Help
Sometimes you've got a song in iTunes whose format you want to change—you might need to convert an AIFF file before loading it onto your iPod Shuffle, for example. First, head over to Edit→Preferences (iTunes→Preferences), click the General tab, and then the Import Settings button. From the Import Using pop-up menu, pick the format you want to convert to and then click OK.
Now, in your iTunes library, select the song you want to convert and choose Advanced→Create MP3 Version (or AIFF, or whatever format you just picked).
If you have a whole folder or disk full of potential converts, hold down the Shift (Option) key as you choose Advanced→"Convert to AAC" (or your chosen encoding format). A window pops up, which you can use to navigate to the folder or disk holding the files you want to convert. The only files that don't get converted are protected ones: Audible.com tracks and older tracks from the iTunes Store that still have copy-protection built in. If you bought a song after January 2009, though, odds are you have a high-quality iTunes Plus track that's delightfully free of such restrictions.
The song or songs in the original format, as well as the freshly converted tracks, are now in your library.
Tip
Although you have intentionally created a duplicate of a song here, you may have other unintended dupes from home sharing, ripping the same album twice, or other accidental moments of copying. To find these duplicates—and recover a little hard drive space—choose File→Show Duplicates. iTunes dutifully rounds up all the duplicates in one window for you to inspect and possibly delete. Just make sure they are true duplicates, not, say, a studio and a live version of the same song. Click the show All button to return the window to your full collection.
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