- Step 1: Use iPhoto To Create an Album
- Step 2: Use iTunes To Create a Playlist
- Step 3: Sync the iPod
- Step 4: Set Up Your iPod for the Show
- Step 5: Showtime!
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Step 2: Use iTunes To Create a Playlist
Next, use iTunes to create a playlist that contains the songs you want to play during the slide show.
iTunes works a lot like iPhoto. (Technically, iPhoto works a lot like iTunes, since iPhoto came out after iTunes, but you know what I mean.) Click the Create a Playlist button at the bottom of the Source list. An untitled playlist appears in the list, with its name selected. Type a new name for the playlist and press Return. If the name isn't selected, click it to select it and then type the name.
Select the Library playlist or another playlist to view the songs stored in iTunes. Drag the songs you want to hear during your slide show from the song list window to the playlist you just created (see Figure 2). When you release the mouse button, the song you dragged is copied to the playlist.
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Figure
2 Drag a song to a playlist to copy it there.
Okay, so the song isn't really copied. A reference to the song is added to the playlist. But I use the word copy so you don't think that the song is moved from its original location to the new location. It stays where it was. The same principle applies to iPhoto and the photos you drag from one album to another.
When you're finished, select the playlist name to see what you've put in it. Figure 3 shows an example. You can drag songs around to change their order. Remember, though, unless your slide show has a lot of photos, only the first and maybe second song will play.
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Figure
3 A few songs added to a playlist for a slide show.
If you prefer, use iTunes' smart playlist feature to create a playlist based on ratings, genre, artist, etc. This strategy updates the playlist each time a matching song is added to your library. Your iPod is also updated automatically when you sync.
One more thing. If you really do have a business use for this technology—for example, you want to set up a slide show "kiosk" on a television—you can try to record a narration that plays along with the slides. Narration is a bit tricky because it requires you to record onto your computer using a microphone or line-in from a tape recorder. The total length of the recording should match the total length of the slide show. For example, if you have 10 slides that will appear for 3 seconds each, you need exactly 30 seconds of narration for the narration to work correctly. Otherwise, the slides and narration will be out of sync when the slide show starts repeating, and that might not be what you want.