Examining folders for new music files automatically iTunes 7, 8

iTunes runs as a standard media player on many machines. The program automatically imports entire albums from CDs. However, you need to manually add songs to the library from other media, such as a USB pen drive, which can be quite a pain.

A simple tool known as iTunes Folder Watch spares you the effort of rescanning your folders while maintaining the iTunes library. You can download the program from ‘albumbrowser.klarita.net/itfw.html’. The program requires the .NET Framework 2 to work, which can be downloaded from http://www.filehippo.com/download_dotnet_%20framework_2.
First, run iTunes and then install the tool. Click the folder icon next to ‘Add Folder’ in the ‘Watch Folders’ tab. Navigate to the desired music folder. Click the plus sign to add the selected folder that needs to be monitored. Check whether the ‘Include Subfolders’ option has been activated. If you have included all required folders, click ‘Check Now’ for analysis. In addition, you can exclude certain folders from getting monitored in the ‘Exclusions’ tab. Thus, you can first test new downloads or files received from friends, without adding these to the library. You will now find the test result and a list of all the tracks in the ‘New Tracks’ tab. You can even deactivate individual tracks using a checkbox. Subsequently, click ‘Add Checked Tracks to iTunes’ to add all the selected tracks to the library.
In addition, you can also use the ‘iTunes Folder Watch (Background Monitoring)’ version. The tool uses the Windows notification area to alert you as soon as it discovers new tracks in the monitored folders. The paid version integrates seamlessly into iTunes.