Ever wanted to fill your Microsoft Zune from your iTunes library? Now you can! This utility automatically reads your iTunes library and allows you to export any of your playlists to your Zune software so that you can sync them to your Zune!

Browsing yourTunes in an iTunes library

Browsing an iTunes library with yourTunes

Note: This application requires Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7, the .NET v3.5 or higher (will be downloaded automatically during installation), and Windows Installer v3.1. If installation fails, please run Windows Update and try again. To work, this application also requires iTunes to be installed on your machine, and some playlists to have been created within iTunes.

Installation:

  1. Download the current version of the software here, and save the zip file anywhere on your computer.
  2. Unzip the file and run the setup.exe program to install yourTunes
  3. The program should now be available in Start Menu >> All Programs >> Jonathan Fritz >> yourTunes
  4. You can get back to this page at any time to check for updates or new information by clicking Start Menu >> All Programs >> Jonathan Fritz >> yourTunes online support

Converting an iTunes playlist for playback on the Zune:

  1. Close the Zune software and launch yourTunes from the start menu
  2. Choose “Your iTunes Library” as the library type to read. After a short loading period, the contents of your iTunes library should appear
  3. Choose the playlist that you would like to convert from the pane on the left. You can resort the contents of the playlist by clicking on the column headers in the pane on the right
  4. Choose Zune (*.zpl) from the Export to box, and click on the Export button
  5. Launch the Zune software and navigate to the Playlists view. After a few moments, your new playlist should appear.

Converting an iTunes playlist for playback in some other Application:

  1. Launch yourTunes from the start menu
  2. Choose “Your iTunes Library” as the library type to read. After a short loading period, the contents of your iTunes library should appear
  3. Choose the playlist that you would like to convert from the pane on the left. You can resort the contents of the playlist by clicking on the column headers in the pane on the right
  4. Choose m3u (*.m3u) from the Export to box, and click on the Export button
  5. Choose somewhere to save the m3u file. It doesn’t really matter where you put it, so long as you remember where it is.
  6. Launch some media player application and import the m3u playlist.

Converting a *.pls playlist for playback on the Zune or in some other Application:

  1. Launch yourTunes from the start menu
  2. Choose “A Playlist File” as the library type to read.
  3. Choose the location of the playlist file in the browser dialog. Note that at this time, only *.pls files are supported.
  4. Choose either Zune (*.zpl) or m3u (*.m3u) from the Export to box, and click on the Export button
  5. If exporting as m3u, choose somewhere to save the file.
  6. Launch either the Zune player (if exporting a *.zpl file), or some other media player application, and enjoy.

Changing the default iTunes library file or the default Zune playlist folder:

  1. Launch yourTunes from the start menu
  2. Choose “Options” from the Tools menu
  3. In the options dialog box, browse to the new location of either the iTunes library file or the Zune playlist folder
  4. Hit OK. Your settings will be saved for future use

Hints:

  • yourTunes is a Windows-only application, and relies on the Microsoft .NET 3.5 framework to run. It has been tested with the iTunes v9.x software.
  • Zune playlist functionality has been tested with Zune v4 software.
  • M3U playlist functionality has been tested with VLC, Media Player Classic, and Media Monkey.
  • In order to work properly, the Zune software must have the same music files in it’s library that iTunes has. This means that you have both programs installed, and can play any song in your library from either, but have only one copy of your music files on your computer.
  • yourTunes will look for your iTunes library in the default location – C:\Users\Username\Documents\My Music\iTunes\, and will export Zune playlists to their default location – C:\Users\Username\Documents\My Music\Zune\Playlists\. If you have changed either of these locations, follow the instructions above to change them in the options menu.
  • You can fill more than just Zunes using yourTunes! It can also export your playlists to the m3u playlist format, which can be read by pretty much every media player on the planet.
  • yourTunes can also import *.pls files for export to either *.zpl or *.m3u formats

Version History:

  • yourTunes 1.1: Added the ability to import from *.pls playlist files, and to change the default location of either the iTunes XML library or the Zune playlist folder. Download.
  • yourTunes 1.0: The first build of the software. Reads from the iTunes XML library, exports to the ZPL and m3u playlist formats. Default playlist paths are hard coded. Download.

Planned Features:

yourTunes is by no means a finished product! The following is a list of planned features for future releases. If you have an idea of something that you would like added to the software, leave a comment below, or send me an email.

  • Add playlist export formats: PLS, SMIL, XSPF, and WPL
  • Add the ability to read all writable playlist types (can import *.pls files, others are still in development)
  • Add the ability to read from the Media Monkey SQLite database format
  • Add the ability to read from multiple library/playlist sources
  • Add the ability to copy songs in exported playlist to a new location. This could be used to back up a playlist, share it with a friend, or load a portable device
  • Add Blackberry filling utility that exports playlist to a Blackberry smartphone and writes necessary BBThumbs.dat files to speed media scanning process.
  • Add the ability to only copy songs of a specific format
  • Add the ability to convert songs to different formats on copy.
  • Reduce memory usage
  • Port to C++ or Java to allow for Linux support.