Libra Help

Quick Start

On first launch Libra will list one library which is usually called "iTunes Music". This is the default music library created by iTunes itself. To create another library, click the New button. You will be asked where you want the library to reside on disk and to give it a name. Once this is done, the new library will appear in the list of libraries in Libra. At this point, you can select it, click Make Active, and when you go to iTunes, you will see that it is a brand new empty library. You can add music to it the usual way or by dragging music files (or a folder containing them) directly onto the iTunes window. You can switch back and forth between your libraries using Libra. Outside of that, everything else is done in iTunes as usual.

Upgrading from Libra 1.x

The library format has changed in 2.0 so if you're upgrading from Libra 1.x, there are a few points to mention.

1. Version 1 and 2 can cohabitate because the libraries are stored in different places on disk, so if you just want to try out Libra 2 and go back to Libra 1, you can do so without problem.
2. Libra 2 will automatically import the version 1 libraries on first launch.
3. Before you go back to Libra 1, make sure that the Default Library is active in Libra 2. Doing otherwise could cause loss of data.

Other Information

If you have never used Libra before, the first time you launch it it will automatically create an entry for the default music library that you see in iTunes. It will usually be called "iTunes Music", after the name of the folder that is selected in the Advanced panel of your iTunes preferences. If you have changed this setting in iTunes, the name of the entry in Libra will reflect the name of the selected folder.

On the other hand, if you were a Libra 1 user, then it will automatically convert any libraries you had in Libra 1 to be used in Libra 2. Version 2 libraries are stored in a different location, so both versions of Libra can coexist. The Libra 2 libraries are stored in the folder [home]/Music/Libra.

In Libra, you can see which libraries were imported from version 1 with the Get Info command. This brings up a window with the information pertaining to the library, including its location, its format, and whether it was the active library in Libra 1. This last bit of information is important if you plan on going back to Libra 1. Always make sure you activate this library before running Libra 1, or else loss of data could occur.

If you already have music in a folder, drive or remote volume, you can use the Import button in Libra to create a library from it. Just click the Import button and select your existing folder. This will create an entry in Libra for it, launch iTunes and add to the new library all the songs from this location.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question How can I share a library between multiple iPods?

Question How can I share music between multiple libraries without duplication?

Question How can I make a copy of my library?

Answer The answer to all the questions above is the same. There are two ways you can do it. Either way, each library can have its own set of playlists and have a different iPod attached to it. Personally I prefer the first solution but the choice is yours.

The first way is to use the Import function in Libra. This function allows you to create a library from an existing folder of music. Here is how to do it.

1. Click the Import button in Libra. In the file dialog that comes up, select the "iTunes Music" folder under Music > iTunes (in Mac OS X) or under My Documents > My Music > iTunes (in Windows). It will appear in Libra as "iTunes Music 2".
2. That's it! Since the music files are already in the location pointed to by this library, they will not be duplicated and you will in effect have two libraries using the same folder.

The other way is to use the New function in Libra. Here is how to do it.

1. Click the New button in Libra. In the file dialog that comes up, select a location and give a name to the library.
2. Select this new library and click the Make Active button.
3. Launch iTunes and open the Preferences window. In the Advanced preferences, uncheck the box "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library". Click the OK button to close the window.
4. Drop the "iTunes Music" folder from disk onto the iTunes window. Since you told iTunes not to copy the music files, they will not be duplicated. iTunes will simply play the music from their original location instead and the folder of the library will remain empty.

Independently of which method you choose, remember that when you add music to one of these libraries, it will not automatically be added to the other ones. If this is what you want, you will have to add it to each library manually. However this is an advantage in that it allows us to have a single place where all the music is located and each library can have only a portion of it. Their content can be distinct or overlap, whatever your need is.

Question Can Libra import the libraries created by Doug's iTunes Library Manager?

Libra can not automatically import its libraries at this point but if you know where iTunes Library Manager backs up the iTunes files, it is possible to do so manually. Use the Import function in Libra to locate the folder corresponding to a music library you have in iTunes Library Manager. Once it appears in Libra, do not activate it just yet. Go to the Finder and navigate to the location where iTunes Library Manager backs up the iTunes files. Then copy all three of them (com.apple.iTunes.plist, iTunes Library, iTunes Music Library.xml) to the folder Music/Libra/Libraries/<name of the library>, replacing existing files. Then you should be able to use the library in Libra.

Question How can the Libra libraries be backed up?

A complete backup of the multiple libraries can be done by including the following files and folders.

On Mac OS X:

• The folder [home]/Music/Libra.
• The file [home]/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.
• The file [home]/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml.
• The file [home]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.plist.
• And of course the folders where the music is actually located.

On Windows:

• The folder [home]\My Documents\My Music\Libra.
• The file [home]\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
• The file [home]\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml.
• The file [home]\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref.
• And of course the folders where the music is actually located.

Tips

You can double-click a library name to make it active.

Uninstalling Libra

Please take good note that when you remove Libra, only one library will remain accessible. This means you will have to choose which library to keep, and after having removed Libra, merge the music from those other libraries into the one you chose to keep.

If this is what you want to do, you can always just delete all the extra libraries in Libra except the one you want to keep and be done with it. Remember that when you delete a library in Libra, the associated folder containing the music on disk remains. Libra never moves or deletes music files.

However, if you really want to completely remove Libra and everything it created from your system, here is how to do it.

1. First make sure to activate with Libra the one library that you want to keep. In most cases this would be the library called "iTunes Music", although you may have renamed it.
2. Quit Libra.
3. Delete the Libra application. It is located wherever you copied it or moved it after downloading.
4. Delete the Libra folder under your music folder. ("Music" in Mac OS X, "My Documents > My Music" in Windows.)
5. Delete the "Libra Preferences" file in the preferences folder.