Manually Add Songs, Playlists, Podcasts, and Audiobooks to Your iPod
If you want total control over everything that goes on your iPod, iPod nano, iPod mini, or iPod shuffle, you can add songs, playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks by simply dragging the content you want onto your iPod icon in the iTunes Source pane.
Show Me How
Disable Auto Update First (iPods with a Display Only)
If you have an iPod with a display and want manual control of your music (this doesn't apply to iPod shuffle users), first make sure that iTunes isn't set to automatically update songs whenever you connect your iPod. If you need to change this status, do this first:
1. Connect your iPod to your computer and open iTunes if it does not open automatically
2. Choose your iPod under DEVICES in the Source pane.
3. In the resulting iPod Settings, click the Summary tab.
4. Choose the "Manually manage songs and playlists" radio button. This will unselect all sync options in the Music, Movies, and TV Shows tabs.
5. If you want to manage Podcasts, Photos, Contacts, and Games manually as well, click the Podcasts, Photos, Contacts, and Games tabs and turn off each of their sync options.
6. Click Apply.
Adding Songs and More
Adding songs, playlists, audiobooks, and podcasts (shown here) to your iPod is a simple drag-and-drop affair.
To add songs, playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, and games to any iPod model, just follow these instructions:
1. Connect your iPod to your computer. If iTunes doesn't automatically open after you connect it, open iTunes.
2. To add songs or audiobooks from your library, choose Library in the Source pane, choose one or more items you want (to choose multiple songs and audiobooks, Command-click items on a Mac or Control-click items in Windows), then drag them onto your iPod icon in the Source pane.
3. To add a playlist (which will also copy the songs it contains if they're not already on your iPod), choose the playlist in the Source pane and drag it onto your iPod icon in the Source pane.
4. To add podcasts, choose Podcasts in the Source pane. Then either choose and drag a podcast title to your iPod icon in the Source pane to copy all of the downloaded episodes, or click the disclosure triangle next to any podcast title and drag any podcast listing to add individual episodes.
5. When you're ready to start playing with your iPod, disconnect it from your computer by clicking the small eject button to the right of your iPod icon in the Source pane. When the icon disappears from iTunes, you can safely disconnect your iPod.
