Change audio formats
Everyone knows that iTunes works seamlessly with Apple's überhip line of iPod MP3 players, but what about the folks who've decided to use another brand? Owners of other popular MP3 players might be surprised to find the CDs they just ripped in iTunes won't play in their devices, since the program encodes tracks in the AAC format by default. However, you can change the output codec by clicking iTunes > Preferences > Advanced, then browsing to the Importing tab. Once there, you can use the drop-down menu to choose among AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless formats; the drop-down just below that lets you set the bit rate to a higher or lower quality. If you've already accidentally ripped quite a few files as AAC, use the same menu to select your preferred format. You can then simply right-click any number of tunes in your library to convert them to your chosen format.

Share your collection
If you've built a LAN in your home or you're on a large corporate network, you can share music with other iTunes users, even those running the Windows version. Go to iTunes > Preferences, then click over to the Sharing tab. Once there, you can choose to share your entire selection of songs or only certain playlists by checking the appropriate boxes. You'll also find a field for entering your iTunes screen name, which other folks on your network will see each time they launch the jukebox. Sharing in iTunes only supports listening--there's no transferring--keeping it on the up and up with the RIAA.

Listen to Internet radio
Although this tip will likely be old hat to many users, iTunes's selection of streaming Net radio stations can be easy to overlook, particularly if you're on a corporate network with many shared music libraries. Nevertheless, you can access a plethora of stations from talk to jazz by clicking the Radio icon, which is located in the program's left pane, wedged between the Party Shuffle and Music Store options.

Manage your podcasts
One of the newest features of iTunes is the ability to browse and listen to podcasts. Podcasts include content such as music, talk shows, and comedy--essentially, they're like huge MP3s. Some podcasts are made professionally, while others are much more homegrown. One great thing about how iTunes handles podcasts is that it lets you subscribe to your favorites and automatically get new ones whenever they become available. To find and listen to podcasts, you can download a separate podcast aggregator, or you can browse them by category in the iTunes Music Store. To set your podcast preferences, go to iTunes > Preferences > Podcasts and adjust the amount and frequency of new downloads using the drop-down menus. Once you've found some interesting podcasts, you can regularly receive new ones at specified intervals.

Add album art
Like the built-in radio stations mentioned above, the album-art option likely has been discovered by anyone who has spent time digging through iTunes's interface. However, if you're firing up the jukebox for the first time, you might not know that the cryptic little icon fourth from the left (at the bottom of the screen) calls up the pane for displaying album art. iTunes conveniently lets you drag and drop images directly to the viewing window; you also can add art by right-clicking a song, going to Get Info, clicking the Artwork tab, and browsing your computer.

Smart shuffling
Whether you're in need of a steady flow of music for a party or you just want to hear random songs from your library, the obvious solution is to set iTunes to shuffle. Smart Shuffle, added to iTunes in a recent version, adds some control to this feature by allowing you to designate how likely you are to hear multiple songs in a row by the same artist or from the same album. To set up Smart Shuffle, simply go to iTunes > Preferences, then hit the Playback tab. Below the cross-fade controls, you'll find a Smart Shuffle slider that lets you adjust this feature's settings. You can further control this feature by setting it to randomize songs, albums, or groupings by clicking the appropriate radio button.

Time-saving EQ advice
Listeners with eclectic tastes may often find themselves constantly accessing the dedicated EQ icon (third from the right at the bottom of the interface) to tweak settings for different styles of music. However, there's a much easier way casual iTunes users probably aren't aware of. First, go to Edit > View Options, which pulls up a list of fields the program can display in its library window. Check the Equalizer box to show that particular column in your library. Once it pops up, you simply use the pull-down menu in your library to select the preset or user-customized EQ setting you'd like to apply to a particular tune.

Print CD covers
Although iTunes won't let you design breathtaking, graphically intense CD covers, it does include a well-concealed feature that handles the basics. The program can generate no-frills cases from both playlists and CDs, which comes in handy if you're creating a custom mix for a friend. First, highlight either the disc in your PC's drive or the playlist in question. Then go to File > Print, which pops up a window that lets you choose from a few display styles and themes. Although this feature is a useful companion to the program's built-in CD-burning tool, it doesn't allow enough user customization to take the place of a dedicated cover-creation app.

The secret world of hot keys
If you've ever spent any time inside iTunes's menu items, you may have noticed the jukebox lists a number of hot keys for performing certain basic operations. For example, you can pause a track by hitting the spacebar or flip to the next song in your library by pressing Ctrl+left arrow key. What many users don't know--and what Apple doesn't tell you in the documentation--is that the program also lets you exercise a great deal of control over visualizations via quick keystrokes or combinations. Not only can you tweak the shape, effect style, and color of the visualizations, but you also can save up to 10 user-defined configurations for quick access to truly mesmerizing combinations you've discovered. The chart below lists all known hot keys for when iTunes is in Visualization mode:

N: Switch between normal or high-contrast colors.
R: Generate a new visualization pattern at random.
C: See visualization information.
M: Toggle among Random, User, and Freeze modes.
Q/W: Move through the list of visualization shapes.
A/S: Move through the list of visualization effects.
Z/X: Move through the list of visualization colors.
D: Reset to the default visualization.
F: Change the frame-rate display.
T: Change the frame-rate capping.
H: Go to Help.
I: Display/hide track information.
Shift+0–9: Save the current visualization configuration as present.
0–9: Access user-defined presets.
Left/right arrows: Move forward or backward through the library.
Up/down arrows: Adjust the volume.