This one has been bugging me for a long time. I'd googled for the solution, and found that others [1] have had the same [2] issue, but no one had found out how to fix it. I've figured it out, so I guess I'll post it here:
How do you manually add episodes to a podcast so that they show up in the "Podcasts" section of iTunes? You can add individual MP3 and AAC files by choosing [Add to Library...], but they show up as music and don't list with the other episodes of that podcast. Which is really annoying.
The problem I had was that I was missing a number of episodes from one of my favorite podcasts, Security Now [3].
See how episodes 66, 67, 68 and 69 are missing?
I can download them from GRC [4] or TWiT [5], but they won't go in this list if I add them to iTunes. They'll just show up as music. And that bugs me.
Well, after messing with it for a while, I figured it out....
1. Find the URL of the XML file that the podcast uses
In this case, it was http://leoville.tv/podcasts/sn.xml
2. Setup a webserver
In OS X, you just "Enable Personal Web Sharing" in System Preferences.
The directory where you put the files is in /Macintosh HD/Library/WebServer/Documents/
3. Put the MP3s of the podcast on the webserver
In my case, the names were SN-066.mp3 through SN-069.mp3
4. Craft a fake XML file for iTunes to read
What you do here is take a look at the actual XML file, then make one that instead of containing entries for say, the last 20 episodes, contains entries for the old episodes that you want to add. Here's an example of what you would insert for one episode:
<title>Security Now 66: Vista Security!</title>
<link>http://192.168.0.10/podcasts/SN-0066.mp3</link>
<description></description>
<author>leo@leoville.com (Leo Laporte)</author>
<pubDate>16 Nov 2006</pubDate>
<category>Technology</category>
<category>Security</category>
<comments>http://twit.tv/sn66</comments>
<enclosure url="http://192.168.0.10/podcasts/SN-066.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"/>
<itunes:author>Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte</itunes:author>
<itunes:subtitle>Leo and I describe the new security features Microsoft
<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
<itunes:duration>37:45</itunes:duration>
</item>
So you go through and add XML entries for each MP3 you have to add. Notice how the URL for the MP3 is changed to point to the MP3 hosted on our webserver here.
5. Change your hosts file
Change the hosts file (in OS X, it's at /private/etc/hosts) on your machine, so that iTunes will go to your webserver instead of the actual one hosting the podcast.
(Be sure to change this back when we're done so that it updates properly)
## # Host Database # # localhost is used to configure the loopback interface # when the system is booting. Do not change this entry. ## 127.0.0.1 localhost 255.255.255.255 broadcasthost ::1 localhost 192.168.0.10 leoville.tv
That's what mine looked like. 192.168.0.10 is my PowerMac G4. You could do this on your own machine if you wanted to by using 127.0.0.1 instead.
6. Now, update the podcast in iTunes
Instead of going to the actual website to fetch the XML file for the podcast, it's now going to your computer to get it.
And now you have the option to add those long lost episodes to your list:
It is incredibly annoying that there isn't an easy way to do this in iTunes. But in the meantime, I guess this works.
Or...
Assuming the podcast is listed in the iTunes directory...you can navigate to the appropriate page and download the individual file from there. I believe it lists itself with the others; however, you may have to have subscribed to the podcast using iTunes (rather than the advanced XML route).
Make sense?
The iTunes directory
The iTunes directory unfortunately only lists the last ~10 episodes or so of a podcast. (However far back the author has selected their RSS feed to go.) So you could go back there and add episodes from there if the one you're after is in the last ~10 or so. Strangely, when I tried this before, it actually made another podcast heading in iTunes, as if you had just subscribed to it for the first time. So you'd have like two "this WEEK in TECH - MP3 Edition" entries in your podcasts list.
But in this specific case, the episodes I was looking for were like 30 episodes ago...way back from November, and were too old to be listed in the iTunes podcast directory. So I had to jump through these hoops to get it to show up in there.
Apple really ought to revamp the podcast functionality in iTunes to work a little nicer with this sort of thing.
I have tried this under XP,
I have tried this under XP, I can successfully set up my server and serve the modified XML, but iTunes doesn't browse to this, its as though its not looking at the hosts file.
I know the server is workign asn i have edited host file correctly as when i browse to the website i see my local server and my modified xml, with exactly the same dir structure as the original site.
Successful under Windows XP
Hi
I have tried this under Windows XP like you did, and it worked perfectly in my case!
I used TinyWeb to speed up the process. The Windows XP hosts file is located in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc.
Follow the same process as the Mark's one.
If I may add, I think you should be careful with the fake XML file:
- if you want to make the pushed episodes be at the right place within the existing episodes, fill in the field correctly according to the pub dates of the existing ones, in other words, make the pub date of the item in between the others.
