In previous versions of iTunes, clicking the Zoom button (the green +) on a Mac launched iTunes’ Mini Player.
iTunes 9 changes the behavior of the Mini Player on a Mac.
There are two ways to access the Mini Player on a Mac:
• Hold down the Option key and click the Zoom button
• From the View menu, choose “Switch to Mini Player” (⇧⌘M)
Source: Apple support article HT3871.
MacDailyNews Note: To keep the Mini Player in front so that you can always see it no matter which application is active, choose iTunes > Preferences, click “Advanced,” and then select “Keep Mini Player on top of all other windows.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Personally I prefer to run an app in the menu bar and give iTunes its own space and keep it full screen at all times, never really saw the point of the mini player.
iTunes 9 at least allows my iTunes to fit in the window of my MacBook. iTunes 8 was extended beyond my screen and I couldn’t shrink it to fit.
Shift+Cmd+M
Also Command + Shift + M does the same.. So that make 3 ways….
Also something that really annoys me is you used to be able to option click the arrow next to the album name and it would bring up just that album – now it brings up all the albums by that artist – and if it is a compilation it brings up all of your compilations. Really annoying..
Was it change for change sake? That, after all, is what Microsoft is wont to do. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There was nothing wrong with the established behavior.
@Raymond in DC: Not many people realised smartphone UIs were broken until Apple fixed them.
this is my biggest annoyance with the new version too.
it seems the reason is that the old behavior was non-standard ie didn’t follow the interface guidelines. now iTunes 9 windows behaves consistently with other windows in OS X. but I still don’t like it!
@Raymond in dc,
the change puts the iTunes ui more in line with all the other apps
“Was it change for change sake? That, after all, is what Microsoft is wont to do. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There was nothing wrong with the established behavior.”
It reeks of ‘WIndows’ Pandering. They could have done this in Windows, but why in the Mac version?? Whatever. It’s a step down. The white background on my Podcasts is fugly (sorry) and notice how they mark a partially listened to Podcast as ‘new’ now (you have to listen to it 100% to make the marker go away.
It seems like a lot of annoying tweaks. Apple if you’re gonna pitch these as features, please do, let’s hear the pitch.
PS. Notice Apple marks your Apps with their type (Games, Education, Book, etc). Why not offer us a button to automatically organize all our apps by Type in the Sync window. Seems like a no-brainer.
I hated how iTunes wouldn’t behave the same as every other app. This is change for GOOD reason. Especially since iTunes is a big, info-packed window–the kind you often need to resize and manage.
And you still get the miniplayer functionality too. Best of both worlds.
The original mistake of making iTunes’ minimize button different from every other app… THAT was like Microsoft. This is like Apple.
@Tommy Boy:
As far as I know, the only way to shrink a window that’s too big for the screen is to temporarily change the screen resolution. This method definitely works.
I don’t like the interface change either, but some people are seriously over-reacting. Get over it!
This is broken and annoying….
Browse Songs by Album or Artist
To view all songs within an album or by an artist, Control-click the arrow (Option-click on the Mac) next to a song , artist, or album name in your library. This opens the selected item in browse view.
iTunes was the only app I ever used the green button for – to quickly invoke the miniplayer. Otherwise, I ignore the green button in all other apps.
I understand Apple is enforcing interface guidelines, but why now?
15 year olds all over the world who don’t read MDN are going to be like: “What the eff happened to my miniplayer? Curse you Crapple! You crapped up my iTunes!!!!”
Is this the reaction Apple is going for? If they are expecting congratulations, they aren’t going to get it.
the green button has never really made much sense to me, IMHO. I rarely used it in other windows, EXCEPT iTunes, where it made sense to get the mini player window. I hope that in the future, they redesign the functionality of the green button to make it smarter…in many apps, it does little or nothing of value to me.
In case anybody noticed, there is at lease one other OSX app that doesn’t follow guidelines either…the calculator…and I love it! If you hit the green button on the calculator, it turns it into a full scientific calcuator; a perfect example of where the green button follows functionally, not convention.
I personally hate this “feature”. I don’t care if it keeps with the UI of the other apps. Being an iTunes user since the beginning, I’ve gotten so used to clicking the green button to get the mini player, I am STILL just clicking it, then cursing out loud, then clicking it again (to go back to the size had it set to), then option clicking.
This is gonna take a lot of getting used to for me.
