Supporting
.m4a,
.m4b, .m4p, .m4r, .m4v, .mp3, .mp4, and .wav
files and tags.
What Library Clinic does
Library Clinic is an iTunes® library assistant
used to edit and manipulate the tag content and file locations of files listed
in the iTunes library. It offers a more powerful and versatile tag editor
and file renamer than the corresponding tools found in iTunes, plus it makes
it easy to move specific files, or even a whole library, to another location
without confusing iTunes. Use it to make multiple, alternative versions
of your library, then activate the one you're interested in at any particular
time. You can "catch up" libraries with corresponding tag changes, or
tags with library changes, with just a single mouse click. It also contains
an integrated playlist editor.
Library Clinic doesn't work directly on the iTunes
library itself, but instead works on a copy of iTunes' backup file (XML file)
in memory. Changes you make are not applied to the actual library until you
tell it to, or until you allow it to. When changes are applied, a backup of
the original library is created which can be restored at any time.
What Library Clinic doesn't do
Restoring an iTunes library from a backup copy has some inherent limitations.
Even restoring from an unaltered iTunes backup file is unlikely to restore a
library to the exact state it was in originally, because not every characteristic
and nuance of the original library is represented in one of iTunes' backups.
If you're a podcast enthusiast, for example, you'll be disappointed that subscription
information is not preserved in backups. Nor can iTunes be induced to put podcast
files back into the podcast category. iTunes will also set the "Date Added"
field for each restored file to the date and time the library is restored, and
not to a date and time specified for each file in a backup.
In general, because Library Clinic
works on a backup copy of the iTunes library rather than on the actual library
itself, the inherent limitations of the restoration process will make this program
a "tool" for some, rather than a complete solution. Its suitability for creating
iTunes libraries via backup files will depend largely upon how iTunes is used
by the individual. Download is a free 15-execution trial.