- first when I set up the XML file with the missing episodes, I did not pay attention to pub dates, and when I updated the podcast, the episodes were added last, I stopped the download, followed the note above, and then updated again the podcast, it did nothing... uh!?... as if iTunes already checked this sync, even in changing in the XML file, so I unsubscribed/re-subscribed the podcast and then the missing episodes appeared correctly located, ready to download with button Get.
Hope it will help somebody else because as far as I know, a lot of people are looking for this on the web.
Really thank you Mark!
This procedure no longer required!
hello!
This procedure isn’t necessary any more.
I’m running iTunes 7.4.1.2 and I’ve been waiting to move some podcasts over from my old laptop over to my new desktop. To clarify: both machines are subscribed to the podcasts, but the laptop I don’t use so it only has the old podcasts on. And I want these old ones moved to the new computer.
I don’t let iTunes manage my MP3s, HOWEVER all podcasts are obviously stored in the default iTunes music folder. So I just copied all the podcast files in there, to where other (but different) episodes from the same subscription existed.
If I go to File > Add Folder to Library (or File > Add File to Library, or even File > Import if you like), these files can be imported correctly to the library, and they appear in Podcasts (not Music) and are also nested under the correct subscription.
They will be marked as unplayed, but other than that, your procedure doesn’t seem to be necessary any more and two sets of podcasts can be consolidated without troubles :-)
Doug's Applescript for iTunes
Basically the same solution that Mark used, but packaged in Applescript for Mac users. You can get it at http://www.dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/scripts07.php?page=1#readdaspodcast
Awesome
I haven't had the time to check it out for myself, but if what you say is true, then that's great! I'm glad Apple finally fixed it!
The fact that anyone should have to use my convoluted workaround just to get things to show up properly in a podcast list is silly.
Nope
Sorry, but I cannot get the import method mentioned by BEEJ to work with iTunes 7.4.2 on Mac. I'll try your suggestion Mark - excellent idea!
no workie
It doesn't work on mac OSX 10.5 Itunes 7.5 (19) it shows up in the main music window. :(
Itunes import does not work with all the podcasts
I tried what Beej said, and in fact it works ; but with a big nono: once that you click on teh subscribe button, the episodes became grey out, so you need to download again all the files if you want to listen them!
The trick is to have the podcasts already subscribed, otherwise it will download again the files (the files downloaded get the same name but itunes add a 1 ad the end of the filename), but if you delete them the podcast will launch anyway, that is the proof that for some reason, it can read the file but can't realize that the file is already downloaded.
Is weird that some podcasts works, importing correctly even after clicking on the subscribe button, while others does not work at all :(
Apple: please do some smart things like importing podcasts in an improved way...80% of the people that has a mac has at least 2 computers and has 2 libraries (and many use teh fast line at work to download the podcast LOL)
RE: ITunes unability to add old podcasts
Hello I just wanted to say bravo, this was a problem I needed to address as well. However my issue is that I have a total lack of experince in using macs and using itunes and creating webpages. I have been around computer since XT's and 300 baud modems and have a great deal of knowledge from DOS all MS and alot of linux experince in fact probally the most in linux and wish to switch to mac that's why I bought the iphone. Anyhow all of this is not important what I wanted to know is that myself as well listen to security now and I was wondering if you could give me a copy of the xml file you compiled to allow you to add all the old episodes to itunes. I just bought the iphone and it is really pissing me off that I have to import the remaining (witch is most of the episodes) into the music folder rather than the podcast folder. Please let me know asap via email if there is anything you can do to help me overcome this quicker?
Ciao
Rick
Another Way
There is another way to get your downloaded MP3s into your podcasts folder, though it is a hassle to add more than one or two.
Download a good tag editor (such as mp3tag - www.mp3tag.de/en/) which can view extended tags.
Add the following tags:
TUNESPODCAST
ITUNESPODCASTDESC
ITUNESPODCASTID
ITUNESPODCASTURL
With the following values (respectively):
1
[whatever you want to show up as the episode name]
[the url for the episode]
[the url used to subscribe to the podcast]
Then drag your new files to itunes and they should be added correctly.
thank you man that worked
thank you man that worked but I found that you have to do all the files at ones
Almost worked
This is great! I got the missing podcasts to show up in the Podcast area, but for some reason it created a new grouping for them with the same title as the original podcast library that I'm subscribing to. Any idea what I might be missing that could cause this?
The original podcast is Joyce Meyer Radio Podcast. It created a new podcast group for the missing files that I added with the same name.
Thanks for your help!