Option-Click on the green Zoom button to get your mini-player. BFD.
As a MacBook Pro User, whenever I went from my dual-monitor desk setup to using the MBP on the road, I could never resize the iTunes window. Now I can.
What Apple has done in iTunes 9, as they announced way back as one of their goals for Snow Leopard, is to bring user interface consistency to every part of Mac OS X.
The old iTunes Zoom button behavior was NOT consistent with Mac OS X Zoom button behavior conventions. Now it is.
I know some woman who have had many players on top….
I have to agree with drviets – the green button was always close to useless EXCEPT with Calculator and I Tunes – something useful rather than the “regular” function…
Oh well, so it goes – sad.
Those who tend to use the mini player use it all the time. It thus is very inconvenient to constantly need to do a multi-key, option-click, or menu selection for what had previously been a single click. To keep it within the UI guidelines, Apple should add a “mini player” control to the “non-mini” player (there is plenty of room at the bottom).
the podcast marker thingy was like that in the previous version, which I always thought was dumb. You can highlight them and click to change them to have been watch/listened to.
Cheers,
Mike from Fernie.
This would really annoy me if I had been aware there was, in fact, a mini-player in the first place.
Pain in the b*m.
Sure you can do a (two handed) command to return to a small size, but it sure ain’t as elegant as before.
Must admit that iT9 itslef doesn’t do it for either – OK, but no cigar…
Thank you Mr. Reee for explaining that to everybody so well.
“Changed to be consistent with the rest of the OS”
Um, yeah. I *really* like how the OSX min/max (green) button toggles an app between being big or slightly bigger. Totally useless feature! On iTunes at least it seemed to work the way it should have on all apps – scaling it from the smallest form factor (mini-player) to the biggest. Dumb change.
I agree with iPod – not being able to option click on an album arrow to filter just to that album is a bummer. Anyone know the quickest way to narrow down to just view an album only (not all albums by the artist)?
Wow! So much teenage angst over a button…
Apple just reversed the previous behavior. Before, if you Option-clicked on the green button, you got the typical “maximize window to optimum size” action that almost all other apps use. Now a regular click on the green button does what it should do, and an Option-click does the switch to mini-player action. Good change.
re: mac user 47:
The way I have to do it and is sucks is to make a playlist out of the album, or go to the album view and double click the album or click play album – I hope they fix the old way.
I used the green button exclusively. I hate the change.
For all the whiners, I suggest getting a ZuneHD. It is suppose to provide a great interface on your computer, make iTunes look antiquated and will position MS exactly where it belongs!
Simply put… not upgrading to 9. Considering Zune HD.
UI consistency is a good thing. Apple should have introduced the toggle button see on the top right of finder windows… That changes the look of the window, a perfect analog for the iTunes miniplayer mode.
Granted I never used the miniplayer and am more objective about all this
“I used the green button exclusively.”
Seems like that might limit iTunes usefulness a little bit.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
You probably still use an old one-button mouse.
“Simply put… not upgrading to 9. Considering Zune HD.”
This is very upsetting. Really.
Keyboard control for playing songs in iTunes 9 store is gone too. You have to use the mouse now to click on the play buttons to the left of each song. This is in the Store only. I can still use the keyboard in my playlists. That is one of the reasons I’m still using 8.
@Tower Tone,
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
And I was probably one of them.
@C1,
I use the “button” on my girlfriend a lot, but it’s not green. Unless I’ve been eating Jolly Ranchers.
A third way to activate the mini player – create your own keyboard shortcut – one of the greatest unsung features of OS X that always wows my hardcore Winblows Apologist friends.
That and the screenshot options and how you can save anything as a PDF.
@Cubert: Great idea; I hadn’t noticed the Miniplayer Mystery because all my music is on the iMac & my husband was monopolizing it while on vacation, but I’ll give it a try. I use the miniplayer a lot, especially when I’m working on projects and want to listen to my tunes while working.
if you are used to using that function is its a big annoyance. apple please change it back. who cares about conforming with other app operations. miniplayer back all the way
A minor inconvenience. Nothing more. Nothing less.
If they change it back… cool.
If not… meh not the end of the world.
One more button to push.
@ Sir Gill Bates
Funny! I’ll draw a picture and use hand-puppets next time to better express what I mean. =P
@ ChrissyOne,
Thanks! That’s how my wife has been dealing with me for years.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cheese” style=”border:0;” />