XML (we recommend the more universally useful Text file). Once the file is exported, you can drag it into a spreadsheet program such as Excel and manipulate the data however you like. To export a listing of just your iTunes movie library, podcasts, or a particular playlist, select the item from the source pane and follow the same instructions outlined above.

The downside to this technique is that most people find that iTunes exports more information that they need (for instance, song bit rate, disc number, date modified, and so on). If you want to print an attractive, basic list of your music library, you can actually print directly from iTunes. Just highlight your music library in the source pane (as in the previous example) and select "Print..." from the iTunes File menu. You'll see options for CD Jewel case insert, Song listing, and Album listing, along with dropdown menu of themes, and a visual preview of the printing format. The Song listing print option provides the most bang for the buck when it comes to music library bragging rights, but if you've gone to the trouble of adding album art to your collection, printing in Album listing mode is more visually impressive.

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